Slam Notion provides an “early Christmas present” in Bender
Frank Vesp- December 20, 2025
“It has an atmosphere [trainer Robbie Bailes’s Laurel Park] “Everyone is just happy and everyone feels good, and if that’s the case, the horses feel good too.
“I’m in,” Bailes countered, laughing. “That atmosphere has always been there ever since [the Rizers’ horses] came into the barn.”
As the horse racing explanation goes, a good atmosphere works better than most.
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And honestly, the Rizers and the Bailes barn have plenty to celebrate these days. The Rizer horses are winning at a 26% clip under Bailes’ tutelage, and on Saturday, Slam Notion, a three-year-old homebred Rizer, won the third stakes of his career by a sharp score of three lengths in the Howard and Sondra Bender Memorial Stakes, which is limited to Maryland and Virginia.
The victory came exactly two weeks later. Slewperstitus, another Bailes-trained Rizer homebred, won the Maryland Juvenile Filly Stakes, likely securing state-bred distaff juvenile honors.
“[Wife] Nancy and I have been racing for about 25 years,” said Rizer. “This is probably the most fun we’ve ever had.”
Slam Notion is a big part of the reason. The three-year-old Great Notion gelding broke ground for the first time on December 21, 2024, and Saturday’s victory was his sixth in 10 competitions this year. In total, he has won seven of the twelve and earned more than $350,000.
Slam Notion has gradually improved as the company takes on a tougher approach. Each of his three most recent dirt starts produced a new career-best Beyer speed figure, most recently reaching 93 in winning the Maryland Million Sprint; and he now plays 3-for-3 against older horses.
“It’s like he stays on the board every time,” Bailes said.
But he may have entered today’s game a little under the radar. The Ned Allard-trained Quint’s Brew, a dominant winner of the General George last February who went on to finish second in a pair of graded stakes, went from the 7-10 pick on his first start since early May. Blue Kingdom, a flashy New York allowance last time, was 8-5.
That left Slam Notion eliminated 7-2, the clear third choice in the field of five.
However, Quint’s Brew broke a bit slowly and soon found itself in a difficult spot behind the horses. Jevian Toledo, meanwhile, had Slam Notion in action early, keeping up the moderate pace of Blue Kingdom, who covered a quarter mile in 23.59 seconds and a half in 47.24.
“When I saw the early fractions, I thought, ‘Okay, that’s not bad,’” said Bailes, who didn’t expect his offense to be so close to the pace. “I thought they were going to go on, 22-and-change, maybe 45 or 46. I felt good about it.”
Toledo and Slam Notion took on Blue Kingdom in earnest, passing the three-eighths pole and eliminating that rival as the field turned for home. Quint’s Brew, biding his time behind the speed, was able to slip through for a clear shot at the new leader.
But with a relatively stress-free ride behind him, Slam Notion kicked home smartly, extending his lead to three lengths at the finish and stopping the timer in 1:24.51 for seven furlongs on a fast main track.
Next? Probably some free time at the Rizers’ farm in Virginia.
“We’re going to give him a little rest now, and hopefully he’ll come back stronger next year,” Bailes said.
Oh, and some partying.
“It feels absolutely amazing, especially during the Christmas holidays,” Rizer said. “This win, and our son just had a baby, so we have our first grandchild. We get some really nice early Christmas presents.”
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