Tim Kelly, Jimmy Toner and Dick Delp -- trainers of the top three contenders in today's Grade II $200,000 Barbara Fritchie Handicap at Laurel Park -- all concede one point.
If any of them is going to pocket the trainer's share of $12,000 for saddling today's winner, each of their horses must catch Queen Suite.
The daughter of Bates Motel, trained at Laurel by Ron Benshoff, is the target for the connections of the three highweights.
Kelly jokes about slipping into Laurel under the cloak of darkness and carrying off the Fritchie spoils.
He did it in 1990 with Amy Be Good. He'll try again today with Lottsa Talc.
The 33-year-old trainer shipped in the 5-year-old mare from his New York headquarters last night and starts the 119-pound highweight today from the extreme outside starting position.
"The post is not going to be a problem," Kelly said. "She likes to run on the outside of horses."
Once again, Diane Nelson has the mount. The New York jockey picked up the mount when Jockeys' Guild members threatened a strike Jan. 1. Nelson won the Interborough Handicap that day on Lottsa Talc at Aqueduct and followed it up three weeks later with a victory in the Berlo Handicap.
Kelly has also said that Lottsa Talc, a large, sturdy mare, should have no problem handling the weight.
However, the 117 pounds assigned local filly Smart N' Noble is a touchy subject to trainder Delp.
He said the Fritchie weights are "way put of whack. We're carrying second highweight at 117 pounds and have never run before in a graded stakes. It seems to me that the weights favor the out-of-town horses and not much thought went into assigning them."
Delp pointed out that Part With Pride, the Jimmy Murphy-trained mare that Smart N' Noble once beat by a neck, is assigned 110 pounds, seven fewer than Smart N' Noble.
"Her rider, Larry Reynolds, will probably be carrying a few pounds over, but that shouldn't be considered when the weights are assigned," he said. "I never complain about weights, but I do think these are unfair."
Toner, the trainer of Darby Dan Farm's Triumph At Dawn, has no complaints with the weight. The Alydar mare carries 117 pounds, the same as Smart N' Noble.
His horse comes into the Fritchie after two months' rest. The mare won her last start at Laurel on Dec. 17 in the Straight Deal Handicap.