LAUREL, MD. 9-27-08---Neither rain nor slop nor gloom of darkness could keep apprentice Sheldon Russell from padding his lead in the jockey standings at Laurel Park. The 21-year-old won four races this afternoon.

Russell now leads all riders with 17 winners after the first month of the fall meeting. He captured races one (Latino Dancer, $13.40), seven (Melodic Escapade, $5), eight (Ju Jitsu Jax, $2.40) and ten (Little Carol E., $5.80) as rain pelted the central Maryland track in varying intensities until the final event on the ten race card.

Russell’s promising career has stopped and started several times because of injuries which took him out of action last fall, this spring and again this summer. He won a career-best five races at Laurel on October 4, 2007.

His nearest rivals are Geovany Garcia and Kendrick Carmouche, who have won nine times each during the meeting.