Maryland Thoroughbred Partnership Shining A Light On State’s Thoroughbred Industry

[Wandering Eyes]

With all eyes on Maryland this week as Saturday's 150th running of the GI Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course takes center stage, a unique organization that highlights all that Maryland's Thoroughbred industry has to offer aims to keep that focus year-round.

The Maryland Thoroughbred Partnership (MTP), launched earlier this year, was created by Maryland Thoroughbred industry leaders to educate the general public about the expansiveness of the industry behind the nationally recognized sport of horse racing, which makes up a large part of the state's greater equine industry.

The idea to develop a campaign devoted to shining a light on the Maryland Thoroughbred industry was one tossed around for years until a group of industry members came together to turn the concept into a reality.

It all began with a casual lunch attended by Josh Pons of Country Life Farm, Jim Dresher of Glenangus Farm, Bill Boniface of Bonita Farm, Tom Bowman of Dance Forth Farm, David Wade of Northview Stallion Station, and David Nevins, President and CEO of Nevins & Associates, a Maryland-based public relations and marketing firm.

“Whenever we have conversations about what we do, people who don't know about the Thoroughbred industry, or racing and breeding horses in general, are typically fascinated by it,” said Dresher. “I've never seen an industry that sells itself so well to itself and doesn't sell itself to anybody else.”

With support from a variety of individuals across Maryland's Thoroughbred industry, along with generous support from the Maryland Horse Breeders Association (MHBA) and the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association (MTHA), the group hired Nevins & Associates to officially launch the MTP.

The organization is the foundation for a comprehensive educational, marketing and public relations campaign broadcasting the significance of the Thoroughbred industry in Maryland. Through their website and accounts on social media platforms Facebook, Instagram and YouTube, the MTP is creating, collecting and curating a wealth of educational content while collaborating with local media outlets to share Maryland's longstanding story with the Thoroughbred.

“We're not marketing something that you can really measure. Instead, we're putting out there to the people of Maryland this sort of underappreciated component of their everyday lives. That is the horse farms that they pass, where they may stop and pull in the driveway to see a foal, but they really don't know what goes on behind the scenes, behind the gates of those farms,” explained Pons.

“We have the best stories in sports. We should be promoting our stories more, letting people know what goes on every day and what the industry does. From the number of people who are employed, to the economic benefits for open space and the environmental impact, with land being the best filter that the Chesapeake Bay has,” said Dresher. “We hired Nevins & Associations to be the conduit between our stories and our stories being told [to the general public].”

Funded by the Maryland Horse Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to promoting and preserving Maryland's equine heritage, the MTP has produced feature videos highlighting Maryland-based trainer Brittany Russell; Kathy Anderson, a longtime equine veterinarian and Medical Director at the Fair Hill Training Center; the history and continued legacy of Country Life Farm; Maryland trainer Bill Boniface and his 1983 GI Preakness Stakes winner Deputed Testamony (Traffic Cop); and Maryland-bred Post Time (Frosted), a multiple graded stakes winner who has garnered recognition on the national racing stage.

Along with the organization's own content, the MTP has worked with local news stations such as WJZ-TV – CBS Baltimore and WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore to highlight the horses and humans that make up Maryland's Thoroughbred industry. Most recently, WBAL-TV 11 Baltimore tagged along for part of the Maryland Horse Farm Tour, held Sunday, May 11 at horse farms across the state, to highlight the opportunity for the public to connect with horses as part of the Preakness Festival celebration.

“A term I really like is called 'the trust bank.' They say every time you do something and tell your story like this, you make a deposit in the trust bank. Eventually, there's going to be some story that comes out where people say, 'What's going on here?' But if they know you and trust you, you're in a lot better situation than if they don't. As an industry, I don't think we've done that enough,” said Dresher. “We're not really building transactions. We're letting people know that we're agriculture, we're part of the economy, and quite simply, we're human beings that care about these animals a lot.

“Most businesses not only have hardcore marketing, but they also have image marketing as well. We need to promote our image for how important we are to our state.”

2025 marks a new era for Maryland's Thoroughbred industry. This year's running of the Preakness is the final time the second leg of the Triple Crown will be run at the original Pimlico before the historic venue is demoed and redeveloped. Also, as part of the redevelopment plan, a new state-owned training facility will be constructed at Shamrock Farm in Woodbine, Md. The new nonprofit Maryland Jockey Club will handle daily racing operations at Maryland's racetracks, while the Maryland Stadium Authority will oversee the construction aspect of the plan.

The Pimlico winner's enclosure | Horsephotos

“When we started this, that really was not a prominent story, so we didn't create this with that intent. There was a void, and then we filled the void. However, the [MTP] does address those things that, again, key opinion leaders say 'this is a legacy sport and there's a lot of goodness here,'” said Dresher. “We're in the news a lot. Everybody knows that Pimlico is going to be torn down a month after the Preakness and [that the construction] will be done in two years. The state will own this racetrack [Pimlico] and control it, leaving it up to the horsemen to make it successful. So, [the work of the MTP] is all part of that effort.”

“It's an important component that the whole industry has to get used to, that we are partners with the state, and we are going to work and play well with them. It's that kind of story that we can talk about,” added Pons. “I'm hoping this is part of the fabric of telling the whole story of Maryland horse racing and breeding, not just racing.”

According to the 2023 Economic Impact Study of the Maryland Horse Industry, the equine industry contributes $2.9 billion to the state's economy and has a total employment impact of 28,438 jobs. When it comes specifically to the Thoroughbred industry within the state, it produces a total economic impact of $664 million and supports over 8,000 jobs.

For the team behind the MTP, comprised of Dresher, Pons, Wade, Boniface, Bowman, Joe Clancy of Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred magazine, and Michelle St. John of St. John Productions, the work of the organization is not only one of passion, but also necessity, in hopes of continuing Maryland's Thoroughbred legacy for generations to come.

“You have to appreciate that our stance isn't to get you to come out for one event, but instead it's to educate. [The MTP is] run through the Maryland Horse Foundation, which gives the foundation more profile and involves the MHBA, along with their new Maryland Horse Library & Education Center,” said Pons. “[The late] Jim McKay was our public relations firm for a long time, but that doesn't happen without raising awareness of the whole industry.

“I think we can be our own best public relations firm, the horse business itself, and we're utilizing the Nevins group to keep us organized and modern.”

   To learn more about the Maryland Thoroughbred Partnership, click here.

   To learn more about the Maryland Horse Library & Education Center, click here.

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