May 2009
Springtime and the Preakness, what a great time to play......more

April 2009
In Maryland, a bitter drink for the thirsty......more

March 2009
Racing and newspapers muzzled by a failure to communicate......more

February 2009
Charles Town enters another league with its 2009 stakes program.....more

January 2009
Mike Jester’s Penn Ridge Farms raises the bar in Pennsylvania..........more

December 2008
Laurel Park’s selection as slots site is a vital concern for Maryland racing..........more

November 2008
Sales downturn could make bargains of those who go on to race in this region.........more

October 2008
Time is now for Marylanders: Your vote FOR slots is a vote FOR the future........more

September 2008
Getting Penn National in the game could be good for Maryland.......more

August 2008
New Bolton Center’s Widener Hospital builds toward future......more

July 2008
A million thanks to Jim McKay.....more

June 2008
Mid-Atlantic states will resolve differences in regard to anabolic steroids .....more

May 2008
Pending sale of Fasig-Tipton renews hope for modern sales pavilion.. .....more

April 2008
New Jersey racing needs long-term solution, along with short-term fix.. .....more

March 2008
Lots of dedication went into producing Mid-Atlantic’s top 10.. .....more

February 2008
More time is needed to get all racing states aboard the steroid ban. .....more

January 2008
Lou Raffetto’s firing hits hard within Maryland racing. .....more

December 2007
Tell friends and neighbors why it’s important to vote yes to slots. .....more

November 2007
Presque Isle Downs is in uncharted territory with its synthetic racing surface. .....more

October 2007
Now’s the time to protest the Sun’s cutbacks .....more

September 2007
Laurel Park’s noble experiment: “Ten Days at 10 Percent” .....more

August 2007
Horsemen are understandably wary about table games at Charles Town .....more

July 2007
Cutbacks signify lean times ahead for Maryland racing .....more

June 2007
Philadelphia Park backs off on permanent slots casino .....more

May 2007
The magic of spring at Pimlico .....more

April 2007
Horses bred in Mid-Atlantic make mark at top of the market .....more

March 2007
Barbaro: a hero never to be forgotten .....more

February 2007
Bud Delp learned lessons from stepfather Raymond Archer.....more

January 2007
Pennsylvania and Maryland can both prosper —with slots....more

December 2006
Three reasons to look ahead with hope for 2007....more

November 2006
Pennsylvania’s new residency requirements—key to a better future?....more

October 2006
NTRA downsizing expands participation ....more

September 2006
Charles Town stakes cut results from dwindling share of slots revenue ....more

August 2006
An unbiased appraisal offers hope for the future.....more

July 2006
Barbaro brings out the best in everyone involved in racing and breeding....more

June 2006
Harmony, at long last, to extend across breeds in Maryland ....more

May 2006
Slots fail for another year, furthering erosion of Maryland breeding farms.....more

April 2006
EHV-1 threat won’t disappear, but risks can be managed....more

March 2006
Allaire duPont’s contributions deserve immense gratitude....more

February 2006
Laurel Park’s new turf course is a positive turn for the industry.
Maryland’s lawmakers have been reluctant to approve slots.... more

January 2006
Saint Liam’s family is among Virginia’s finest
Saint Liam was born too soon..... more

December 2005
Eastern Fall Yearling sale has long and proud history.
Fasig-Tipton’s Eastern Fall Yearling sale received less than rave reviews.... more

November 2005
Magna’s “Plan for Maryland Racing” is a non-starter.
Magna Entertainment Corp.’s “Plan for Maryland Thorough­bred Racing” has stirred up a frenzy within the industry.... more

October 2005
Time to appreciate our own special event: the Maryland Million.
Horse racing executives seem to believe that their customers have extraordinary powers of extra sensory perception.... more

September 2005
No editorial this month.

August 2005
Colonial Downs gets “slammed” by scheduling conflict
The purse was $500,000-guaranteed, with as much as $3.4 million ....more

July 2005
Why Pennsylvania is moving slowly toward slots
Where, oh where, are Pennsylvania’s slot machines? ....more

June 2005
Why Pennsylvania is moving slowly toward slots
Where, oh where, are Pennsylvania’s slot machines?....more

May 2005
Magna, Gill send wrong message.
Mike Gill and Magna Entertainment Corp. have a lot in common....more

April 2005
Fundraising event raised more than money.
It started last October, when Fran Raffetto, working as a placing judge during the Pimlico meet, placed a small sign on her desk: .... more

March 2005
Life with father—an adventure to the end.
When urged to use this space to describe what it was like growing up within the household of Maryland Horse editor Snowden Carter, I deferred to my brother George, who vividly captured the experience in this eulogy delivered at our father’s memorial service.... more

