The McKay Turf Sprint
$125.000 For Three Year Olds And Upward
5 1/2 Furlongs – Turf
Laurel Park – May 16, 2026

Turf sprinters were somewhat more in the spotlight than normal on Saturday by virtue of being on the undercard for the second jewel in the Triple Crown and being one of the events in the nine race series that made up the HRP pick’em contest for the day – a series that is always fun and more intriguing with more races. Nine entered the McKay and it was Black N Gold Stables’ Earthshine who emerged the victor when the “official” sign lit up.

Winner: Earthshine (Black N Gold Stables/V. Espinoza) Peppermint Moon/Guts Love Glory (Thats Entertainment) Sat very comfortably a few lengths off of the lead at the back of the midpack until called upon with a quarter mile to go. Espinoza swung him wide at the top of the stretch and set him down to go after the leaders with a clear track ahead. Earthshine responded and collared Stalagtite with a sixteenth of a mile to go and drew away to be clear by a length at the wire. 

Second: Stalagtite (Maxmillion Farm/D.E. Centeno) Cherokee General/Sticky Taffy (Sun Tzu) Broke sharply and engaged with a speedy Spin Zone who joined him on the lead after breaking from the outside post. His challenger started to weaken at the top of the stretch and Stalagtite fought to hold off the closers but gave way to the winner late. 

Third: Teen Angel Party (Nakamura Stables/R. Bejarano) Indistinguishable/Breeding Angel Party (Falling Angel) Stalked behind the two pacesetters and tried to mount a rally in the stretch but found his best stride too late and just missed catching the place spot. Had finished ahead of the winner in their last contest but could not best him on this day. 

Fourth: Bayldonite (The Sidley Stud/P. Lopez) Breath Of The Wild/Diplomatic World (Diplomatic Immunity) Stalked along with Teen Angel Party early and the two ran the race virtually as twins. He was ahead of that one until very late when he was just nipped for third. 

Preview Pick: Bayldonite finished fourth. 

Earthshine missed becoming a stakes winner by a neck in his last race but earned that distinction by winning the McKay. He is the twenty-first stakes winner for sire Peppermint Moon and the first stakes winner for his dam Guts Love Glory. It is the first win in the McKay Turf Sprint for Black N Gold Stable. It was the second win in the race for jockey who won this race eighteen years ago aboard My Night To Howl for Acber Farms. Earthshine now has won six races in his career and this win brings his career bankroll to $405.17.

Categories: STAKES ARTICLES, Ungraded