Follows an excellent summary of the Fair Hill turf track meeting - anyone else having comments or a summary of the meeting please email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

 

LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

 

This a summary of the downstairs meeting done by by Mary Smith.

Our moderator had no concept of what a steeplechase was!

Kathy Neilson, a steeplechase icon, asked for her $700,000 back that was donated in her fathers name to keep racing at Fair Hill.

For those with interest in the Fair Hill meeting today concerning no races for the last 5 years at the "Special Event Zone" located At Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area, Mary K Smith did an excellant summary!

It was packed and not well organized.

I don't think they figured there would be that many people who would show up on a Tuesday morning with little notice or advertising.

I heard someone say there were 132 vehicles.

Some people obviously rode together.

 

I WAS late getting there but my understanding was that they broke us into 3 groups and then we were supposed to rotate through the speakers/presenters/hosts. That didn't happen.

My facilitator had been working in her role for 1.5 years. So basically she knew nothing. I felt sorry because she didn't know her audience or her topic.

First we have to understand what a steeplechase looks like didn't cut it with a group that had been training, hosting, involved in the industry for probably as long as he had been alive.

And saying, I don't really know what is wrong with the course didn't cut it.

This group wasn't here for politics and word candy... they want to know what the problem is... how much it will cost to fix it and what the action plan is... and when can we put the date for the races in the calendar.

I don't think they realized how passionate people are about the races and history in this area.

I also don't think they realized how little trust we have in the government/ agencies that are in charge.

IMO the 5 star bulldozed and said whatever they needed to say to get whatever they wanted.

There used to be a number of local places that had little horse shows, and a huge fall trail ride. They either can't afford or can't schedule.

My understanding is people can't even get married in the Tea Barn for months because the 5 star has the grounds reserved.

Those beautiful rings are only being used for 5 star. They would be a huge asset if people could hold shows or clinics there.

Heck... i believe with Baltimore County you can rent time in their nice rings for schooling!

It was also said that Scottish Games doesn't have use of much of the space.

Here's my understanding and anybody knowledgeable can correct me... they hired people with golf course knowledge to put in the turf.

The surface is a disaster. Too hard of a base. Grass isn't rooting correctly.

Oh... and $1million a year to maintain it... not to build it... to maintain an unusable surface.

They never even designed a way for horses to get from the paddock to the track... kind of seems like the 5 star just wanted the money and had no plans of ever using the track.

On top of that idiots designed for the 5 star crossover to be by the finish line which would more than likely cause a compaction issue and likely break horses down.

The people who attended want the races back and want a safe track.

We want transparency and an action plan.

We realize there is cost involved and time for turf to be established... probably about 18 months.

Unfortunately, outside of legal action there isn't a lot that can be done about the past.

There were a ton of steeplechase experts, track experts, etc there that are willing to work together and fundraise, and fix and move forward. I would be willing to venture that most would volunteer.

I don't think the hosts were expecting the outcry when they listed 5 star as their top asset.