FAIR HILL, Md.--The drama at Fair Hill continues.

Boyd Martin on Commando 3 at the 2025 Md. 5* (Photo by Allen Macmillan for Macmillan Photogaphy)For five years, the fate of the turf track hung in the balance as holding the Maryland five star dressage and show jumping on the infield meant trucks crossing the turf track rendered the track unusable for months.

There was no training on the turf track and no hope of holding the annual Memorial Day racing there.

Finally, that was resolved, and the track was opened for training last year. 

The turf track is now  covered with snow and ice, but trainers say they expect training 0n it to resume this spring, and the Memorial Day races are tentatively scheduled for this spring with hopes of holding many more races there.

But now the future of the Maryland five star is in danger.

The five star has been losing money, and employees missed paychecks until the state recently authorized $94,000 for the Sport & Entertainment Cor[oration.

There has also been a turnover in leadership, with Joanie Morris, the longtime competition director, having left in November to go to the Aiken Horse Park Foundation in South Carolina.

Sports & Entertainment Corporation President Terry Hasseltime and CEO Jeff Newman left in December.

According to an article in the Baltimore Sun, "in a 990 tax form from 2023, the most recent available, the Maryland 5 Star reported $7.6 million in expenses and $1.4 million in sponsorship revenue."

Despite the problems, officials are determined to hold a competition this year, and meetings are being held to ensure that the five star goes on.

 

"I HOPE they get it sorted out," said four time Olympian Boyd Martin who won the five star in 2021and finished third last year on Commando. "They spent millions to get it started and it would be too bad to lose it. It would be devastating for sport in this country to lose it. These great events take time to build up a following of spectators."

Horses at a past Fair Hill racesThe five star has suffered from both lack of competitors and lack of spectators.

Only 13 horses from a starting field of 22 competed in the stadium jumping on Sunday last year.

The five star reported 32,000 spectators, which was an 11 % growth from the previous year, but nowhere near the attendance at the Kentucky five star held in the spring and nowhere near the number of spectators needed to show a profit.

 One problem is a lack of nearby hotels, and surely the small number of competitors dampens enthusiasm.

There have been suggestions that the hilly countryside in Maryland, better suited to a thoroughbred, has deterred some international competitors.

Also, Fair Hill, coming in October, follows a long season of competition, with three of those years including the World Championships, the Pan Am Games and the Olympics, which means many horses have completed their competition year.

Officials have said repeatedly that the five star is important and critical for the economy of Cecil County.

Tourism Economics reported the five star generated an estimated $11.6 million for the state.

Therefore, officials say they are searching for a way to keep this important event a going concern.