No one can catch Presidentialaffair

Presidentialaffair made amends for last year's close loss in the by cruising to a 1 3/4-length victory in Saturday's premier event on the Maryland Million program at Pimlico.

It was the third stakes win of the season for the 5-year-old Presidentialaffair, who was coming off a 36-length loss to Ghostzapper in last month's Grade 1 Woodward Stakes. A year ago in the Classic, Presidentialaffair was caught at the wire by Docent and lost by a nose.

"If you make him feel good, he runs good for you, which basically means, he likes to have a couple of extra days off, so we give it him," Philadelphia Park-based trainer Martin Ciresa said of Presidentialaffair. "We probably will give him some time off now and turn him out at Turning Point Farm in Maryland."

Setting a comfortable pace of 47.84 seconds for a half-mile and 1:11.41 for six furlongs under Stewart Elliott, Presidentialaffair ($4.80) went wire to wire in the $200,000 Classic. He completed 1 3/16 miles in 1:55.56.

Aggadan, the second choice in a field of eight older horses, finished second. Irish Colony was third.

Elliott also won the Distaff aboard 15-1 longshot Merryland Missy.

Jockeys Ryan Fogelsonger and Mario Pino also won two stakes apiece on the card. Fogelsonger captured the Sprint with My Poker Player and the Nursery with What's Up Lonely. Pino scored aboard Dr. Detroit in the Turf and Hail Hillary in the Ladies.

A crowd of 19,495 wagered $4,642,444, a Maryland Million record.

On the undercard:

* Hail Hillary ($3.80) took command inside the sixteenth pole to win the Ladies for the second year in a row, this time by a length over Rowdy.

* My Poker Player ($5.40), claimed for $50,000 at Del Mar in August, won his second consecutive start for new trainer Bruce Levine in the Sprint. Crossing Point, the runner-up in 2003, finished second again, 1 1/2 lengths behind My Poker Player.

* Merryland Missy ($33.60), a 4-year-old filly making only her second start since December, was a surprising 1 1/2-length winner over Spirited Game in the Distaff.

* What's Up Lonely ($4.20), an easy winner of a maiden race in his most recent start, scored a 1 1/4-length victory over Monster Chaser in the Nursery.

* Namequest ($20.40), the longest price among three horses entered by trainer Ben Feliciano, won his fourth race in a row in the first running of the Turf Sprint.

* The 2-year-old filly Hear Us Roar ($8.20) remained unbeaten in two starts by defeating even-money favorite Partners Due by 1 3/4 lengths in the Lassie.

* Dr. Detroit ($48.40), still eligible for nonwinners-of-three lifetime races after 25 starts, nipped Private Scandal by a nose in the Turf.

* The 3-year-old filly Silmaril ($7.60) extended her winning streak to four races with a 2 3/4-length win in the Oaks.