Fair Hill Training Center

There likely aren't many, if anyone for that matter, involved in any meaningful way in the steeplechase industry in the U.S. that has not heard of Keri Brion. However, the 34-year-old is quickly making a name for herself with her flat stable as well, largely helped by a quintet of winners at Saratoga last summer, including Miztertonic (Mission Impazible), victorious at the Spa the past two seasons. On full display and getting to flex both muscles at Far Hills in New Jersey Saturday, Brion will saddle horses in five of...

Maryland's Fair Hill Training Center will replace its seven-furlong Tapeta Footings track this summer, an upgrade from one of the synthetic surface's earliest installations to the company's newest iteration Tapeta 13. Work is slated to begin in mid-July and take approximately six weeks, depending on weather and other factors. Fair Hill, home to approximately 700 Thoroughbred racehorses in 18 privately owned barns, was founded in 1983 with a seven-furlong wood-chip track and upgraded to include a one-mile dirt track shortly thereafter. The wood chips were replaced 19 years ago with...

Robert Croteau's first weeks on the job as general manager at Fair Hill Training Center have included their share of challenges as winter weather threatened more than once to disrupt activity at the Maryland facility, but the vagaries of the February forecast failed to dampen his enthusiasm for his new position. "It's been great," Croteau, a native of Massachusetts, said of his first weeks on the job. "It's the best job ever." For Croteau, who succeeded longtime Fair Hill general manager Sally Goswell Feb. 1, the position is the culmination...

Robert Croteau has been named as the next general manager of Fair Hill Training Center (FHTC) in Maryland, it was announced via press release Monday morning. Tapped to succeed Sally Goswell, who retired after almost 30 years in the position, Croteau began his position effective Feb. 1 while Goswell stays on as a consultant to ease the transition. "I always thought Fair Hill Training Center was a great concept and to actually be involved with something like that is exciting," said Croteau, himself the son of a Thoroughbred trainer, and...

Thoroughbred Charities of America (TCA) will honor Brandon and Diannah Perry as well as Maryland-based Beyond the Wire with the Allaire du Pont Leadership Award and the Ellen and Herb Moelis Industry Service Award, respectively, during the 35th Annual Stallion Season Live Auction and Celebration Sunday, Jan. 12, the organization announced via press release Friday. The Allaire de Pont Leadership Award being presented to the Perrys is awarded to an organization or individual (s) for philanthropic contributions consistent with the TCA's mission as the charitable arm of the Thoroughbred Owners...

Registration is now open for the 2023 Real Rider Cup, a charity show jumping event featuring members of the racing industry competing on off-track Thoroughbreds. Proceeds from the event will once again benefit the Fair Hill Thoroughbred Show, New Vocations Racehorse Adoption Program, and the Retired Racehorse Project. The Real Rider Cup offers two legs of competition, the first leg at Mereworth Farm in Lexington, KY, on Jul. 8 and the second durin the Fair Hill Thoroughbred Show in Elkton, MD, on Sep. 15. Riders will compete both individually and...

Dual GI Breeders' Cup Mile Winner, Da Hoss (Gone West--Jolly Saint, by Welsh Saint) died at the Kentucky Horse Park Jan. 2. At the age of 30, the gelding passed away due to infirmities of old age.  Da Hoss had been living at the Kentucky Horse Park since January 2000. "We will miss Da Hoss greatly. He was a fan favorite as he proved that spirit can triumph over adversity," said Nicole Rivera, Interim Deputy Executive Director of the Kentucky Horse Park. "I would like to extend a special thank...

A Christmas Eve fire completely destroyed a barn at Fair Hill Training Center. The barn houses an outpatient veterinary clinic operated by Dr. Kathleen Anderson and is used part of the year by trainer Michael Matz, but was empty at the time of the fire. "We appear to have lost everything, but fortunately no horses or people were involved," Anderson told Paulick Report. "There was a lot of diagnostic equipment: X-rays, ultrasound, the pharmacy, plus medical records." Also suffering a barn fire over the holiday weekend was Glencrest Farm. The...

The New York Racing Association (NYRA) announced Saturday that it will once again offer "Ship and Win" incentives for horses coming from Fair Hill Training Center or Oaklawn Park to race at Aqueduct or Belmont. Owners of horses stabled at Fair Hill, in Elkton, Maryland who register an official start during the Aqueduct spring meet (Apr. 1 through Apr. 18), or during the Belmont spring/summer meet (Apr. 22 through July 11), will be credited with an $800 shipping stipend, excluding stakes races. First-time starters must have their three prior works...

On a bright fall morning in Maryland, Arnaud and Leigh Delacour are diligently at work at their Fair Hill-based stable. Arnaud is on the phone, talking logistics with various jockey agents while inspecting a youngster that just returned from a workout. Meanwhile, Leigh leads a troop of four exercise riders and their mounts out for a light jog through the rolling pastures of Fair Hill. When she returns, they'll compare notes and move on to the next set. It takes a special kind of relationship for a couple to successfully...

Every trainer deals with difficult horses, and sometimes they work out and sometimes they don't. There was a time when Graham Motion didn't know whether Mean Mary (Scat Daddy) would fulfill her potential. Owned and bred by Alex Campbell Jr., she was that tough. "You had to have your best rider on her," Motion said.  "You had to have her on the pony or she'd pull some antics going to the track. Nothing that was unmanageable, but something you always had to be ready for. She was just very tough."...