Hurry up. Report. Write. Edit. Design. Produce.
Over here in magazine land, we’re focused on creating this thing you’re holding in your hands or perhaps scrolling through on your device. Either way, trust us, it’s a process. We balance page counts (in multiples of eight, sometimes 16), revenue, expenses, stories we want to do, stories we have to do and time, always time.
We know horse people play the same game. Breed, foal, wean, break, train, buy, sell, race, feed, water, treat, retire and on and on. The sheer volume of decisions to be made for a Thoroughbred would fill a good-sized container ship. Multiply by all the past, present and future Thoroughbreds in the region and well, take a deep breath people.
Or try to. Slow down, look ahead, be positive. Think of the future and appreciate the opportunity.
Maryland racing stands, finally, at a spot in the road that might actually produce a cohesive, functioning industry where breeders, owners, trainers and track management work toward the same things. Three, OK maybe four, please don’t make it be five, years from now we’ll know so much more. Did the not-for-profit operator put together the right board and management team? Did the construction of a new Pimlico Race Course actually start to revitalize Baltimore’s Park Heights community? How did the training center work out? Did the math work? Did the facility produce better racing, bigger fields, a more stabilized breeding program, a schedule that fit with the other tracks in the region?
From here, the hiring of racing executive Corey Johnsen as an interim CEO in Maryland was a step toward answering all of those questions – and a few more – in a positive way. His background includes senior management positions at Remington Park and Lone Star Park racetracks. He was president and co-owner of Kentucky Downs from 2007-19, overseeing a resurgence and a sale in 2019. Before that he worked at Turf Paradise, Arlington Park and Louisiana Downs. He has owned racehorses. He chaired the Kentucky Equine Education Project and served on the boards of the Texas Thoroughbred Association and Old Friends among others. At the Preakness, he talked about a desire to work with stakeholders – breeders, owners, trainers and the community – to improve Maryland racing. He talked about the potential at Fair Hill. He was optimistic. He listened, and he plans to listen more. I’ll take it.
The Maryland situation will probably mean fewer racing dates in the state. That sounds like a negative, but I hope it shifts to a positive by forcing regional tracks to finally discuss a circuit. Delaware Park, Monmouth Park, Colonial Downs, Parx Racing, Penn National, Charles Town and Pimlico cannot possibly all thrive if they don’t work together. Not in a Thoroughbred climate with fewer horses produced and competition for the gambling dollar at an all-time high. Stay ultra-competitive and uncooperative and the sport will continue to shrink. Work together, adapt, change for good and the sport just might thrive.
The 2024 Preakness Stakes included a Pennsylvania-bred, Uncle Heavy, by a stallion who stood in the state at the time. His dam raced in the region and cost $1,700 at Timonium. His breeder, owners and trainer brought deep Mid-Atlantic roots. Another member of the Preakness field, Mugatu, was by Maryland stallion Blofeld. Neither handled the mud at Pimlico all that well, but they were there and at least hinted at future success.
Push all that ahead those three, four, five years, blend it with a new Pimlico and regional cooperation; then maybe we’ll have something to really stop and appreciate.
Mrs. Bolton
Her name never appeared in a program, that was reserved for her husband Perry, son George and a big cast of friends from Maryland’s hunt country, but Aurelia Bolton was a racing fixture who brightened every day I saw her.
Bolton, officially Aurelia Garland Bolton, died April 26. She was 88 and lived a life. The daughter of Charles Stedman Garland and Aurelia Stoner Garland, was born in Bryn Mawr, Pa., and spent her early years in Lake Forest, Ill., before moving to Baltimore in 1939.
She graduated from Garrison Forest, got a degree from Vassar College, married Perry in 1959 and later worked at what is now the Walters Art Museum. In pursuit of philanthropic causes she cared about, she joined the board at Walters, and also at Johns Hopkins University. In the 1980s, she founded the Homewood Restoration Advisory Council and served as its first president, overseeing the restoration of the Johns Hopkins property and the creation of the Homewood Museum.
There were more endeavors, a job as a Sotheby’s representative, an interest in horses and racing, the summitting of all 46 high peaks of the Adirondacks, three children, eight grandchildren, a 65-year marriage and scores of friends. At least two racehorses were named for her – Lady Aurelia won Group 1 races at Deauville and Royal Ascot; My Miss Aurelia was a champion.
I’ll miss seeing their namesake at the races.
