ELKTON, Md--Officials have declared the Fair Hill Races on Aug. 30 to have been a success and say that there will be another meet over Memorial Day weekend.

Fair Hill turf course "We were thrilled with the day," said George Mahoney, Chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission.

"This was a good first step," said Joe Clancy, a member of Sports Corp., the group that organized the meet. "We puposely didn't have any jump races. We didn't want to compete against Colonial Downs or Saratoga or hurt their entries. We held the number of entries to eight in the interest of safety, and we didn't charge admission."

"We got a good crowd, and I think that the people that came had a good time," said Clancy. "The total betting handle was $56,5503. The total handle is always going to be small, and that never was a money maker, but it's a tradition to have betting. In the old days the handle was around $200,00, but 75 percent of that goes back to the betters and 25 percent is divided between the races, which pay all the expense of betting, and the Maryland Dept. of Natural Resources."

 

"THE WHOLE idea was just to use the turf course," he said. "One reason for this meet was to test all the systems. We learned and we'll go step by step forward. The idea is to come back with the traditional My Memorial Day weekend with hurdle and flat racing."

"I think the turf held up well," said Clancy. "We got some feedback from the jockeys."

"The trainers and riders and state officials that showed up were all pleased," said Mahoney. "All the reviews from the trainers were that it was a great day. Everyone was excited to have this meet, but that's it for his year. Moving forward, everyone that has a connection to the Fair Hill Races will get together, that's the National Steeplechase Association, Sports Corp,the Maryland Jockey Club and the Md. DNR. In 2026, we will have additional racing."

"Flat racing with a starting gate will have to happen," said Mahoney. "But there's criteria that has to be met to have that happen. HISA has a list of conditions. But definitely in the future we'll have flat racing with a starting gate."

"Regular racing needs a starting gate and lead ponies among other things," said Clancy. "Not many racetracks have a full day of turf races. What if it rains."

"First we had horses training on this turf, and now we've had a day of racing," Clancy said. " Fair Hill has always been approved to have more days of racing. We're looking at doing racing in different ways in the future."