Maryland Horse Breeders

Mary Valliant Thomas, former general manager of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association who later was a church secretary in St. Michaels for more than a decade, died Aug. 20 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at her Neavitt home. She was 76. Mary Valliant Warner was born in Baltimore and raised in Mount Washington. After graduating from Eastern High School, she attended what is now Towson University. She worked for the old State Roads Commission and in the admissions department at the Johns Hopkins University before taking a job in 1965 as assistant general manager of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association.

Horse breeder Allen Murray is 76 years old, but when he laughs, he sounds like a much younger man. "People keep saying to me, 'When are you going to retire?' " Murray says. "I tell them: 'Shoot, I am retired! I retired a long time ago.' " It's hard to tell, considering how hard he still works. Murray - who owns Murmur Farm near Darlington with his wife Audrey - realizes he's one of the fortunate ones in his business, one of the few who can still say he's having fun and doing what he loves.

Horse breeder Allen Murray is 76 years old, but when he laughs, he sounds like a much younger man. "People keep saying to me, 'When are you going to retire?' " Murray says. "I tell them: 'Shoot, I am retired! I retired a long time ago.' " It's hard to tell, considering how hard he still works. Murray - who owns Murmur Farm near Darlington with his wife Audrey - realizes he's one of the fortunate ones in his business, one of the few who can still say he's having fun and doing what he loves.

Horse racing Md. thoroughbred breeding likely to fall 18 percent in '09 Thoroughbred horse breeding in Maryland is projected to fall 18 percent this year, more than twice the national average, The Jockey Club reported Thursday. Overall, breeding in North America is down 8.2 percent in 2009. With the decrease, Maryland drops from eighth to last among the 11 top foal-producing states and provinces. For the first time, Maryland ranks below Pennsylvania, the only state to record an increase in live foals this year.

Marguerite Finney Dance, retired senior editor of The Maryland Horse magazine and its successor publication, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, died of pneumonia Sunday at Stella Maris Hospice. The North Baltimore resident was 74. Born Laura Marguerite Stanley Finney in Annapolis and raised in Towson, she was a 1948 graduate of Towson High School and earned a history degree with honors at what is now Randolph-Macon College in Lynchburg, Va. Family members said she grew up in a home where her father, Humphrey Stanley Finney, was field secretary of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and founding editor of The Maryland Horse.

CALL IT legislative karma: What goes around the State House usually comes back around the State House.The lure of that virtually self-contained little universe known as Annapolis is strong; that's why so many of its characters keep coming back. The return trip offers a chance to see old friends, schmooze the self-important and make a couple of bucks.The latest returnees through Maryland's revolving door are Tyras S. "Bunk" Athey and Dennis C. Donaldson, former House of Delegates members who will be back in the capital during the approaching legislative session to try their hands at lobbying.

Tim Capps, vice president of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and executive director of Maryland Million Ltd., will join the company that owns Pimlico and Laurel Park as an executive vice president, it was announced yesterday. The move will take effect Jan. 1. "We're delighted to welcome back someone of Tim's talent and expertise," said Joe De Francis, head of the Maryland Jockey Club, which owns the two tracks. "The MJC, working in tandem with its account wagering partner, TVG, must move aggressively and efficiently to develop and grow its core customer base.

LAUREL -- Safely Kept has been named the 1990 Maryland-bred Horse of the Year after running her career earnings to $1,745,986.It is the second straight year that Safely Kept, a 5-year-old mare, has been chosen the Maryland-bred Horse of the Year.Safely Kept has a 19-5 lifetime record, including a victory in the $1 million Breeders' Cup Sprint last fall. She is third in all-time Maryland-bred career earnings, behind No. 1 Broad Brush and ** Little Bold John.If Safely Kept has a good 1991, she should surpass Broad Brush's record of $2,656,793.

Jeanne Frederique van den Bosch Begg Clagett, who was knighted for her work aiding the resistance movement during World War II and went on to have careers in real estate and horse breeding, died of Alzheimer's disease Nov. 5 at her Roedown Farm estate in Davidsonville. She was 94. Born in the Netherlands, she received bachelor's and master's degrees from Oxford University. She came to the United States before World War II, working as a writer and photographer at the New York Daily Mirror and doing public relations for the Red Cross.

After saddling the runner-up in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont, Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel will venture to Maryland this weekend to judge the Maryland Horse Breeders Association's annual yearling show. Scheduled for 10 a.m. tomorrow, the show will feature more than 100 Maryland-bred yearlings competing for cash, trophies, and prestige. It will take place in the horse-show ring at the Timonium Fairgrounds. Although 132 yearlings have been entered, slightly more than 100 are expected to compete in various classes.

