Annette Eubanks, 82, Reaches 500 Career Wins at Laurel Park

Majorca broke from the gate and never surrendered the lead, winning the third race at Laurel Park by two lengths on Saturday afternoon. It was a maiden claiming victory on a modest card, but the number it delivered was anything but ordinary: career win No. 500 for Annette Eubanks, one of Maryland racing's most enduring trainers.

Eubanks, who is 82 years old, was not present at the track. Her son Daniel Eubanks, who owns Rising Sun Racing Stables and has been serving as her on-site trainer for the past several months, was there to receive it. After jockey Jevian Toledo guided Majorca home, Daniel held a sign marking the milestone and celebrated at the rail with Toledo. Photographer Jim McCue captured the moment.

The career ledger behind that number is substantial. According to Equibase, Eubanks has saddled 4,780 North American thoroughbred starters over her career, earning $9,094,812 in purses at a 10 percent win rate. Her horses have hit the board in 35 percent of their starts when factoring wins, places, and shows combined. The 500th win came in her 20th start of 2026, a year in which her runners have already placed or shown in half their races.

The story behind Majorca adds another layer. The horse's path to Saturday's race included a detour through surgery, after which trainer Keri Brion reached out to Eubanks about taking the animal on. "I got a call from Keri like, 'Hey, this guy don't really want to keep this horse, and he wants to basically just pay the bill if you want to take the time to put into him,'" Eubanks said. "I've been recouping a lot of horses lately, last year, especially having horses off long layoffs and injuries. So I took on the challenge, and we were very patient with this guy, and he's trained very well. This is a great return right now."

The patience bore out in how the race unfolded. Majorca was never headed, never seriously challenged, and crossed the wire with two lengths in hand.

Eubanks' recent statistics reflect a trainer still operating at meaningful volume and competitive effectiveness. She sent out 92 starters in 2024, winning 20 of them at a 22 percent clip and a 61 percent win-place-show rate, her strongest numbers in the Equibase data going back to 2020. Her 2025 campaign covered 88 starts and 13 wins. The 500-win threshold, reached across nearly 4,800 career starts, places her among the more productive long-tenured trainers in the Mid-Atlantic circuit.

Eubanks has upcoming entries at Laurel Park, including Red Spitfire in a March 8 claiming race and two horses on the March 13 card: Lovely Lookin Lili in a maiden claiming event and Paco the Taco Man in an allowance. Win No. 501 may not be far behind.