Nineteenamendment, a 5-year-old mare trained by Mike Trombetta, had everything her way with a perfect stalking trip to win the $100,000 Dahlia Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday. Going off as the third choice at 7-2, the filly kicked clear in the stretch to win her stakes debut and upset fast-closing favorites Sparkle Blue and Tufani by 1 1/2 lengths. Trombetta’s filly entered the Dahlia with four recent starts at Gulfstream Park that alternated between turf and synthetic. Showing plenty of ability on both surfaces in that span, she was a legitimate outside contender at Laurel Saturday and took full advantage of an ideal trip behind the leaders. “Florida’s tough, but we were able to hit a couple spots, and I think that gives them a big advantage coming here, if you’re bringing them home and they’re still a little fresh and not tired,” Trombetta said. After taking the lead from flagging longshot Di’s Surprise in the stretch, jockey Paco Lopez encouraged her to kick away while 3-2 favorite Sparkle Blue and 9-5 second choice Tufani were still making their way through the field. Both closers came flying at the end, completing the final quarter-mile in 23 seconds flat, but they didn’t come close to catching Nineteenamendment ($9.40) in her first stakes victory. She completed the mile-long race in 1:36.63. “This was a big test and I didn’t know how well we would do,” Trombetta said. “I’m over the top that she did this well.” :: Access the most trusted data and information in horse racing! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. Sparkle Blue, a 6-year-old mare trained by Graham Motion, was dropping in class after multiple graded stakes attempts at longer distances, but she had to settle for second after failing to make up sufficient ground at one mile. Tufani, a 5-year-old mare trained by Michael Stidham, has now come up short in four straight stakes races while trying to close from well back in the field. The Dahlia was the first turf stakes of the year at Laurel Park and kicked off a series of five stakes races on the Preakness Preview Day Card Saturday. Leatherbury Stakes Fore Harp, a 7-year-old gelding trained by Butch Reid, overcame sharp early fractions to win the $100,000 King T. Leatherbury Stakes by 1 3/4 lengths in wire-to-wire fashion. It was the gelding’s first victory since July 2023. “He’s a different horse this year. He was very cantankerous last year. He was very difficult to train. Some days, he wouldn’t gallop at all and we had to get the ponies and people to chase him around out there. [This year], he’s been training very forwardly and we really appreciate his training and he showed up with his performance today.” Fore Harp’s intentions in the King T. Leatherbury were clear as soon as the ink hit the page on his past performances this week. In 30 career starts, he has fought for the lead in all but three races. Holding on at the end has been a challenge in recent years, however, and a 21.96-second opening quarter-mile seemed likely to dash his chances off a winter layoff. Jockey Abner Adorno tried his best to slow down his front-runner, but the gelding completed a half-mile in 44.46 seconds. Instead of leaving him depleted, it soon became clear that the layoff had a refreshing effect. He kicked clear by two lengths in the stretch and hung on to win by 1 3/4 lengths, finishing the 5 1/2 furlongs in 1:02.40 and returning $17.80. Fore Harp’s last victory in 2023 was in the Laurel Dash, when he earned a career-best 101 Beyer Speed Figure on the same turf course. His victory on Saturday might not have been as sharp, but the 7-year-old showed that he still has something to offer on the front end against stakes runners. Last weekend, Reid earned his 998th career victory with Disco Ebo in the Primonetta Stakes at Laurel. His victory with Fore Harp in the King T. Leatherbury was his 999th. He admitted that he’s having trouble avoiding thoughts about the milestone. “Soon as we start thinking about it, I seem to hit a dry spell,” Reid said. “I’m crawling to 1,000.” The King T. Leatherbury was one of three stakes races marking the return of turf racing at Laurel this weekend. The winner was not the only one who appreciated getting back on the grass in Maryland. Witty, last year’s King T. Leatherbury winner trained by Elizabeth Merryman, failed to retain his title but quickly closed from last to finish as runner-up. He finished one length ahead of 6-year-old gelding Whenigettoheaven, who won a restricted stakes at Laurel last year. Henry S. Clark Stakes Signator, a 5-year-old horse trained by Shug McGaughey, flew home from the back of the field to win the $100,000 Henry S. Clark Stakes at Laurel Park on Saturday. Jockey Samuel Marin, who rode the horse to victory in his turf debut at Tampa Bay Downs last time out, worked out another perfect trip to win by a half-length in a flying finish. “I thought he was going to open up for me,” Marin said. “Like we say, riders do the dirty job. He did it for me.” While many stakes races on Laurel’s Saturday card went to front-runners, the Henry S. Clark ended in a stampede as multiple runners flew home from the back of the pack. Marin managed to find a difference-making trip in the chaos, slipping to the rail to save ground on the turn before calling on Signator ($11.00) for a move in the stretch. Going off at 9-2, she completed the mile-long race to win her first stakes race in 1:35.51. McGaughey kept Signator on dirt for the first 12 starts of his career, which included runs in the Grade 2 Suburban and Grade 3 Fred Hooper. The trainer switched courses to begin the horse’s 2025 campaign, entering him in an allowance on turf at Tampa Bay Downs. He responded with a fast-closing victory under Marin, who kept the mount and delivered again at Laurel Saturday. “He’s just such a nice horse,” Marin said. “I’m grateful, really happy because Shug McGaughey kept me on him. I told my agent I love him and love riding him.” Mischievous Angel, a 5-year-old gelding stretching out from sprint distances for trainer Jorge Abreu, clearly appreciated the added distance, running alongside Signator in the stretch and coming up just short as runner-up. Fulmineo, a 4-year-old colt stepping back down to ungraded stakes competition, finished 1 1/4 lengths behind in third. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.