Last year's Arlington Million Stakes (G1T) winner Fort Washington will aim to return to top form May 16 when he tries to win the $250,000 Dinner Party Stakes (G3T) for a second straight year, this time around at Laurel Park.
The 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds and older will be contested as race 10 on Saturday's Preakness day card.
A year ago when the Dinner Party was contested on the Pimlico Race Course turf, Fort Washington rallied from seventh early to post a 1-length victory over Cash Equity. The effort followed Fort Washington's narrow victory in the Canadian Turf Stakes (G3T) at Gulfstream Park and came two starts before his half-length victory in the Arlington Million Stakes at Colonial Downs.
To add a second win in the Dinner Party—and become the answer of a future trivia question as the horse to win an Arlington Million at Colonial and a Dinner Party at Laurel—the 7-year-old son of War Front will need a turnaround in form after three straight off-the-board finishes (all in graded stakes).
Trainer Shug McGaughey sees reason for hope though as he thought Magic Cap Stables' Fort Washington's sixth-place finish to open this season in the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational Stakes (G1T) was better than it appeared as Fort Washington had an outside post and then in the next race got started a bit too late when fourth in the Canadian Turf.
"The way he's been training, the way he's doing; he had a really good work (4 furlongs in :48.10 seconds Saturday) up here (at Belmont Park) I'd be disappointed if he didn't run good," McGaughey told Maryland Jockey Club publicity. "He's a very nice horse. He's won some races and he won one big race and hopefully we'll be on the road to some others."
According to Maryland Jockey Club publicity, if Fort Washington is able to repeat Saturday, he would be just the second back-to-back winner of the race—matching Hall of Famer Sarazan—in the 125-year history of the race. Sarazan doubled 100 years ago in 1925-26.
While Fort Washington aims to defend his title, Dresden Row is the race's 7-5 morning-line favorite in the expected field of seven. A multiple grade 3 winner in Canada for trainer Lorne Richards, the son of Lord Nelson will make his first United States graded stakes start for Todd Pletcher off an allowance win for the new trainer last month at Keeneland.
Dresden Row was named champion 3-year-old colt in Canada in 2024 and last year secured a second Sovereign Award as champion older dirt male.
"He had a very successful career up in Canada, and we were fortunate enough to pick him up after he was sold in the digital sale," Pletcher said. "He has been a very straightforward horse and likes to train. He trained well up to his comeback and I thought he handled that nicely at Keeneland so we thought we would take a look at this."
Dresden Row was acquired for $575,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Digital January Sale, where he was purchased by Marc Gunderson as MWG from the consignment of Jeffrey Bloom, agent. He is campaigned by Gunderson's Twin Oaks Bloodstock.
Laurel Park, Saturday, May 16, 2026, Race 10Entries: Dinner Party S. (G3T)
PP Horse Jockey Wgt Trainer M/L 1 1What Say Thee (KY) Ricardo Santana, Jr. 120 Horacio De Paz 15/1 2 2Thundering (MD) Paco Lopez 120 Derek S. Ryan 15/1 3 3Cruise the Nile (NJ) Jorge Ruiz 120 H. Graham Motion 9/5 4 4Fort Washington (KY) Junior Alvarado 120 Claude R. McGaughey III 7/2 5 5A Bourbon for Toby (KY) Irad Ortiz, Jr. 120 Thomas Morley 12/1 6 6Dresden Row (KY) Flavien Prat 122 Todd A. Pletcher 7/5 7 7Harrow (KY) Tyler Gaffalione 120 Saffie A. Joseph, Jr. 12/1
