The road to the Maryland Sire Stakes championships came into sharper focus on Wednesday, Aug. 26 at Ocean Downs, as the two-year-old pacing and trotting fillies contested their second and final preliminary leg ahead of the lucrative finals on Sunday, Sept. 6.
Three $13,699 Maryland Sire Stakes events highlighted Wednesday’s program, with All That Rusty and R U Kidding taking the two pacing divisions while Nobody Knows It delivered the most commanding performance of the evening in the filly trot.
The freshman fillies will now have their sights set on Sept. 6, when the Maryland Sire Stakes two-year-old championships take centre stage at Ocean Downs with finals worth $100,000 USD each.
All That Rusty opened the stakes action with a determined front-end victory in the first pacing division, holding off a fast-closing Sweet Cougar by a half-length in 1:59.
Sent off at overwhelming 1-20 odds, All That Rusty and driver Anthony Morgan wasted little time establishing control from the rail. The daughter of Rustys For Real-Allthatjazz De Vie led by two lengths at the opening quarter in :28.4 and continued to dictate the pace through a half in :59 and three-quarters in 1:29.1.
All That Rusty carried a 1-1/2 length advantage into the stretch, but Sweet Cougar was rapidly closing the gap for driver Brandon Givens. After sitting fifth and more than 11 lengths behind at the half, Sweet Cougar began advancing on the outside and moved into second entering the stretch. The 62-1 longshot paced her final quarter in :29 and continued gaining with every stride, but All That Rusty dug in to preserve the victory by half a length. Smokeys Delight (Corey Braden) finished third
Now three-for-three to start her career, All That Rusty is trained by Herman Hagerman for Hagerman Racing.
The second pacing division produced an even tighter finish as R U Kidding fought back after briefly surrendering the lead in the stretch to defeat Dapper Dudette by a neck in 2:00.
Trainer-driver Jared Moyer sent R U Kidding directly to the front from post three, where the daughter of More The Better N-Really A Virgin established fractions of :29.1, :59.4 and 1:30.
The pressure intensified on the backstretch when Dapper Dudette and driver William Carter launched a first-over challenge from fourth. Dapper Dudette quickly erased her deficit and was alongside R U Kidding at three-quarters. The two fillies continued their battle around the final turn, with Dapper Dudette putting her nose in front in the stretch.
R U Kidding wasn’t finished. Moyer’s filly battled back along the inside, regained the advantage in the closing strides and reached the wire a neck in front. Bet Mia Dollar, sent off at 36-1, rallied to finish third for driver Russell Foster after pacing her final quarter in :29.4.
Kayla Moyer owns R U Kidding, who scored her first career victory in the process..
The two pacing divisions provided drama at the wire. Nobody Knows It made certain there would be no such suspense in the evening’s $13,699 filly trot. The Richard Hans-trained, owned, bred filly simply overwhelmed her competition to remain perfect in four appearances.
Sent off at 1-20 with Corey Callahan in the bike, Nobody Knows It shot immediately to the front from post two and quickly separated herself from the field. The daughter of Betting Gangster S-Goo Luck Charm was already seven lengths clear at the opening quarter in :29.2. Her advantage continued to grow.
Nobody Knows It reached the half in :59.2 with a 10-length lead and passed three-quarters in 1:29.3 some 15 lengths in front. With the outcome never seriously in doubt, Callahan guided the talented freshman through a :28.4 final quarter, stopping the timer in 1:58.2 and winning by 9-3/4 lengths. Thats It For You (Foster) turned in an impressive performance of her own to finish second, giving trainer Hans a one-two finish. Arent I Pretty (Morgan) completed the top trio.
With the preliminary rounds now complete for both the freshman males and females, attention turns to Sunday, Sept. 6, when Ocean Downs will host the Maryland Sire Stakes two-year-old finals. Each final will carry a purse of $100,000 USD.
(with files from MSRF; photo of Nobody Knows It winning on Aug. 26, 2026)