Fair Hill

The Real Rider Cup--a showjumping event featuring off the track Thoroughbreds ridden by racing industry participants--returned to Kentucky and Mereworth Farm for the second year this past weekend and the event raised more than $78,000 for Thoroughbred Aftercare. Six teams comprised of 26 riders donned silks representing their employers, colleagues, and clients within the racing industry and completed a jumps course with the fastest clear rounds taking home top honors. Some notable participants and sponsors included Aaron Gryder, Adena Springs, Richard Mandella, Calumet Farm, Godolphin, Bonne Chance Farm, 1/ST Racing...

Following a record-setting turnout in Lexington this past July, the 63 entered riders that have taken part in the Real Rider Cup have raised better than $160,000 this year, a number that rises to $173,000 when corporate sponsors are factored in. That amount more than triple any previous annual total for the event and brings the total raised since the inception of the Real Rider Cup to $410,000 raised for Thoroughbred aftercare. "It's been an honor to have been a beneficiary of the Real Rider Cup since the beginning," said...

A team representing the Maryland Jockey Club will participate in the Real Rider Cup Friday, Sept. 16, at Fair Hill. The Fair Hill leg of the 2022 Real Rider Cup continues the tradition of the charity show jumping event that supports Fair Hill Thoroughbred Show, New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program and the Retired Racehorse Project. The MJC will be represented by host/analyst Kali Francois, marketing and events manager Brittlan Wall and trainer Jacqueline Savoye. "I couldn't be more excited to be part of this amazing event and Team Maryland Jockey...

Edited Press Release Following a record-breaking inaugural run in Lexington last month, the Real Rider Cup, a charity show jumping event created by Anita Motion to benefit Thoroughbred aftercare, returns to its home at the Fair Hill Thoroughbred Show the evening of Friday, Sept. 16. Past winner Penelope Miller returns for her fifth Real Rider Cup, riding once again for Team Racing Media. Past top fundraiser Keira Nygaard, whose parents Erik and Pavla own and operate Thor-Bred Stables, was among the leaders in Kentucky and comes now to Maryland with...

The Maryland Horse Foundation has unveiled their newly designed website MarylandHorse.com, completed in partnership with the Maryland Horse Industry Board and funded via a Rural Maryland Council grant. It now features a sortable directory of resources and an events calendar as well as fulfilling a double duty of functioning as the home for information about the Maryland Horse Park System. Any news about annual campaigns such as 'October-Maryland Horse Month' or 'Horse Industry Day' will also be posted to the site. Anyone with an event or resource they'd like to...

It's a rare feat to get to the winner's circle on one of the biggest weekends in racing with a horse bred, owned and trained by the same connection, but Elizabeth Merryman did just that when her speedy filly Caravel (Mizzen Mast) gave a gutsy performance at Pimlico to take The Very One S. by a nose on Preakness weekend. Many would consider the juggling act between the foaling barn and the training center to be an impossibility, but Liz Merryman says for her, it's the best way to produce...

Officials with Fair Hill Races, which annually holds jump racing events in Elkton, Md., announced Thursday the decision to skip the 2021 season and not schedule any races. Traditionally held in May, the Fair Hill Races are extremely popular with both the racing segment and the general public. While uncertainty regarding COVID-19 and safety regulations came into play, the cancellation was also an opportunity to let the newly installed turf surface mature. Through a $20 million public-private partnership between the state of Maryland and the Fair Hill Foundation, upgrades to...

The National Steeplechase Association (NSA) announced Tuesday that the fall season's first sanctioned race meet, The Foxfield Fall Races, will take place Sunday, Oct. 4 in Charlottesville, VA. While the races will run without spectators and under strict health and safety protocols, the NSA will livestream the races, feature commentary from the industry's experts and strong competition by steeplechasing's top horsemen. In making the announcement, NSA President Al Griffin said, "This year has provided plenty of challenges for our sport, yet we continue to persevere. Despite the onerous regulations and...

Sport and Entertainment Corporation of Maryland (The Sport Corp.), has postponed the inaugural Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill until October 14-17, 2021. Originally scheduled for this October, the international three-day eventing competition has been postponed due to health concerns over the coronavirus pandemic. The FHOC made the decision in conjunction with the Maryland 5 Star at Fair Hill planning committee, its competition management partner, Fair Hill International (FHI), and additional constituents including the State of Maryland and Cecil County. "It was a very difficult decision and we are very...

In any other year, the spring steeplechasing season would have concluded last week with the races at Fair Hill, Maryland, the latest hunt meet to draw a large and energetic crowd, there for the party as much as the races. Instead, the jump racing community is trying to figure out how it can salvage what has so far been a lost year. No slice of Thoroughbred racing has been hurt more by the coronavirus than steeplechase racing. With 14 of the 16 spring meets having been cancelled due to the...

When Sheikh Mohammed purchased Stonerside back in 2008, trainers previously employed by Bob McNair's massive operation, such as Mike Stidham, were kept on board provisionally as the acquired stable of runners transitioned to carry the famed maroon-and-white silks of Darley. "The deal was that we were able to stay in with the horses that we had at the time," said Stidham, who saddled the Stonerside-bred Tizaqueena (Tiznow) to a pair of graded tallies as well as Grade I placing at Keeneland for Darley. "And once those horses were retired, we...

Legendary Three-Day Event rider Bruce Davidson and industry veteran Francis B. 'Frank' McEntee have been appointed to the Fair Hill Board of Directors, effective Apr. 1. "I am looking forward to helping the Fair Hill Foundation as a member of its board," commented Davidson, who was named one of the 50 most influential horsemen of the 20th century by the Chronicle of the Horse. "Of all the venues I have been to, Fair Hill stands out as one of the most exceptional places to compete a horse. The footing and...