Joe Kelly: 2012 Maryland Horseman of the Year, continued...
Havre de Grace. And that fall, four months shy of 30, Joe helped document another seminal episode: he and fellow Sun scribe Jim McManus served as on-air reporters from Pimlico as part of Baltimore’s fi rst-ever television broadcast. T e city counted some 1,400 TV sets at the time. As Joe deemed the black-and-white certainty
of newspapers best to support wife Stew and their six kids, McManus chose a career on cam- era––as Jim McKay. T e upshot often brought Joe a laugh with
self-eff acing candor. A wiser man, he said, would have acted on an odd encounter in Hut- zler’s department store soon after the telecast. A woman on an escalator pointed to him ex- citedly and shouted, “I saw you on TV!” Joe spelled out the metaphor: she was taking the escalator up, he down. Like the most versatile racehorse, Joe fl our-
ished regardless of plane or circumstance. He spent four years as regional secretary for the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Associa- tion, then became racing editor, columnist and principal turf writer of T e Washington Star for nearly 30 years, until the paper folded in 1981. “I was 63 and out on the street,” he’d say drolly. Not for long. Wise to T e Star’s shutdown,
Laurel owner Schapiro off ered Joe a position as publicity director. After the track sold, Joe handled communications for the Maryland Million, teaming anew with former colleague and longtime pal Jim McKay. In the late ’80s, Laurel and Pimlico looked
to create a bona-fi de media guide and turned to Joe for historical narratives about the tracks and the Preakness. As a man, Joe exhibited the qualities he deftly wrote of those Triple Crown winners: durability, heart and class. Well into his nineties, Joe served with insight
and fl air as the Maryland Jockey Club’s histori- cal consultant, fusing altruistic insights and or- ganic goodness. Every Preakness and beyond, media types would make like gold-rushers to Joe’s Pimlico offi ce, mining him for informa- tion, leaving richer. How he endowed us––in ways open and ob-
scure. By 2008, the year he turned 90, Joe no longer sold advertising for the racing writers: but his deeds resounded. T e annual scholar- ship fund had surged past $30,000, a possibility preserved by Joe Kelly’s giving, graceful hand.
For more about the life and times of Mr. Kelly, please see Vinnie Perrone’s article in the January 2013 issue of the Mid-Atlantic T oroughbred. A former Washington Post race writer, Vinnie Perrone is an Eclipse award winning journalist who now divides his time between screenwriting and writing for racing-related journals. His fi rst documentary (which Vinnie co-wrote and co-pro- duced), about the famed Washington, DC night- club T e Bayou, will appear on Maryland Public Television Feb. 25 at 9 p.m.
40 | THE EQUIERY | FEBRUARY 2013
Auction Items Wanted for February 16, 2013 Maryland Horseman of the Year Dinner!
Proceeds to Benefi t Maryland Fund For Horses–but what IS the Maryland Fund For Horses?
Volunteers with the new charity Maryland Fund For Horses are actively seeking items for the auction featured at the Feb. 16, 2013 Maryland Horse Council Horseman of the Year Dinner.
The primary mission of the Maryland Horse Council, which is an umbrella association for all horse organizations, farms, businesses and equine enthusiasts in Maryland, is to protect and promote the horse industry by being active on legislation and regulation on a state level.
In 2011, MHC founded its charitable arm, The Maryland Fund For Horses, to help fulfi ll the mis- sion of promoting the health, safety and welfare of horses in Maryland. Through this charity, MHC could more directly help the many equine rescues, sanctuaries and adoption centers in Maryland, particularly as these centers struggle with record-setting infl uxes of unwanted horses, as they attempt to adopt and re-home previously unwanted or abandoned horses (or those legally seized due to neglect or abuse).
To date, projects have included establishing a voucher program to help qualifi ed owners defray the cost to geld stallions not actively (and intentionally) breeding, as well as the launch of Maryland Responsible Horse Ownership Week, a weeklong education program for horse enthusiasts and po- tential future horse owners, to help make them aware of the true costs of horse ownership. Future projects include those that will help qualifying owners defray the costs of euthanasia and/or disposal and develop new or expand upon existing hay banks.
WANTED! Art – Jewelry – Books Collectibles – Sporting Memorabilia
Gift certifi cates to Bed & Breakfasts, Restaurants, Spas Weekend or weeklong vacation retreats.
Day of sailing, day of skiing, day of doing SOMETHING fun! New Tack – New Saddles Nonequine-related stuff wanted too!
If you can donate an item, service or use of a vacation home, please contact one of the MFFH volun- teers below. Items may also be dropped off or shipped to one of the addresses below.
Vicki Carson, MFFH Chairman
vcarson@carsonassociates.com or 410-775-1770
Jane Seigler, MHC Vice President
seigler.jane@gmail.com or 301-774-3756
Judy Smith, MHC Executive Committee Member
bigbayhorse523@msn.com or 301-788-6092
Mel Litter, MHHF Auction Committee Member
mellitter@yahoo.com or 443-617-8804
Margaret Rizzo, Maryland Horse Council
admin@mdhorsecouncil.org or 301-502-8929 9514 White Pillar Terrace; Gaithersburg, MD 20882 (please call before dropping off)
The Equiery, attn Crystal Kimball
Deliveries & UPS only: 16008 Frederick Rd, Lisbon, MD 21765 Postal Service: P.O. Box 610, Lisbon, MD 21765
For a donation form, visit
mdhorsecouncil.org. 800-244-9580 |
www.equiery.com
869643-130213
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