Hazlewood caps apprenticeship with five wins and Laurel Park title

Yedsit Hazlewood turned Laurel Park’s final day into a sweep, winning five races to claim the riding title and close his apprenticeship with the kind of finish that changes a young jockey’s profile in a hurry. The 18-year-old Panamanian did it on the same afternoon his last bug ride gave way to a move to Ellis Park, and he left Maryland with a fifth straight meet title in the state.

The run began aboard Vanilla in race 4 for trainer Jamie Ness and kept rolling through Stronsino, Matthew’s Ticket and two more victories later on the card. Hazlewood’s last ride as an apprentice came on Pudge Boy Palace, a wire-to-wire win for the even-money favorite, and the afternoon ended with him packing up in the Laurel jockeys’ room after a series of goodbyes from riders and the people who had helped steer his rise, including agent John DiNatale and guardian-trainer Jose Corrales.

The numbers behind the finish line are already substantial. Laurel Park said Hazlewood first won a riding title at the Maryland State Fair meet in Timonium and then led the standings at Laurel Park’s fall, winter and spring meetings, making this his fifth consecutive meet title in Maryland. He finished 2025 with 137 wins and $4,451,869 in earnings, then placed second in Eclipse Award voting for Outstanding Apprentice Rider, a signal that his name had moved well beyond the local circuit before the final afternoon at Laurel.

Equibase listed Hazlewood at 762 starts, 184 wins, 160 seconds and 122 thirds for 2026 as of June 29, with $5,983,028 in seasonal earnings. His career line stood at 1,350 starts, 321 wins, 258 seconds, 211 thirds and $10,434,897 in earnings. Those totals give the Laurel title more weight than a seasonal flourish: he finished the apprenticeship stage with wins piling up fast enough to force a harder conversation about what barns will trust him with next.

That climb has also come through a setback that could have stopped it. Daily Racing Form reported that Hazlewood and J.G. Torrealba were involved in a June 11, 2025 car accident that left Hazlewood with multiple injuries and time away from the saddle. He was back riding by August and expected to return to Laurel in September, then spent the 2026 spring meeting converting attention into results.

His next step was already set before the Laurel title was secure. He was headed to Ellis Park after losing his apprentice weight allowance on June 29, with mounts lined up for the summer. Jeiron Barbosa’s absence, as he rode at Churchill Downs in the Debutante Stakes, opened the door on the final day, but Hazlewood did the rest himself.