Mary Valliant Thomas, former general manager of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association who later was a church secretary in St. Michaels for more than a decade, died Aug. 20 of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease at her Neavitt home. She was 76. Mary Valliant Warner was born in Baltimore and raised in Mount Washington. After graduating from Eastern High School, she attended what is now Towson University. She worked for the old State Roads Commission and in the admissions department at the Johns Hopkins University before taking a job in 1965 as assistant general manager of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association.

A November slots referendum designed to keep millions in gambling dollars from going to nearby states would, if approved, likely end up sending millions in tax revenue to out-of-state racehorse owners, according to a new analysis by a taxpayer advocacy group. In 2007, 58 percent of Maryland thoroughbred race winnings went to out-of-state owners, according to the report to be released today by the Maryland Tax Education Foundation. If that trend continues, much of the $80 million in annual thoroughbred purse subsidies under the proposed legislation will continue to flow to non-Maryland horse owners and a small number of in-state breeders, said Jeffrey C. Hooke, a gambling analyst and president of the Bethesda-based nonprofit.

His back is swayed like a Nike swoosh. His shaggy coat, a sign of age, would warm a woolly mammoth. At 28 - ancient for horses - Deputed Testamony looks like he should live at Charlestown. The retirement community, not the racetrack. Yet there he was, at 8 a.m., cavorting like a youngster in a grassy 2 1/2 -acre paddock at Bonita Farm in Darlington. In a nearby paddock, another stallion ambled nearer. In a flash, Deputed Testamony crested his neck in defiance and gave the interloper the stink eye. Hardly the spirit you'd expect of the oldest surviving Preakness winner.

Lou Raffetto, president and chief operating officer of the Maryland Jockey Club, will leave his post immediately "to pursue other opportunities" and will be replaced by Chris Dragone, a former Jockey Club senior vice president and general manager, the organization announced yesterday. The news set off loud protest from within the Maryland racing industry, where Raffetto, 57, had earned respect through his skills in working with and for Maryland's horsemen and breeders through difficult times.

Jeanne Frederique van den Bosch Begg Clagett, who was knighted for her work aiding the resistance movement during World War II and went on to have careers in real estate and horse breeding, died of Alzheimer's disease Nov. 5 at her Roedown Farm estate in Davidsonville. She was 94. Born in the Netherlands, she received bachelor's and master's degrees from Oxford University. She came to the United States before World War II, working as a writer and photographer at the New York Daily Mirror and doing public relations for the Red Cross.

Two years after beginning a search for property near their Cecil County breeding farm, the owners of Northview Stallion Station are expanding into Pennsylvania. "I'm Maryland born and bred," said Tom Bowman, who owns the Northview Stallion Station near Chesapeake City with partner Richard Golden. "I've never had it in my mind to leave Maryland. And we're not leaving Maryland. "I think a lot of people would like to scream that we're leaving because of the slots, but we're not leaving. We're not jumping ship.

The $200,000, Grade III Federico Tesio will be the headliner April 20 when Pimlico Race Course throws a stakes-race extravaganza on Spring Challenge Day.Five stakes races are scheduled in all, with the Tesio providing one of the final tuneups for the Kentucky Derby.The Maryland Jockey Club has scheduled four other stakes for state-bred horses, the $75,000 Caesar's Wish Stakes, the $100,000 Geisha Handicap, the $100,000 Jennings Handicap and the $60,000 Star De Naskra.The Tesio has drawn 42 pre-entries, including Romano Gucci, recent winner of the Gotham Stakes and a Triple Crown nominee.

When Barbaro broke down during the Preakness Stakes, his owners held insurance to cover them in the event of a catastrophic injury to the horse, which was likely worth at least $25 million to $30 million - and more if he had won. Owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson had purchased two types of insurance on the prized colt: one for if the Kentucky Derby winner dies, and the other to protect them if he is unable to fulfill his potential as a stud, Roy Jackson said...

Marguerite Finney Dance, retired senior editor of The Maryland Horse magazine and its successor publication, Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred, died of pneumonia Sunday at Stella Maris Hospice. The North Baltimore resident was 74. Born Laura Marguerite Stanley Finney in Annapolis and raised in Towson, she was a 1948 graduate of Towson High School and earned a history degree with honors at what is now Randolph-Macon College in Lynchburg, Va. Family members said she grew up in a home where her father, Humphrey Stanley Finney, was field secretary of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and founding editor of The Maryland Horse.

North East -- The Maryland Racing Commission listened to an update on the industry at its monthly board meeting yesterday and lamented the previously announced $3 million cut in purses and stakes that will be put into place beginning in August, when racing resumes at Laurel Park. Then the commission approved the request by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association for another cut - in bonuses paid to Maryland-breds that win races at the state's tracks. The bonuses - paid to a winning horse's breeder, to the owner of the horse's sire and to the horse's owner - are funded by 1.1 percent of the tracks' live handle.