February 2005
Maryland leads way in overseas marketplace.
You could feel the world getting smaller as Jay Bang, an enterprising bloodstock agent from South Korea, spoke at an equine export seminar.... more

January 2005
Mid-Atlantic region has strong prospects for 2005, and beyond
Each month, the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred does its best to bring you positive stories from the region. more

December 2004
Time will tell
We are headed into the most demanding season on the Thoroughbred breeding farm. more

November 2004
NYRA blackout is sad reflection on the industry
Fans at Mid-Atlantic tracks got a rude surprise on September 15, when Bel-mont Park’s signal disappeared from TV screens.....more

October 2004
Laurel Park delays extract a toll on those who can least afford it
How much worse can the situation in Maryland get?....more

September 2004
Maryland Million on verge of new prosperity
Maryland’s quest for slots drags on, and on, and on
..........................Where it will end, nobody knows.....more

August 2004
Pennsylvania slots will be a different game
Pennsylvania—#1 Thoroughbred breeding and racing state in the nation.
It sounds far-fetched, but stranger things have happened....more

July 2004
Laurel Park project raises issues of credibility
“Fail to keep your promise on this one, and no one will ever believe you again.” One can only hope that those words, spoken by Maryland Racing Commission member John Franzone at the June commission meeting, reverberated through the executive offices of the Maryland Jockey Club and its parent company Magna Entertainment Corp ....more

June 2004
Pennsylvania shines—thanks to the Chapmans and many others
“Never again will I watch you ride into the sunset without me,” Patricia Chapman once declared to her husband, Roy. “From now on, I’m going with you.”....more

May 2004
Horses have little to do with current turf war in Maryland
What would they think of us now?

As the MHBA celebrates its 75th anniversary, one can only imagine what the organization’s founding fathers—who committed themselves to “the fostering and preserving of traditions pertaining to the horse everywhere and particularly the fine traditions of the horse in Maryland. . .”—would have to say about the state of Maryland racing in the early part of the 21st century....more

April 2004
Mid-Atlantic region has hot prospects for Derby Day

Mid-Atlantic-bred stars, both equine and human, could have a big impact on Kentucky Derby Day, May 1....more

March 2004
Statistics illustrate growth of West Virginia’s breeding industry

West Virginia has traditionally been a poor cousin among this region’s Thoroughbred breeding states. And often proudly so....more

Febuary 2004
Charles Town horsemen at major crossroad

The ouster of Dick Watson, after six years as president of the Charles Town Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA), is either a slap in the face of progress or a much-needed change of course, depending on your point of view....more

January 2004
Pimlico stays open for winter training—after all

Impressive as it was, A Huevo’s De Francis Dash-G1 was not the most dramatic come-from-behind finish in Maryland this fall. The race to keep Pimlico race track open for winter training had far more money (not to mention human anguish) at stake and—partly because more players were involved—the outcome was less predictable.....more

December 2003
No editorial for this month

November 2003
Maryland Stallion Station has all the elements of a dream come true

Some people just never give up. In fact, giving up has never seemed to be an option for Maryland bloodstock agent and owner/breeder Don Litz. For nearly as long as I’ve worked at Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred and its predecessor The Maryland Horse (and that’s nearing two decades), Don has called at polite intervals to report on his progress toward his unrelenting dream of revitalizing Sagamore Farm.....more

October 2003
Allen’s Prospect knew his job, and did it without fail.

To take on the most difficult kinds of challenges, and make them look easy. That is a mark of greatness, and it was an everyday routine for Allen’s Prospect.....more

September 2003
Many reasons to applaud King T. Leatherbury

Six thousand of just about anything is a stretch. Visit the grocery store once a week, and it will take you more than 115 years to log 6,000 trips.
In a mere 43 years, trainer King T. Leatherbury has won 6,000 races, an amazing feat by any measure. (Actually, Leatherbury was one win shy of that milestone when this magazine went to press.).....more

August 2003
South Carolina is worthy addition to Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred


With this issue, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred welcomes a new state into the fold. From now on the magazine will include news of Thoroughbred breeding and related events in South Carolina. This brings the total number of states covered in Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred to eight, with the others being Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia......more

July 2003
Preakness by the numbers - or maybe not

Scattered reflections following this year's 128th running of the Preakness:
Facts and figures on the current economic impact of the Preakness are sparse to nonexistent. Seems like a study is way overdue. The Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development places the economic impact of the Preakness - Maryland's largest single-day sporting event - at an estimated $29.5 million (in 2002 dollars)...more

June 2003
Guilty or not, owner Mike Gill’s situation reflects poorly on racing industry.

