Laurel: Ness takes trainer's title; Rodriguez wins riding crown

It has been a summer to remember for trainer Jamie Ness and jockey Jaime Rodriguez, both of whom reached career milestones and teamed up for the second time this year to lead the Laurel Park standings.

Laurel wrapped up its 33-day summer meet Sunday with Ness winning the training title 27-22 over Brittany Russell and Rodriguez outdistancing five-pound apprentice Axel Concepcion 39-29 to finish as leading rider.

Ness and Rodriguez put an exclamation point on their meet with a Sunday hat trick, winning with Liberty Star (1-1) in race 5, Colton (5-2) in race 6 and Borracho (8-5) in race 8. They also led Laurel’s winter meet.

Ness, 48, ranked second to Russell in purse earnings while winning his seventh training title in Maryland by recording at least one winner on 19 days and six days with two or more. He also had three winners July 16 including Sing Scat, his 4,000th career victory, with Rodriguez aboard.

“We’ve been on a pretty good roll this summer,” said Ness, who also tops the trainer standings in wins at Delaware Park and Parx Racing. “It’s hard to win on one front, but to win on three is really hard. We spread it out pretty equally. We’ve got good horses, and we’ve got a good operation here in the Mid-Atlantic. We’ve got horses at all three tracks, and we’ve got Fair Hill, and I’ve got my farm. We fine-tuned the infrastructure to the Mid-Atlantic region, and it seems to be getting a little bit better every year.”

Ness won at least one race at Laurel Park, Delaware Park or Parx Racing for 20 consecutive calendar days between June 30 and July 19. He ran third in a pair of Laurel stakes, the Deputed Testamony with Ournationonparade and Miss Disco with Rowsie’s Express.

Ness is coming off a 2022 season where his horses earned a career-best $10.3 million in purses to go along with 326 wins, the fourth time he has topped the 300 mark including a personal best 395 in 2012. He ranked third in North America in wins in 2022 and 2021 with 311 and fifth in 2020 with 224. So far this year he has 202 wins and nearly $6.8 million in purses earned.

“Last year was our best money-wise, and I didn’t think we could surpass that,” Ness said. “We’re ahead of schedule for this year. It’s on to the next.”

Ness’ Jagger Inc., named for his late dog, and Kernan finished as the meet’s leading owners with 10 wins. Jagger also won five races with Madison Avenue Racing and another four as sole owner.

“That’s another part of my business. I own a percentage of most of my horses. I like that and my owners like that, and it works well for us,” Ness said. “If I’m vested in the horse, then they feel more comfortable being vested in the horse. I’ve got some really good partners, and they’re really good people, and it’s been working out for us.”

Ness is a South Dakota native who began his racing career in the media-relations department at Canterbury Park in Minnesota, where he won his first race in August 1999. Now with 4,033 wins, he also earned no. 2,000 at Laurel with Caylee’s Song on Nov. 28, 2013.

“Maryland’s been great to us. We’ve got a farm in Chesapeake City where we breed. We have 16 or 20 broodmares now, so we’re vested heavily in the Maryland breeding program,” Ness said. “Most of our broodmares are horses that I trained, and that’s nice, because I was able to retire them and keep them around. We’re tweaking every year, and we feel like we’re getting better every year.”

Rodriguez, 32, also won on 19 of 33 days during Laurel’s summer meet, 10 of them with two or more, including four June 25 and three June 23, July 3, 14, 16 and 22 and Aug. 12 in addition to Sunday. He was tops with more than $1.3 million in purse earnings with 23 of his wins coming for Ness from 62 starters.

It is the second Maryland meet title for Rodriguez following Laurel’s winter stand. Represented by agent John Weilbacher, he is also the two-time defending champion at Delaware Park, where he has a two-win edge over Daniel Centeno.

Rodriguez placed in eight Laurel stakes this summer and third in three others.

“It’s been awesome, amazing. We’re having a great year,” Rodriguez said. “Thank God, he keeps me healthy, and my agent and everybody for giving me a chance, Ness and all the trainers and owners. To be the leading rider at two tracks, that’s impressive.”

A native of Puerto Rico who tied a Laurel record with seven winners on a single card March 17, Rodriguez is in his second go-around in Maryland. After attending the famed Escuela Vocacional Hipica jockey school, he earned his first domestic victory May 5, 2010, on East to Eden at Belmont Park. He rode primarily at Aqueduct and Belmont before relocating to Finger Lakes in 2012, dominating the standings. Rodriguez also spent time at Mahoning Valley before moving his tack to the Mid-Atlantic in 2020.

Rodriguez enjoyed his best season in 2022 with career highs in wins with 243 and purse earnings of $7.5 million from 982 mounts, ranking seventh among North America riders in victories. He has 147 wins and more than $5 million in purses earned this year with his 2,000th winner coming June 15 at Delaware aboard Strugar.

Following the Maryland State Fair meet in Timonium that opens Friday, the Maryland Jockey Club will resume live racing with its boutique nine-day fall stand at Pimlico beginning Sept. 8.