Fair Hill

After the rash of suspicious winners Sunday at Saratoga and Monmouth Park that lit up the racing firmament, the trainer at the heart of the story, Angel Quiroz, was charged Thursday with an alleged vets' list medication violation for Albuterol in a sample collected on July 10 from one of his trainees, Bonita Rough, at Fair Hill Training Center. The alleged offense is interesting for two reasons. There's the broader context of Quiroz's sudden rich run of success after a relatively quiet year. Then there are the nuances regarding the...

After a group of Fair Hill shippers coming off long layoffs and with some common connections won four races Sunday and, in one instance, produced a suspiciously low daily double payoff, training center General Manager Will Phipps confirmed that the Maryland facility will launch an investigation. The races in question took place at both Saratoga and Monmouth. The New York Racing Association has also taken steps to answer the many questions the performances raised. "NYRA has referred the matter to HISA, HIWU, and the TRPB for further investigation," said NYRA...

'TDN Rising Star' presented by Hagyard Golden Tempo (Curlin) was not the only marquee name on the worktab over the last 48 hours, as horses prepping for next week's Belmont Stakes Racing Festival--as well as some household names not heading to upstate New York--turned in breezes at racetracks from coast-to-coast, from Saratoga, Laurel and Fair Hill to Santa Anita. To follow are works in alphabetical order at the various venues with parenthetical mention of intended targets or races to which the horses have been nominated. Saratoga (Oklahoma unless othewise indicated)...

Due to heavy, sustained precipitation, Sunday's flat meet at Fair Hill, part of the two-day "Fair Hill Turf Showcase" over Memorial Day weekend, has been canceled, the National Steeplechase Association said via a release on Saturday. After several days of rain in the region, racing officials and horsemen scrutinized the turf course on Saturday morning and, out of an abundance of caution, decided to abandon the event. Tickets purchased for Sunday will be refunded. Live racing will resume on Memorial Day Monday at 1:00 p.m. ET with a nine-race card....

For 2026, Maryland's racing calendar will look more or less like this year's schedule after the Maryland Racing Commission on Wednesday approved a slate of 120 dates for Laurel Park. That's the same number of racing days that the non-profit Maryland Jockey Club had been awarded for this season, with the only difference being that in 2025, six programs were run at Pimlico Race Course as part of the GI Preakness Stakes meet. Pimlico has since been demolished and is being rebuilt with the goal of all commercial-track Thoroughbred racing...

The 2025 edition of The Real Rider Cup held at the MARS Maryland 5 Star event at Fair Hill raised over $130,000, according to an organization release Wednesday. Honors were given for the top three individual and team entries, as well as to the rider with the highest-grossing fundraiser. Team SMACC Down retained its winning team result from 2024, anchored by the repeat individual champion Gabby Nguyen and Pet Me Pet Me. Team Pastured Place Two (the growing aftercare organization fielded 10 riders for this year's competition) took second place...

Renowned international bloodstock agent Michael G. Motion, who was an innovator in his field, passed away peacefully with his family by his side at his home in Middleburg, Virginia Aug. 14, 2025. He was 95. Although he grew up involved in pony club and foxhunting in England, Motion's interests initially were in cattle and farming. He attended the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester before migrating to Canada where took a job working with pedigreed livestock. The position led him to a two-year stint in South America running a receiving center...

The Lexington leg of the Real Rider Cup, held June 28 at New Vocations at Mereworth Farm raised over $57,000 to support Thoroughbred aftercare efforts. The charity show jumping competition brings together personalities from across the breeding and racing industry to increase awareness and raise funds for Beyond the Wire, New Vocations, and the Retired Racehorse Project, with each rider pledging to raise at least $1,000. Kristin VanMeter and Hardesty won the individual competition, and VanMeter's Team Stockplace, which included Gina Gans, Mary Motion, and Avery Wismer, prevailed as the...

Scratched from the GI Woody Stephens S. on the blockbuster GI Belmont Stakes program at Saratoga June 7, 'TDN Rising Star' Colloquial (Vekoma) will be given 60 days off, per co-owner Jack Wolf of Starlight Racing. "He's at Fair Hill right now with Bruce Jackson," Wolf said. "Dr. Yarborough and (trainer) George (Weaver) didn't like the way that he was moving. Even though--we'd been pointing to that thing for some time--it was a tough call, it was the right call. He'll probably be back in 60 days or something like...

Maryland's Fair Hill Training Center will replace its seven-furlong Tapeta Footings track this summer, an upgrade from one of the synthetic surface's earliest installations to the company's newest iteration Tapeta 13. Work is slated to begin in mid-July and take approximately six weeks, depending on weather and other factors. Fair Hill, home to approximately 700 Thoroughbred racehorses in 18 privately owned barns, was founded in 1983 with a seven-furlong wood-chip track and upgraded to include a one-mile dirt track shortly thereafter. The wood chips were replaced 19 years ago with...

The finalized dates for The Real Rider Cup (RRC)'s annual charity show jumping competitions have been set for Saturday, June 28 in Lexington, Kentucky and Saturday, Oct. 18 in Fair Hill, Maryland. "We're grateful for the continued enthusiasm and support for our event," said RRC founder Anita Motion. "The breed has given us all so much and we're honored to give back by supporting a variety of aftercare organizations who are making meaningful impacts on post-racing life for Thoroughbreds. I also want to extend my gratitude to the Maryland 5...

The Fair Hill leg of the Real Rider Cup welcomed 36 horse and rider combinations along with hundreds of spectators to Fair Hill Thoroughbred Horse Show Sept. 13th. The charity show jumping competition brought together personalities from across the breeding and racing industry to increase awareness and raise funds for Thoroughbred aftercare, with each rider pledging to raise at least $1,000. Riders, mounted on off-track Thoroughbreds and wearing the silks of their employers, colleagues, and clients, contended a course of fences with the fastest clear rounds taking home top honors....