Racing’s worst public relations disaster? When criminal tamperings involving last fall’s Breeders’ Cup Ultra Pick 6 came to light, it was supposed to be the most harmful thing that had ever happened to racing as far as public image is concerned...more

May 2003
Maryland politics: Of the people, for the people,
by. . . a couple of guys

It came quickly. On April 2 at 2 o’clock, a 16 to five vote against Senate Bill 322 by the Ways and Means Committee of the Maryland House of Delegates decisively eliminated the possibility of legalized slot machines in Maryland for the coming year. This marked an end to one of the most hotly contested, publicly debated, politically charged struggles in the history of Maryland politics...more

April 2003
Live racing shrinks to danger point in New Jersey.

The Thoroughbred industry faces troubles almost everywhere you look, but it's no exaggeration to say that New Jersey racing and breeding is now struggling for its life.
Appearances will be deceiving when Monmouth Park opens for its 2003 meet on May 24, offering $300,000 a day in overnight purses‹the highest of any track in the Mid-Atlantic region...more

March 2003
Abolishing Maryland Racing Commission would serve no good purpose.

Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. spoke during his campaign of his goal to “save Maryland racing.” Now industry representatives are campaigning the governor to save the Maryland Racing Commission...more

February 2003
Maryland-bred runners can compete, and win, anywhere.

Maryland's Thoroughbred racing and breeding industry has serious problems most obviously, a static purse structure and a breeding fund that no longer competes effectively with surrounding states. But Marylanders still turn out real race horses...more

January 2003
Resolution of racing dates allows Virginia to move forward.

The war is over, and reconstruction has begun. For the first time in three years, the turning of the calendar to January 1 did not signal a new round of hostilities over racing dates for the so-called Maryland/Virginia racing circuit... more

December 2002
Maryland’s racing industry has reached major crossroad.

Wait long enough, and the weather always changes. Bucketloads of rain fell in Maryland this fall after many months of drought.
At about the same time, the state’s political climate shifted from desert-like conditions, as far as slot machines at the race tracks go, to something resembling a tropical rainforest.
Now it’s up to industry leaders to ensure that racing does not get lost in an overheated jungle....more

November 2002
Maryland Million serves its purpose when drawing runners from out-of-state.

A horse doesn’t have to be a Maryland-bred to compete in the Maryland Million, but after 17 runnings that fact is still not crystal clear to everyone.Phrases like “special day of racing for Maryland-breds” crop up now and then in unexpected places, and send shivers down the spines of Maryland Million’s small but hardworking P.R. staff....more

October 2002
Opportunities for state-breds expanding in all directions.

Think it doesn’t matter where your horse is born? State of origin (Thoroughbreds are officially bred in the place where they’re born) is taking on a new level of importance as the 21st century rolls along....more

September 2002
Slots are what's needed to put Maryland racing back on track.

The more things have changed, the more they have remained the same or slid downhill at Laurel Park and Pimlico during the past decade....more

August 2002
Belmont Stakes weekend shows impact of region's sales.

Ups and downs are a fact of life for just about everyone in the Thoroughbred business, with a noteworthy exception being the Mid-Atlantic region’s only major auction sales company, Fasig-Tipton Midlantic, which generally manages to go nowhere but up....more

July 2002
Murrays windfall with Our Emblem was due to more than luck.

In April 1951, The Maryland Horse magazine printed a brief news article about a couple of horse-crazy teenagers and their encyclopedic knowledge displayed during a Question Bee conducted by the Havre de Grace chapter of the Harford County (Md.) Horse and Pony Club....more

June 2002
MATCH-less season is upon us let's hope it doesn't continue.

True or false. What racing needs is:
A. Better cooperation among racing jurisdictions.
B.A higher profile i.e., extended TV coverage.
C.More ways to attract new owners.
D.Fuller fields and more horse heroes who enjoy a public following.....more

April 2002
A timely idea: Maryland Thoroughbred Development Fund.

Preakness-winning and eight-time Maryland Million-winning trainer Bill Boniface has spent the past six months telling anyone who will listen about an idea to improve the Maryland Fund.....more

March 2002
Seeking an end to the Maryland malaise.

Running a horse farm in any era has never been a simple job. In the basement storeroom of my parents’ house, I have read letters written by my grandfather, Adolphe Pons, in 1942, shortly after World War II began......more

February 2002
What slots could do for Maryland racing: one man's dream.

The past few weeks I have spent many hours looking critically at the present state of the Thoroughbred industry in Maryland.......more

January 2002
California's account wagering battles highlight major issues.

On August 13, 2001, California Governor Gray Davis reversed a previous position, expressed last year in his vetoes of a series of bills designed to provide a boost to the state’s racing industry, and signed AB 471, a bill to allow account wagering on horses in the Golden State......more