Like the first robin and fly balls at Camden Yards, steeplechasing signals the arrival of spring to the Baltimore. About 50 horses will be in Monkton today for the 63rd Elkridge-Harford Point-to-Point, the first of four April steeplechases in the area.
The racing starts at 1: 30 p.m., with gates opening at noon. Admission to the race course, at the Voss family's Atlanta Hall Farm on Pocock Road west of Jarrettsville Pike, is $25 per car. The lineup features three races over timber (post-and-rail) fences and two flat races. Three races for junior riders complete the lineup.
The Edward S. Voss Memorial headlines the timber races and will feature several horses aiming for the $50,000 Maryland Hunt Cup April 24 at Glyndon. Welter Weight and Florida Law, second and third in last year's Hunt Cup, represent the Rhome teams of trainer Tom Voss (the race is named after his grandfather). Joe Gillet rides Florida Law, and Mike Elmore will be aboard 1997 Voss winner Welter Weight. Other contenders include Pennsylvania shippers He's Got Rhythm, Rogers Battery and Magic On Broadway.
