Yesterday, on July 10, Del. Kevin Hornberger of Cecil County and Josh Kurtz, the Secretary of Maryland’s Department of Natural resources, announced that racing would return to Fair Hill on August 30. The following is a transcript of Del. Hornberger’s remarks at the press conference:

“Thank you. I wanted to start off with paraphrasing some positive press relating to Fair Hill, from the 1936 September edition of Country Life magazine article titled America’s Aintree. 

The goddess Minerva, said to have sprung full-blown from the brain of Jupiter, had nothing on the Foxcatcher Hunt Meeting. 

Approaching its third anniversary on September 19th, this remarkable institution has already established itself as a premier event of the American turf. In 1933 Foxcatcher Hunt Club decided to hold a race.  William Du Pont Jr., Chairman of the committee knew all about the situation. 

He had somewhat withdrawn from racing in favor of live-stock breeding, but his sister, Mrs. T. H. Somerville, had the best cross-country stable in the nation.  Much thought and consultation went into the matter . . . failure was not in the committee’s calculations. 

Every possible means was exhausted to promote success.  The site had to be graded and the woods had to be cleared. 

            The Foxcatcher Committee intends to build a purse large enough to attract international competition. 

Within three years the event attendance grew to 20,000 strong.

At 91 years young, this track’s best days lie ahead. With fresh leadership and the newfound turf expertise in the Secretary’s office, we are bringing racing back to Fair Hill. Better and bolder than ever before. I have had the pleasure of representing the finest State Park in the Maryland DNR portfolio for over a decade in the General Assembly. Together with you, my colleagues in the general assembly, two governors, the board of public works and county government we have funded:

  • the training track resurface across the street;
  • a 20+ million-dollar full resurfacing of this track;
  • the creation of a special event zone;
  • the acquisition of the historic inn;
  • enhanced sports wagering laws for mobile horse betting and OTBs; and

I almost forgot, landed a Five Star, one of only seven worldwide.

Now, with a matured turf track and extensive Thoroughbred testing, a renaissance of racing starts today. 

As a Cecil County Breeders Fair board member, I was brought on in 2014 to modernize legislation outlining the race days and beneficiaries. It has been my absolute pleasure to work so closely with the Maryland Sports Corp and the Stadium Authority to arrive at this momentous occasion. Together with the many partners gathered here today we will fulfill the Foxcatcher Committee’s dreams of making this the greatest turf track in America and in doing so attract the finest talent the world of racing has to offer.”

You can read more about the yesterday’s press conference on DNR’s website.

You can watch the video from Cecil County TV here.