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Maryland
Mindframe comes close to breaking Triple Crown losing streak for MD-breds
:format(url)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/baltimorebanner/6EVWAFTAIRDVTJ5I6Z7ODSDWAU.jpg?ssl=1 "Mindframe comes close to breaking Triple Crown losing streak for MD-breds")
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Mindframe entered the 156th Belmont Stakes as a colt with scintillating potential, winning his first two races by a combined 21 1/4 lengths.
But neither of them was in stakes company, and here he was making the leap to the last race of the Triple Crown series for trainer Todd Pletcher, running the longest distance of his career.
And, though he didn’t know it, the 3-year-old son of Constitution by Walk of Stars was carrying the flag for Maryland. Entering Saturday, 1983 Belmont winner Caveat was the last horse born in the state to win any of the races that make up the Triple Crown, the most famous series in American thoroughbred racing.
Mindframe fell just short of breaking the 41-year winless streak Saturday, finishing second in a field that included Kentucky Derby winner Mysitk Dan, Derby runner-up Sierra Leone, Preakness winner Seize the Grey and six other runners at historic Saratoga Race Course.
Dornoch, unraced since the Kentucky Derby, finished first by half a length at odds of 17-1.
Bettors seemed to doubt Mindframe due to his short résumé, his odds going up from 7-2 to 5-1.
Mindframe broke from post No. 10 and was bumped by the stumbling 8-5 favorite Sierra Leone, who then bumped the No. 8 Honor Marie. But the Maryland-bred got toward the front of the pack without issue.
On a dirt track that favored early speed throughout the day, Preakness winner Seize the Grey grabbed an early lead heading into the clubhouse turn, trailed by Dornoch and Mindframe.
The trio kept that order into the backstretch, with Seize the Grey and Dornoch separating themselves from the rest of the field entering the far turn.
It was on the turn where Dornoch got a head out in front and jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. asked Mindframe to go. In the stretch run, Seize the Grey tired and was soon passed, effectively making this a two-horse race.
Mindframe briefly had a head in front near the 3/16ths pole, but Dornoch regained the lead as he came down the lane along the rail.
Traveling down the center of the course, Mindframe appeared to drift outside late when Ortiz used the crop with his left hand, prompting the jockey to switch to his right hand to urge his mount for another bid. The Maryland-bred surged forward toward his foe but couldn’t get there in time.
Pletcher said Ortiz told him the colt briefly lost focus during the stretch run.
“If he could have run a straight course down the lane, that would have been the difference,” Pletcher said.
Late-running closer Sierra Leone got up for third place but never threatened the lead in this 1 1/4-mile edition of the Belmont. The final time was 2:01.64.
The race was moved to Saratoga while Belmont Park undergoes a $455 million renovation, leading the New York Racing Association to conduct the race at a shorter distance. Had it been run at its traditional 1 1/2 miles, there might have been a different outcome.
Fans and handicappers will have weeks to debate it. But the result will be there in black and white. Dornoch crossed the line first, and the Maryland breeding industry will have to look for its next Triple Crown hopeful in 2025.
Mindframe was bred by R. Larry Johnson of Virginia but foaled in May 2021 at the Eastern Shore farm of veterinarian Dr. Thomas Bowman and his wife, Chris, prolific breeders in their own right. Because Johnson continued to keep breeding stock in Maryland, he was able to register his foal as a Maryland-bred.
Johnson has bred and owned Maryland horses for years, and from 2017 to 2023 he’s been one of the most successful breeders in the state. During that stretch, he has led the state each year in bonus money from the Maryland Fund, a program to boost the industry in the state by offering rewards for locally bred horses that finish first, second or third in certain in-state races.
One of his homebreds, the 4-year-old filly Future Is Now, won the Grade 2 Intercontinental Stakes here Friday.
Seeing the value fetched by other horses sired by Constitution, Johnson consigned the horse to the Keeneland Association September Yearling Sale 2022. Mike Repole (co-founder of beverage brand Glaceau) and Vincent Viola (founder of Virtu Financial) put in the winning bid of $600,000.
