Skippylongstocking made short work of nine rivals Friday night at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, winning the $1 million Charles Town Classic for the second year in a row. Just as he had in 2023, Skippylongstocking went straight to the front and dominated the Grade 2 Charles Town Classic, a 1 1/8-mile dirt race run around three turns. Ridden last year by Tyler Gaffalione for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and owner Daniel Alonso, Skippylongstocking this time was guided to victory by Jose Ortiz. Ortiz rode a tactically smart race - the other jockeys riding horses with early pace, not so much. Skippylongstocking didn’t break especially well, but came between horses to dictate tempo before hitting the far turn for the first time, speedy Frosted Departure under a death grip to race more than a length behind him through an opening quarter-mile in a moderate 24.15. Ortiz and Skippylongstocking went unchallenged around the clubhouse turn and down the backstretch, going 47.88 and 1:12.64, and opened up turning into the short Charles Town homestretch en route to a 5 3/4-length tally. Skippylongstocking won the 2023 Classic by five lengths and on Friday took down a $564,000 purse for the second year in a row. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Velocitor, who tracked the leader from fourth, finished second at 17-1, 1 3/4 lengths in front of third-place Komorebino Omoide, who stalked the pace and was a neck better than fourth-place Coastal Mission. Skippylongstocking paid $4.20 as the heavy favorite and was timed in 1:50.34 for 1 1/8 miles over a fast track. A 5-year-old by Exaggerator out of Twinkling, by War Chant, Skippylongstocking was bred in Kentucky by Brushy Hill, and was purchased out of a 2021 2-year-old auction for $37,000. Earlier this year he won the Grade 2 Oaklawn Handicap and the Grade 3 Challenger Stakes and, after making bank again Friday, Skippylongstocking is closing on $3 million in career earnings. An easy lead, another easy win, another grand night in West Virginia for the connections of Skippylongstocking. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.