NEWS&VIEWS You Can Use


3-Alarm Fire at Eastern Shore For- est Products


A fi re at the Eastern Shore Forest Products


facility in Somerset County has caused an esti- mated $5.5 million in damages on September 6. T e three-alarm blaze broke out just after 11:30 pm according to the state fi re marshal’s offi ce. Firefi ghters from Maryland, Virginia and Delaware responded to the fi re taking nine hours to extinguish the fi re. Eastern Shore Forest Products is an MHC


business member (corporate name Animal Comfort Group, LLC) that makes animal bed- ding and energy pellets. President Tom Johnson stated on the company’s Facebook page that the company has contingency plans in place for such disasters and hoped to be back to full capacity within two weeks. T e cause of the fi re is still under investigation. No one was injured.


Equine Rabies Case in Maryland On September 2, the Maryland Department


of Agriculture confi rmed a fi ve-year-old Warm- blood gelding in Montgomery County was eu- thanized due to a confi rmed case of rabies. T e horse had been showing signs of aggression and


tested positive for rabies. Maryland and Virginia health departments across several counties have notifi ed people who were potentially exposed. Two horses that have been exposed were pre- viously vaccinated. T ey received boosters and were placed under a 45-day hold order.


Marylanders Win Big at Dressage Championships


Sara Hassler and Hannah Irons both won top


honors at this year’s Dressage National Cham- pionships. Hassler, of Chesapeake City, won the Ad- equan/USEF Young Adult Brentina Cup Na- tional Championship riding Harmony’s Boi- tano, owned by Hassler and Leslie Malone. Hassler and Boitano won the fi rst test but had a few bobbles in their second test. It was their freestyle test that clinched them the champi- onship title with an overall score of 69.269%. Irons, of Queenstown, rode Scola Bella to win the Horseware Ireland/USEF Young Rider Dressage National Championship. T e pair won the class with a score of 73.088%. Irons leases Scola Bella from Dressage4Kids, Inc. and also earned the overall top score with a 71.471%.


Racing Integrity &


Safety Act Update T e Horseracing Integrity


and Safety Act passed out of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce on September 9, following a bi- partisan 46-5 vote. T e bill is now poised to move to a House fl oor vote. T e bill, H.R. 1754, ad- vanced with amendments that match legislation introduced in


the Senate. T e Senate


Century Ride: Dottie Wolf & Impressive Suzy Dottie Wolf and Impressive Suzy completed a Century Ride


on September 18 at Petticoat’s Advance dressage show in Up- perco. T e Century Ride is for riders and horses that have a combined age of 100 or more years. Wolf is 71.5 years old and her Quarter Horse mare Impressive Suzzy is 28.5 years old. “Suzy is the most wonderful horse and I wanted to honor her. She has been the greatest friend and we continue to have fun together,” Wolf said.


legislation adopted many re- form measures proposed in the original House bill, while adding additional track safety measures and programs to establish safety standards for training and racing, racetrack surfaces,


analysis, safety violation in- vestigations,


injury-related data hearings,


and


sanctions. T e bill provides federal rec-


Heavenly Cause & What a Summer Enter MD TB Hall of Fame


T is year’s inductees to the Maryland-bred


T oroughbred Hall of Fame are distaff ers Heavenly Cause and What a Summer. Selected by a committee of Maryland racing industry members coordinated by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and Maryland racing Media Association, the two grays excelled at the national level. What a Summer won the 1977 Eclipse


Award for Champion Sprinter. T at year, the fi lly won six out of eight starts while also de- feating males. She won the Fall Highweight Handicap (G2) under 134 lbs, which at the time was one of the biggest tests for the na- tion’s top sprinters. Heavenly Cause was the top two-year-old fi l-


ly in the nation in 1980 when she won both the Grade 1 Selima and Frizette Stakes. She went on to win a total of seven career stakes races including the Kentucky Oaks at three. She was named the Maryland-bred Champion Filly for her two- and three-year-old seasons.


continued... IF YOU HAVE NEWS, VIEWS OR UPDATES TO CONTRIBUTE, PLEASE SEND THEM TO THE EDITOR at


The Equiery, P.O. Box 610, Lisbon, MD 21765 • FAX: 410-489-7828 • email editor@equiery.com. Be sure to include your full name, phone number and address. All submissions become the property of The Equiery.


www.equiery.com | 800-244-9580 THE EQUIERY A MARYLAND HORSE COUNCIL PUBLICATION | OCTOBER 2020 | 9


ognition and enforcement power for a Horserac- ing Integrity and Safety Authority to design and implement uniform national horse racing medi- cation and racetrack safety standards. T e Au- thority would be an independent, non-govern- mental regulatory body responsible for setting national standards for track safety, anti-doping and medication rules, and lab protocols. T ere is widespread support for the bill


among T oroughbred groups, but the United States Trotting Association has announced its opposition to several elements of the proposed legislation. In a statement, USTA said, “While the United States Trotting Association (USTA) strongly supports state-regulated, breed-spe- cifi c, uniform medication rules for horse rac- ing, the USTA strongly opposes the HISA for a number of reasons and sees several areas of signifi cant concern to the Standardbred racing industry.” In particular, USTA objects to the ban on race-day use of Lasix, and argues that the funding mechanism for the new regulatory authority would fall disproportionately and unfairly on the harness industry. In addition, USTA objects to the mandated drug-testing authority being delegated to a private company that has no background in animal testing.


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