Maryland's day at the races, as the Maryland Million has been called throughout its 18-year history, was perhaps never more Maryland than it was yesterday at Laurel Park.
A horse named Move Those Chains won. He was named after the Ravens. A horse owned by Peter Angelos, owner of the Orioles, also won.
Jim McKay, who lives in Monkton and conceived the Maryland Million, mingled in the winner's circle with Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., who had come from Towson University, where he dedicated Johnny Unitas Stadium.
"I grew up with Johnny Unitas, and I grew up with Maryland racing," Ehrlich said. "I love them both."
Angelos, after accepting from McKay the trophy for his filly Willa On the Move, said of the Maryland Million, a series of races for horses sired by Maryland stallions: "It's really been a terrific idea.
"Today, we're the winners. But for the past 18 years, Maryland racing has been the winner because of Jim McKay."
Finally, Joe De Francis, president and CEO of the Maryland Jockey Club, announced between races that the Baltimore Breeders' Cup Handicap, an annual race contested at Pimlico Race Course, has been renamed the Jim McKay Breeders' Cup Handicap.
As 17,687 people at Laurel enjoyed the races and festivities on a warm and sunny fall afternoon (and contributed to a wagering record of $6.3 million), only one crack appeared in this window on Maryland racing: a horse from Delaware won the biggest race.
For the second year in a row, Docent captured the Maryland Million Classic, a $200,000 race run at the Preakness distance of 1 3/16 miles.
The victory provided Clinton Potts, Docent's 32-year-old jockey, his richest win in a 13-year career.
It also culminated Potts' comeback from serious injuries suffered when a horse flipped over backward and crushed him in May at Delaware Park.
"It's always nice to win, but this really meant a lot to me," Potts said. "You sit there on your couch laid up, wondering whether you want to get back to riding horses and putting your body through all that again.
"Then you get on a horse like this and win a race like that, and it makes it all worthwhile."
Potts spent nearly 3 1/2 months on the sideline with a broken pelvis, several broken ribs, two broken collarbones and a punctured lung.
He returned last month and regained the mount on Docent, a 5-year-old gray gelding who has won 15 of 27 races.
