Laurel: Golden Years sidelined with knee injury

Golden Years, a two-time stakes winner and one of the top 3-year-olds based in Maryland, has been injured, according to his trainer, Rodney Jenkins.

Golden Years, a winner of 3 of 5 starts, won the $100,000 Marylander Stakes at Laurel Park in December by 7 1/4 lengths and the Maryland Million Nursery by 1 1/2 lengths in October. He ran a gallant third last time out in the one-mile Miracle Wood at Laurel on Feb. 16, when he was beaten a neck following a long stretch battle. Golden Years raced along the inside on a frigid day when the outer paths clearly offered the better footing.

“He came out of that race with a slab fracture in his knee,” Jenkins said. “He’s a great horse. This is a very hard game sometimes.”

Golden Years, a West Virginia-bred son of Not for Love, earned $156,000 for his owners, the Hillwood Stable LLC.