The 81st running of the Fair Hill Races took place on Saturday; about 16,000 spectators who appeared to thoroughly enjoy the gorgeous afternoon were on hand. After the third race, the Maryland Horse Industry Board presented four Touch of Class Awards (pictured above), an award named in honor of Touch of Class, a former Maryland-bred Olympic champion horse, which celebrates Maryland horses, people and organizations who achieve both national and international acclaim. Dr. John Fisher (fourth from the left) received an award for his vision in founding the Fair Hill Training Center (FHTC) about thirty three years ago, without which we would not be here today. The FHTC was honored in recognition of its ascendance as one of the premier United States and international thoroughbred training centers. Sally Goswell, Bruce Jackson and Dr. Kathy Anderson (ninth, tenth and twelfth from the left), who have been instrumental in guiding FHTC over the years to where it is today, were on hand to accept the award on behalf of the Training Center. In 2014, FHTC was home to two champion race horses, Main Sequence, the United States Champion Older Male and Turf Horse, owned by the Niarchos Family from Greece, and Valiant Boy SBFAR, the United States Arabian Horse of the Year, owned by Sheik Taknoon of Abu Dhabi, further reflecting the international character of Fair Hill. Graham Motion (first on the right) accepted Main Sequence’s award and Liz Merryman and Sharon Clark (fifth and seventh from the left) accepted on Valiant Boy SBFAR’s behalf. Both horses are training at FHTC now in preparation for their first starts since returning from Dubai at the end of March. The FHTC award is hanging in our Clocker’s Tower for all to see!
From Sally Goswell – General Manager, The Fair Hill Training Center