Ninetyprcentmaddie wins Page McKenney Handicap, adds veteran stakes score at Parx

Ninetyprcentmaddie kept answering the same question older sprinters always face: can the veteran still finish? The 6-year-old gelding did more than answer it at Parx Racing, where he swept past the leaders in the Page McKenney Handicap and turned a 6-furlong test on fast dirt into another reminder that durability still wins races.

Under Paco Lopez, Ninetyprcentmaddie covered the $100,000 stakes in 1:09.78 and prevailed by a length while carrying 123 pounds for trainer Robert E. Reid, Jr. and LC Racing, LLC. Equibase listed the payoffs at $6.20 to win, $3.00 to place and $2.60 to show, a sign he was respected without being overwhelming in the wagering. Twisted Ride and Insurmountable rounded out the top three.

The trip told the story. Twisted Ride and Insurmountable controlled the pace early, while Ninetyprcentmaddie saved ground along the rail before angling out and running them down late. That kind of setup matters in short stakes at Parx, where a sharp early pace can decide everything, but it also says something bigger about a horse who has made a habit of staying relevant. In 32 starts, Ninetyprcentmaddie now owns 7 wins, 9 seconds and 6 thirds with $715,650 in earnings.

That record is what gives the result weight beyond one more local stakes win. Older horses in sprint company often lose their edge once the speed sharpens or the class rises, but Ninetyprcentmaddie has kept showing up with enough quality to matter. Reid had already signaled that view in 2023 after the horse’s career-best 86 Beyer Speed Figure in the City of Brotherly Love Stakes, saying, "I don't think distance is a problem and I've always felt he's a distance horse waiting to happen." Even when he is asked to sprint, that foundation shows up in the finish.

The Page McKenney Handicap fit neatly into the opening of the Pennsylvania-bred stakes series, a 20-race showcase offering $1.7 million in purses across Parx, Penn National and Presque Isle Downs. That backdrop gives Ninetyprcentmaddie’s win extra meaning for the state-bred program: local horses do not just fill fields, they shape them.

It also keeps Page McKenney’s name front and center. The race honors a horse claimed for $16,000 at Penn National who went on to earn more than $1.9 million, win 22 of 58 starts, take Pennsylvania-bred Horse of the Year honors in 2015 and enter the Parx Hall of Fame. Ninetyprcentmaddie’s repeat stakes success felt in that same mold, a hard-knocking Parx runner extending a career by proving he still belongs at the center of the fight.