Even before Saturday’s race, breeding a Belmont runner was its own reward, an accomplishment people outside the world of racing can grasp.
“I‘ve been fortunate to raise some pretty good horses but nothing that got to this level,” he said in the lead-up to the Belmont.
His work was reflected most in the lineage of Mindframe’s dam, Walk of Stars, who can be traced all the way back to one of the first fillies he purchased, Ran’s Chick. She was injured and never raced, and Johnson said she didn’t really have a pedigree.
Nevertheless, he decided to use her as a broodmare because he didn’t know any better, he said, and it’s paid off with 40 stakes-quality relatives.
Reached by phone, Johnson said he thought Mindframe would win at the top of the stretch. So did all the screaming attendees at his watch party.
“It looked like he was going to go by those horses and get in front,” he said. “And then, when Ortiz hit him left-handed, he ducked out seven or eight paths and lost momentum and still came back and got close.
“I think it’s just misfortune and inexperience,” he continued. “I think he reacted to being hit left-handed and it cost him the race. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say he wins the race if he doesn’t do that.”
Johnson said he believes Mindframe is just getting started. There are still a number of important races coming up in the summer, including the Travers Stakes at Saratoga.
“I would think he’d be very, very tough to beat with the experience he’s now got and what he showed today,” he said. “I mean, to go farther than he’s ever gone, against horses that are much more experienced and accomplished, and to frankly run a great race, I think, shows how talented he really is.”
Brandon Weigel is the Assistant Sports Editor at The Baltimore Banner.
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Governor Moore has signed House Bill 1532 — Utility RELIEF (Reducing Energy Load Inflation for Everyday Families) Act into law today, providing limited relief to Maryland ratepayers while advancing critical protections for property owners impacted by large-scale energy infrastructure projects.
Several Republican-led amendments aimed at delivering broader, long-term cost savings for Maryland families were ultimately rejected, including:
• Ending the EmPOWER Maryland Program;
• Adjusting Renewable Energy Portfolio Standards; and
• Withdrawing from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
Senator J.B. Jennings successfully secured an amendment to the Utility RELIEF Act, strengthening transparency and notification requirements for landowners impacted by major transmission line projects. The amendment incorporates key language from his bill, Senate Bill 584 — Certificates of Public Convenience and Necessity and Transmission Lines — Notice to Landowners, introduced during the 2026 legislative session in response to concerns surrounding the Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project (PSC Case #9748). Senate Bill 584 requires clear, direct and documented notice to affected and adjacent property owners, including formal notice of their right to intervene in Public Service Commission proceedings, and received favorable testimony from Protect Our Streams, The Valleys Planning Council and the Maryland Farm Bureau.
Harford County Executive Bob Cassilly wrote in support of the measure, saying, “This legislation does not prevent necessary projects from moving forward; it simply ensures that affected citizens are properly notified and afforded due process.”
Joanne Frederick, leader of Stop MPRP, also testified in support of the bill, stating, “Maryland property owners should not have to rely on rumor or last-minute meetings to learn that their land is under consideration for a transmission corridor.”
Although SB584 received a strong hearing before the Senate Energy, Education and the Environment Committee, it was never brought forward for a final vote.
Supporters of the Jennings amendment pointed to major inconsistencies in how utilities interpreted Maryland’s existing notification laws. While developers of the Maryland Piedmont Reliability Project directly informed landowners and local governments of their rights to intervene, BGE relied primarily on a legal advertisement, website posting and social media notice for the Brandon Shores project.
“When this bill didn’t leave committee, I knew that we had to throw a Hail Mary and amend the Utility RELIEF Act to meet the needs of Marylanders like my constituents, who are struggling to navigate an unclear process,” said Senator Jennings.
When facing pushback on the Senate floor, regarding the inconvenience the amendment would cause for utility companies, Jennings said, “It’s somebody’s family’s home, where they raised their children. And to sit there and say to them, ‘I’m sorry you didn’t get notified, tough luck,’ That’s why we are down here, to fight for our constituents… This amendment can fix that, to make sure they’re notified properly and it’s done the right way. It’s simple. I’m disappointed that this is the attitude we are going to take, when I try to fight for my constituency.”
