“The future depends on what we do in the present.” – Mahatma Gandhi
The MHBA 2017 Strategic Plan and Overview determined that “the representation services MHBA provides are without a doubt central to its mission.”
Belair, Bowling Brook, Country Life, Fox Hill, Fuss, Glen Riddle, Grove, Prospect Hill, Sagamore, The Caves, Verdant Valley, Worthington. . . a few of these farms remain in operation today, but many woven into the fabric of the early history of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association are no more. The association published a list of 45 Maryland Thoroughbred farms for the first time in the February 1937 issue of The Maryland Horse, and over the decades the MHBA has kept tabs on the farms, acreage, stallions and breeding stock – all an important component of the state’s agricultural industry.
Clearbrook (25) 2-2100. If you called that number in 1959, you reached the new offices of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, which had relocated to 2223 York Road, occupying a room on the first floor of a brick building directly east of the Timonium Fairgrounds.
The leadership of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association tackled a new venture in the association’s first decade. In November 1938, the MHBA held its first sale of yearlings, horses in training, mares and weanlings “where Eastern buyers can replenish their stables before going to winter races, where Eastern breeders can purchase desirable mares for their farms close to home, and where the local breeders can find a ready market for the products of their farms that they did not wish to send to Saratoga.”
Read the history of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association in this 36-page booklet 90 Years Horses are our Legacy and our Future, published in the August 2019 issue of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred.
The Maryland Horse Breeders Association has had a close association with the Maryland State Fair over the past 90 years. The Maryland State Fair and Agricultural Society has a longer history, 140 years worth, and many of the MHBA’s founding members and early leaders were also involved with the fair.
Decision to launch magazine a key moment in association's history
Growth in the early years of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association following its incorporation in 1929 spurred the board to find a way to share information with members, and promote the state’s horse industry.
History runs deep at the Maryland Horse Breeders Association Yearling Show, which will be held for the 85th time June 30 at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium.
Traditionally, the event offers breeders an opportunity to show off their Maryland-bred yearlings while making them eligible for lucrative prizes.
Participants, both human and equine, have been a who’s who of the racing world, with a long list of esteemed horsemen having served as judge and numerous state-bred stars seizing the opportunity for their first public appearance.
The 34 people who have led the MHBA as president since it’s incorporation in January 1929 have included horsemen (and one horsewoman), businessmen, political leaders, industry leaders, and breeders and owners of flat and steeplechase horses. All were “interested in the breeding and improvement of horses and the fostering and preserving of traditions pertaining to the horse everywhere and particularly the fine traditions of the horse in Maryland,” as stated in the Purposes for the Corporation.
The passing of House Bill 106, signed into law April 6, 1962, by Gov. J. Millard Tawes, was ground-breaking legislation, creating the innovative Maryland Bred Fund program, which rewarded the state’s breeders and stallion owners and offered more opportunites for Maryland-bred runners.
For more than half of the first part of the 20th century, the best runners to come out of Maryland were glorified, eagerly followed and granted a lot of press. But they were never officially honored. That changed with the runners of 1962 when the editorial staff of The Maryland Horse selected the “best” of the year and published a “poll” in the January 1963 issue. Led by writer and magazine researcher Joe Hickey, with assistance of editor Snowden Carter and the magazine’s business manager Louise Pascal, six divisional winners (2-year-old male and female, 3-year-old male and female, older male and steeplechaser) and Horse of the Year honors were bestowed.
MD Bred Registration Form
MD Bred Registry Searchable