Horse Industry

Annapolis chamber plans trade show on May 23The Greater Annapolis Chamber of Commerce will sponsor its "Great Business Exchange," a trade show, from 10 a.m. to 5: 30 p.m. May 23 at Loews Annapolis Hotel.The speaker will be Anne Arundel County Executive John G. Gary. Seminar topics include "Doing Business on the Internet," "Nine Steps to the Perfect Market Plan" and "Growing Your Home Based Business."For information on renting a booth, call 268-7676.Cable program to feature impact of horse industry"It's Good Business," the cable television program produced by the Anne Arundel Trade Council and Jones Communications, will feature "The Horse Industry's Impact on Our Economy" this month.

The Preakness is the second race of the Triple Crown and it does not deserve to have another rowdy, drunken brawl that does nothing to contribute to the race or to the horse industry ("Trendy or tasteless?" March 30). Instead of attracting a group of people who have no interest in horses or racing, may I suggest several possibilities that will promote horses, the large and varied horse industry and the large and positive impact it has on the Maryland economy: Pony clubs; fox hunts; driving clubs; rescue farms; show jumping; handicap programs; Western; mounted police; draft horses; parade of breeds.

WHEN PEOPLE think of Harford County, the horse industry might not immediately come to mind. But large commercial thoroughbred operations, as well as an influx of people into the county over the past 10 years, has built this segment of the area's agriculture. Growth in the horse industry is something John Sullivan, the county's agriculture director, likes to point out. "Equine and horticulture are on the upward trend. They are the fastest-growing agricultural industries in the county," Sullivan said.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Two veterinarians who attended to Alydar in his final hours have disputed renewed insinuations that the horse's injury was not accidental.An article in the Nov. 16 Sports Illustrated is the most recent to raise questions that the injury, which resulted in Alydar's death, was caused deliberately so Calumet Farm could collect $36.5 million in insurance in an effort to salvage its desperate financial situation.Dr. William Baker and Dr. Larry Bramlage, who performed surgery on Alydar in November 1990 after the horse was found in his stall with a broken leg, said those insinuations are ridiculous.

As O's still flounder, give thanks for Ravens Two straight years and Orioles management forces perennial .300 hitter B.J. Surhoff to sign a minor league contract to earn a spot on the big league team. What do these also-ran general managers - Jim Beattie and Mike Flanagan - know about big league stars? At best, they were both mediocre pitchers. On Sept. 5 and Sept. 7, so-called Orioles relief pitcher Jorge Julio cost the Orioles victories, and the manager is either blind or doesn't care where the team winds up for the 2004 season.

The horse industry in the United States is roughly the same size -- in terms of value of goods and services produced -- as the clothes-manufacturing and motion-picture industries, according to a yearlong study by a Washington research firm.Conducted by the Barents Group, an economics and fiscal consulting firm in Washington with no ties to the horse industry, the study determined that 7.1 million Americans are involved to varying degrees with the 6.9 million horses in this country.The study "validates what we in the horse industry have long known," said James J. Hickey Jr., president of the American Horse Council.

I HAVE AN octogenarian friend who, as a kid, would cut school to watch the horses race. He saw Seabiscuit defeat War Admiral. He is a horse racing fan. But when asked about Maryland horse racing today, the passion for the sport he loves evaporates. "It is depressing, too depressing," he says. He is not alone, too many fans agree. For 250 years, Maryland was a leading horse racing state. The Maryland Jockey Club, the oldest sports association in the country, boasted governors and presidents as members.

Don Litz looked over the crowd and then looked over the valley. He took a deep breath. Finally, his dream was realized. Maryland Stallion Station opened yesterday with more than 400 visitors touring the grand barn, observing a parade of the five stallions and, like Litz, peering across the valley at historic Sagamore Farm. Litz, 58, long involved in the Maryland horse business, drew on the legend of Sagamore, home and burial place of the exalted Native Dancer, for inspiration in developing Maryland Stallion Station.

The horse industry is the fastest-growing agricultural sector in Harford County, local officials say, but stagnant racing purses threaten its continued viability in the state, some area farmers contend. Billy Boniface, co-owner of Bonita Farms in Darlington, said business has dropped because of problems with breeders' incentives, the percentage of money in a racing purse that goes back to the farm that bred the racehorse. Those incentives and the purses that owners receive if their horses win are larger in nearby states.