LRL: The stakes contenders have almost opposite resumes
Both Law School and Taj Mahal have talent, but that’s where the similarities end
Frank Vesp- February 19, 2026
Two horses that could be favorites in Saturday’s Laurel Park stakes could hardly arrive with more diverse resumes.
Law School, even money on the morning line in the seven-furlong Wide Country for three-year-old fillies, has made seven career starts, including three at or beyond the Wide Country distance, has won a stakes and has earned nearly $120,000.
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In the one-mile Miracle Wood for sophomores, with the expected scratch from morning line choice Balboa, trainer Brittany Russell’s other runner Taj Mahal is one of the few who could vie for favoritism. He is 5-1 on the morning line, and the only runner other than Balboa who is lower is Let’s Go Lando at 9-2.
Taj Mahal has made just one career start, and that came at six furlongs.
Law School, trained by Jamie Ness at Parx and owned by his own Jagger Inc. and Super C Racing, has won her last two races by a total of 21 ¼ lengths. The last time she competed in the $75,000 Parx Future Stars Fillies, also at seven furlongs, she was well off the pace and jumped when ready, pulling away to win by seven lengths.
“As soon as we stretched her out, she got a lot better,” Ness said. “I think seven-eighths is the lowest we can get. I would like to go longer, but we’ve been off for a few months now, so it’s probably a good stepping stone back.”
Although her father Mitole was an ultra-fast sprinter, Mitole’s offspring thrived on route distances, winning at a 19% clip on dirt routes.
Law School was a bargain, costing only $5,000 as a yearling. But those strong recent performances build on what Ness saw all along – and on her dozens-plus debut score.
“She immediately stood out,” the trainer noted. “We didn’t push her, but she showed talent right away. She got closer to a race and I really liked this horse.”
Taj Mahal, on the other hand, cost SF Racing et. al. $525,000 as a yearling, so he always had to be good. But it took some time to get him to the races; he had a long run working for Bob Baffert at Los Alamitos over a four-month period, then took a few months off before finding his way to Russell’s Laurel-based operation.
“I think he got to a point where he thought, you know, he just hadn’t made any progress,” she said after his first score. “And when I got him, he had a little thing that we just had to take some time to work out. I’m happy [the owners] were so patient, because obviously I think he’s worth it.
He showed it for the first time on February 6. After breaking slowly, he went wide on the turn, inhaled the leaders and pulled away to win by more than four lengths as the 3-2 favorite.
However, that was only fifteen days ago, so the Taj Mahal will have to manage to go toe-to-toe with the winners and stretch to a mile and a half, all with relatively short rests.
“It’s definitely not a good move for me to run one back from a first run so quickly. I haven’t had a chance to freshen him up yet, but he’s trained well. He came out of the race great,” said Russell, adding: “They’re bred as stakes horses, so I’m trying to take it a step further and see what he’s made of.”
NOTES If Balboa does scratch, Spectacular Bid runner-up Close the Gate will remain the only Triple Crown nominee in the Miracle Wood field. One race after breaking his first vs. first time by claiming rivals, John Salzman, Jr.’s trainee watched. his eyes wide open as he finished second to Hollywood Import that day… Gary Capuano is the only trainer to win multiple stakes at Laurel this year; he has won two and will broadcast Let’s Go Lando (9-2) in the Miracle Wood… Along with Taj Mahal, Brittany Russell will also broadcast Peach Tie (8-5) in the Wide Country; she has won four of five career starts and galloped last in the Gin Talking… The seven runners in the Miracle Wood were bred in six different states: Maryland (two runners), New Jersey, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Florida and Kentucky… Leading rider Yedsit Hazlewood has mounts in both stakes: Law School in the Wide Country and Let’s Go Lando in the Miracle Wood…
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