As he fought for the amendment, he warned, “They’re going to be calling each and every one of us, saying I wasn’t notified, they’re taking our family farm and taking my home,” emphasizing that the measure would address a problem many lawmakers will otherwise be forced to confront.
“The statute, as previously written, was too ambiguous and allowed utilities to decide how much, or how little, notice to provide,” Senator Jennings said. “Maryland families deserve a fair and transparent process regardless of which utility is involved.”
The signing of the Utility RELIEF Act comes as Senator Jennings, and several regional lawmakers continue to challenge the Brandon Shores Retirement Mitigation Project before the Public Service Commission. On April 9, 2026, Senator Jennings joined Senators Chris West, Johnny Ray Salling and Mary-Dulany James in filing an appeal. He later submitted a detailed Memorandum of Appeal on April 19, 2026, outlining constituent concerns, alleged deficiencies in the CPCN process and evidence suggesting the proposed transmission infrastructure may extend beyond immediate reliability need.
Among the concerns raised was a 2014 rendering mailed to landowners depicting a second transmission line designated for “future capacity,” raising additional questions about the long-term scope and purpose of the project. During evidentiary hearings last October, a Public Utility Law Judge cited Senator Jennings’ earlier letter challenging the redaction of project files and acknowledged the validity of transparency concerns raised by affected communities. In that letter, Senator Jennings wrote, “My constituents deserve transparency and assurance that there is a genuine and immediate reliability crisis, not that this infrastructure is being justified by speculative, future commercial needs.”
An independent report prepared for the Power Plant Research Program similarly concluded the project could create transmission capacity exceeding identified reliability needs.
The Public Service Commission is now expected to issue a final order in Case #9748 in the coming months.
Related
LEONARDTOWN, Md. – A Mechanicsville man was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday for killing another man outside a Maryland liquor store in 2023.
What we know:
Leroy Christpher Neal, 50, was sentenced to life in prison plus 20 years, and life plus five years of active incarceration for the attack, the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office announced.
Neal was convicted in December.
SUGGESTED: Alabama man charged after gun pulled in Maryland road rage incident, deputies say
The murder happened on Nov. 4, 2023, at a liquor store in Great Mills. That day, deputies said, Neal lured the victim to a secluded part of the parking lot behind the building, close to the edge of the woods.
What they’re saying:
State’s Attorney Jaymi Sterling said Tuesday that Neal “executed the victim in cold blood by shooting him in the back as he tried to escape,” calling it “a merciless and premeditated killing that stole a man’s life and devastated his family.”
“For years, his loved ones have carried the weight of this unimaginable loss while waiting for justice and accountability,” Sterling said. “My heart remains with them, and I hope this outcome brings them a measure of peace and closure.”
The Source: Information in this story is from the St. Mary’s County State’s Attorney’s Office.
Police said Dequan Gravely, 23, of Charles County, was driving northbound on Route 210 near Pine Drive when his Mercedes collided with the school bus turning left from the southbound lanes.
The driver of a car involved in a crash with a Prince George’s County school bus in Accokeek, Maryland, on Friday has been identified.
Prince George’s County police said Dequan Gravely, 23, of Bryans Road in Charles County, was driving northbound on Route 210 near Pine Drive around 7:20 a.m. when his Mercedes collided with the school bus turning left from the southbound lanes.
Investigators said the crash happened in the intersection, causing the school bus to flip onto its side. Gravely died at the scene.
The school bus driver was transported to a hospital and treated for injuries that were not considered life-threatening. Police said no students were on the bus at the time of the crash.
Investigators said they believe debris from the collision damaged a third vehicle. The driver of that vehicle “declined medical attention,” police said.
The Prince George’s County Police Department’s Collision Analysis and Reconstruction Unit is investigating. Anyone with information is asked to contact investigators at 301-731-4422.
WTOP’s Acacia James contributed to this report.
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