“Who Do You Admire?” With Josh Pons

The following is part of a series in which we have posed the question above to a number of racing industry participants. The only rule is that you cannot choose your own boss.

JOSH PONS, COUNTRY LIFE FARM: Bruce Quade, Former Chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission

Five years ago, then-Maryland Racing Commission chairman Bruce Quade (architect of the 10-year deal that transformed a drifting Maryland horse industry into today's vibrant sport) used a velvet glove of language to pound lessons into me, in my role as head of the breeders' association.

To set the stage, casinos were opening all over the state and slots revenue was overtaking racetrack handle as a source for purses for the Maryland-Bred Fund. Politicians of Maryland directed the slots-money to circulate in-state to stimulate investment in the sport and to save precious farmland. Agreements were in negotiation.

As industry players squabbled, Quade said: “You're letting yourself get wrapped around the transmission.”

I've driven farm trucks in fields. If you go too slow, weeds entangle axles and forward progress stalls. I got it: Drive faster. Take chances.

In reference to deferred maintenance of racetracks and farms, he said, “Trying to fix up any facility without enough money is like throwing grapes at a battleship.”

Farms and racetracks involve never-ending maintenance. We need more than grapes.

“If I were running your railroad…” he said, making his suggestion feel like my idea.

“It's a funding mechanism. That's all it is.” Get an agreement, or nothing will change. Let the commission tweak the details. Agreements evolve. But get an agreement.

Quade cares not for excuses. Here's a joke: Fella looks at eggs and bacon and says to himself: “The chicken was involved. The pig was committed.”

I got that, too. You can't be chicken. You can't merely be involved. You must be committed. It's your life's work we're talking about here. This is how you play the game, Quade told me.

If folks on the outside have never heard of Quade, well, he's the coach who showed the Maryland horse industry how to win. Laurel will host a Breeders' Cup in a few years–bet on it. Farms in Maryland have a future. Hand-in-hand now walk the tracks, the horsemen, the breeders.

This game we love is preserved through the influence of fine teachers, of great coaches we've all played for, who simply won't allow us to say, “We don't have the time.”