The Maryland Million at Laurel Park saw three women trainers -- Kathy Dibben, Robin Graham and Mary Welby McGill -- send out winners; rider Ramon Dominguez record three wins in his Maryland Million debut; and 18-year-old Allen's Prospect join Rollicking as the only stallions to have four winners on a Maryland Million card.

The son of Mr. Prospector, perennially a leader locally and nationally, rose to the top of the lifetime list of Maryland Million sires with 12 total wins. Tim Capps wrote tongue-in-cheek: "Rumor has it that Country Life Farm, home to Allen, is having to add a wing to the stallion barn to hold all the Waterford bowls he has earned for Maryland Million progeny successes."

Testing, a 7-year-old New Jersey-based son of Deputed Testamony and Maryland broodmare of the year Northern Sting, owned by Dennis Drazin and trained by Peter Fortay, won the Classic in his fourth attempt.

Major sire Lost Code was joining the Virginia stallion roster for 2001. Managed by The Stallion Company, the multimillion-dollar-earner was set to stand at R. Larry Johnson's Legacy Farm in Bluemont for $7,500. The 16-year-old son of classic winner Codex was one of the best runners of his generation, won 15 of 27 starts (including seven in a row), four derbies (Ohio, St. Paul, Illinois and Alabama), and turned in memorable runs against classic winners Bet Twice and Alysheba when third in the 1987 Grade 1 Haskell and second in the 1988 Pimlico Special.
Lost Code had 43 stakes in nine crops and progeny earnings of nearly $23.5 million. His runners earned $2.1 million in 2000, fifth on the Mid-Atlantic leading sires list.

The Virginia stud career ended before it began. The most important stallion to stand in the state in years collapsed and died of a heart attack Feb. 10 as he was about to breed his first mare of the season.