Post Time, one of the most consistent older runners in the nation in 2024 while racing exclusively in stakes, has been named 2024 Maryland-bred Horse of the Year, champion older male, and champion sprinter. This year's champions were announced the week of Feb. 24 on the Maryland Horse Breeders Association's social media accounts.
Campaigned by the Hillwood Stable of Ellen Charles, trained by Brittany Russell and ridden all year by the trainer's husband, Sheldon Russell, Post Time raced nine times and never finished worse than third while earning $975,000, the most of any Maryland-bred runner for the year. His four wins included Laurel Park's General George Stakes (G3) and Aqueduct Racetrack's Carter Stakes (G2) in back-to-back starts going seven furlongs. He kicked off his 4-year-old season with a win in the Jennings Stakes for state-breds in January at Laurel and recorded his final victory of the year in the Polynesian Stakes in his Laurel return in September, both while dominating his competition.
Grade 1 efforts proved the gray ranked with the best in the nation. His first trip to Saratoga Race Course yielded a closing second behind eventual Eclipse Award winner National Treasure in the Metropolitan Handicap (G1) in May. Back to upstate New York in August, he finished ahead of National Treasure when third in the 1 1/8-mile Whitney Stakes (G1), his first start beyond a mile. Then, on the Breeders' Cup stage, he rallied from last of 13 to finish second in the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile (G1) at Del Mar.
Post Time was the unanimous choice as Maryland-bred Horse of the Year and older male. He also took the champion sprinter title in a close race with graded stakes winners Jaxon Traveler and Future Is Now.
A Maryland-bred champion at 2, a stakes winner at 3, and a winner of eight of his first nine starts, Post Time has a lifetime record of 9-3-3 from 15 starts and $1,227,910 in earnings. The son of Frosted was bred by Tom and Chris Bowman, their son Dr. Brooke Bowman, and longtime partner Milton Higgins III out of the stakes-winning Fairbanks mare Vielsalm, Maryland's Broodmare of the Year for 2024. Post Time sold as a yearling at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Eastern Fall Sale to Cary Frommer for $85,000.
The 2024 champions will be honored at the eighth annual Renaissance Champion Awards, a collaborative effort between the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, which recognizes excellence in Thoroughbred racing and breeding in Maryland in the past year. This year's awards dinner will be held at Laurel Park's Terrace Dining Room April 11. Tickets may be purchased through the MarylandThoroughbred.com website.
Other divisional champions
Champion 2-year-old male: Studlydoright
Nyquist —Peach of a Gal, by Curlin . Bred by Glenangus Farm. Owned by David Hughes. Trained by John J. Robb. Foaled at Roland Farm, Chesapeake City.
Champion 2-year-old filly: Shkhara Fire
Friesan Fire—Rysy, by Langfuhr. Bred and owned by Barak Farm and Dino's Thoroughbreds. Trained by Jose Corrales. Foaled at Shamrock Farm, Woodbine.
Champion 3-year-old male: Mindframe
Constitution —Walk of Stars, by Street Sense . Bred by R. Larry Johnson. Owned by Repole Stable and St. Elias Stables. Trained by Todd Pletcher. Foaled at Dance Forth Farm, Chestertown.
Champion 3-year-old filly: Call Another Play
Audible —Past as Prelude, by Bernardini. Bred and owned by R. Larry Johnson. Trained by Mike Trombetta. Foaled at Dance Forth Farm, Chestertown.
Champion older female, turf runner: Future Is Now
Great Notion —Past as Prelude, by Bernardini. Bred and owned by R. Larry Johnson. Trained by Mike Trombetta. Foaled at Roland Farm, Chesapeake City.
Champion Steeplechaser: Who's Counting
Vancouver—Counter Measure, by Henrythenavigator. Bred and owned by South Branch Equine. Trained by Sean McDermott. Foaled at Cordelia Stables, Street.
Awards for Breeder, Broodmare, and Stallion of the Year go to R. Larry Johnson; Vielsalm, dam of Post Time; and Great Notion, his ninth consecutive as Maryland Stallion of the Year, respectively.
Profiles of all the Maryland-bred champions can be found at www.marylandthoroughbred.com.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
