Post Time aims to stay perfect at Laurel

Post Time, the runner-up in last year's Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile, will make his long-awaited 5-year-old debut in the sixth race at Laurel Park on Saturday, a $56,000 allowance. After a lengthy layoff, trainer Brittany Russell wants to give him a chance to ease back into action in 2025.

"We were just looking for a comeback spot," Russell said. "I didn't feel like he was ready for a war quite yet, but it's nice that he's eligible for an allowance race at home. We're just trying to get him back to the races and hoping for a productive race from him." 

Though the Grade 2 stakes winner trains at Fair Hill Training Center, Laurel has served as Post Time's home track throughout his career. Before he was one of the best dirt runners in the country, he rose through the ranks at the Maryland track and still holds a perfect record there in seven starts. He will receive a warm welcome when he returns this weekend.

"He loves Laurel. He's a Maryland-bred," Russell said. "I think he has a pretty cool fan base there, and hopefully he runs well and everyone can enjoy him on Saturday."

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Russell has not entered her star runner in an allowance since September 2023 at Pimlico in his fourth career start. Since then, he has made 11 straight starts in stakes races, winning the Grade 2 Carter and Grade 3 General George. He already has more than $1.2 million in career earnings.

Post Time will be the heavy favorite Saturday in a field of 10 with one also-eligible. Combined, his competitors have run in five graded stakes races throughout their careers, while e finished in the money in seven in a span of 10 months last year.

Seven's Eleven, a 5-year-old gelding trained by David Mohan, finished second behind Post Time in the Jennings and General George in 2024, but he has only won once in 12 starts since. 

Shaft's Bullet, a 6-year-old gelding trained by Gary Capuano, won the Harrison E. Johnson Memorial with a 96 Beyer Speed Figure in March 2024. He delivered a dull performance in his 2025 debut and will return from a shorter layoff Saturday.

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