LAUREL, Md.- Peach Tie was the only filly to bide her time in the Grade 3 Miss Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park on Friday. By the end, she was undeniable, picking off her zapped rivals one at a time on the way to a surging 1 1/2-length victory. Jockey Sheldon Russell said he wasn’t sure of his chances early on when Peach Tie was chasing in last while the front-runners blew through a swift quarter-mile in 22.04 seconds. But with favorites Little Miss Curlin and Lights Out Leni carrying on their ferocious duel with Tessellate and Getting Closer just behind, the race was setting up to fall in the jockey’s lap. “When we turned for home, I could see two of them were coming back to me,” Russell said. “I hadn't really asked her for everything yet. I was just trying to wait until she gave me the lead change because she's a little rusty on the lead changes sometimes. It’s probably because she's trying so hard. But once I felt her jump over onto the right lead, she knuckled down and gave me a little bit extra.” Coming off two straight stakes wins in Laurel’s stakes program for 3-year-old fillies, trainer Brittany Russell was practically forced to stretch Peach Tie out to a mile in March in the $100,000 Beyond the Wire at Laurel, where she regressed to finish second by a neck. The plan was straightforward Friday, and back at six furlongs, the filly seemed like herself again on a familiar track. :: Get ready for Preakness with DRF past performances, picks, and betting strategies! “The race set up perfectly, right?” said the trainer, who's Sheldon's wife. “Sheldon gave her a great ride. I think he just needed to get that lead change, and once he did, she sort of leveled off.” When Little Miss Curlin and Lights Out Leni both showed early signs of fatigue after vying through a half-mile in 46.13 seconds, the Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Tessellate had first crack at the lead from third. Irad Ortiz Jr. urged the Florida-bred to a 1 1/2-length lead at the top of the stretch, but after hustling for command in the early going herself, she was similarly defenseless when Peach Tie came calling. Peach Tie, who began the race seven lengths back, ran the final sixteenth of a mile in 12.61 seconds, nearly a second faster than anyone else in the field of five 3-year-old fillies. She left no room for doubt in the end and completed the six-furlong distance on dirt in 1:11.87. The local contender was the only runner stabled in Maryland, taking the short trip from the Fair Hill Training Center to pick up her third stakes win at Laurel. She paid $16.60 to win. “She loves this track,” Brittany Russell said. “She's been good here. I'll be honest: We haven't trained on her hard either. We've been pretty nice to her since March, so maybe just being a little fresh and getting her back to the three-quarters was all it took.” :: Get Preakness Betting Strategies for exclusive wagering insights, contender analysis, and more Tessellate, firmly put away in second, finished 3 3/4 lengths clear of Little Miss Curlin, who won the early battle but lost the war for Steve Asmussen. Lights Out Leni, the 6-5 favorite making her second start for Chad Summers, finished fourth, well clear of the longshot Getting Closer. For the second straight year, Black-Eyed Susan Day proved to be tumultuous for Brittany Russell, who won three of the first nine races on the card, including the Miss Preakness and $125,000 Hilltop. In the first race, Hit Zero, a 3-year-old making his first start out of her barn, died of an apparent cardiac event, per the Maryland Racing Commission. Sheldon Russell was riding and eased the colt to the wire before the incident occurred.  “The ups and downs of horse racing,” the trainer said. “Terrible way to start the day. I just feel bad for everybody, but we had to kick on, and Peach Tie is trying to pick us all up.” On Black-Eyed Susan Day last year, the trainer had two horses scratch at the gate, one of which tossed Sheldon Russell and forced the rider to miss the rest of the day. Ortiz Jr. stepped in later on that card to ride the Russell-trained Bosserati to a victory in the $100,000 The Very One. The Russells will notably work together in the 151st Preakness at Laurel on Saturday, with Taj Mahal breaking from the rail in his fourth career start. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.