Who do you think of if asked to name an influential woman in racing who lives in MD/PA/VA, either as an rider, trainer, or owner, and why? Both flat and jump racing.
Betty Moran - Brushwood Stables, owner of Crème Fraiche and breeder of Hard Spun, noted philanthropist and all around class act
Well, Maria Remedio seems like a decent jockey. She rides at Parx, in Bensalem, PA. Rosie Napravnik, an awesome jockey, started her career in MD and had some great years there.
[QUOTE=SidesaddleRider;8787781]
Who do you think of if asked to name an influential woman in racing who lives in MD/PA/VA, either as an rider, trainer, or owner, and why? Both flat and jump racing.[/QUOTE]
How about Blythe Miller? Currently a trainer, former rider. Rode both on the flat and over fences, she is the only female ever to be the NSA Champion Jockey, which she was twice, in 1994 and 1995. Also came out of retirement to win the Maryland Hunt Cup on Private Attack. A truly exceptional rider.
Phyllis Wyeth, daughter of Alice du Pont Mills.
Her family has left a legacy as owners and breeders. Her mother raced greats such as Glad Rags, Devil’s Bag, and Gone West for her Hickory Tree Stable. Mrs. Wyeth herself has maintained a smaller program focused mainly on breeding, but bred and raced classic winner Union Rags. I believe he was 3rd generation from her mother’s own mares.
The most amazing thing is how she has carried on managing and overseeing her farm despite being paralyzed from a car accident as a young adult. A truly remarkable woman!
Some might enjoy this link. I am old enough to remember the conversations of many VA farms owned by affluent women like Isabel Dodge Sloane, etc. Just recently, successful VA breeder Nellie Cox passed away and, of course, the mother and daughter combination, now only daughter Peggy Augustus breeder of Natalma, that was and is Keswick Farm in Albemarle County, VA.
In PA, how about Beverly R Steinman, a member of the board of the HOF and among other great benevolent interests a sucessful race horse owner.
http://www.equibase.com/profiles/Results.cfm?type=People&searchType=O&eID=1607006&rbt=TB
Influential? What about me? :lol:
I would look for someone who is active on one of the association boards, promoting racing and trying to get a handle on all the problems the industry is currently facing.
[QUOTE=Palm Beach;8789740]
Influential? What about me? :lol:
I would look for someone who is active on one of the association boards, promoting racing and trying to get a handle on all the problems the industry is currently facing.[/QUOTE]
I thought you said you were always hanging out at the beach. Can’t imagine why you’d want to be thought of as influential and involved when you are hiding behind sunglasses in a luxurious beach chair flashing a deep tan while taking in some beautiful ocean view. Most go to the beach for peace and quiet. Horse racing is hardly that. Well maybe in VA, horse racing is peace and quiet.
I have a great tan. It is all on the back of my neck.
I guess on this thread you have to be a woman to be influential. Sounds kind of sexist to me. Well, 2016 has been a great year for the fillies and mares. Makes sense.
Oh dear, I the ones I mentioned are not the sort of influential the OP was looking for. Still, I find them inspirational.
[QUOTE=beaujolais;8790906]
Oh dear, I the ones I mentioned are not the sort of influential the OP was looking for. Still, I find them inspirational.[/QUOTE]
Not to worry. VA racing and breeding is dead. PA racing and breeding is on life support. So finding a significant player, man or woman, in those two states that actually did something to perpetuate and inspire the game is a stretch. MD is holding on and reaping the benefits of being the last one standing. No one mentioned DE which continues to plug along.
It would be nice to have some inspiration in the Mid-Atlantic, but for the most part those who had the ability and influence to solidify the game are on a expiration list.
The shame is that the area has been on idle for so long that most farms are better known for being on the national historic register and their owners on the SSA death list.
You might be interested to know that COSTCO is doing well in the Mid-Atlantic. If you can’t play the horses, shopping is a great alternative and you end up losing your money too.
Nancy Knox (Monkton, MD) is still very active in steeplechase. I would say she’s very influential.
Linda Albert, Lacey Gaudet, Katie Voss, Tina Malgarini Mawing, Lori Bourne, Jessie Pizzuro, oh man my list could be a very long one. Not all the big hit players but a lot of good, honest, hardworking, humane women in racing, and that is what influential means to me. A lot of them.
Janet Elliot? Historically she’s been influential
What about Ellen Charles? http://www.mdhorsemen.com/index.php/about-us/board-of-directors/ellen-charles
[QUOTE=Shammy Davis;8790155]
I thought you said you were always hanging out at the beach.[/QUOTE]
Not often enough! Yet…
“VA racing and breeding is dead.”
I am so, so, so sorry, esp. as I believe that is your area. Tragic when what makes one’s heart beat fast dries up. I knew of this but it is still always hard to hear.
“MD is holding on and reaping the benefits of being the last one standing.”
Say, I’m going to become a Marylander next week. (Going to a decent equestrian area was of prime importance.) Did I make the right choice? Can I count as the (non-influential) used-to-be groom & licensed stb trainer extraordinare? Btw, I can probably be found at the rail, in a lovely COSTCO outfit, Chrome baseball cap, with glass of beaujolais and, perhaps, crab cakes. 
Laurel sounds like a healthy track (for now, keeping fingers crossed) and the Stronach group is buying Rosecroft Raceway, which is probably a good thing.
“COSTCO is doing well, . . . , shopping is a great alternative and you end up losing your money too.”
:lol: Oh, I did look into that and made sure there was one nearby. :yes:
[QUOTE=beaujolais;8793584]
“VA racing and breeding is dead.”
I am so, so, so sorry, esp. as I believe that is your area. Tragic when what makes one’s heart beat fast dries up. I knew of this but it is still always hard to hear.
“MD is holding on and reaping the benefits of being the last one standing.”
Say, I’m going to become a Marylander next week. (Going to a decent equestrian area was of prime importance.) Did I make the right choice? Can I count as the (non-influential) used-to-be groom & licensed stb trainer extraordinare? Btw, I can probably be found at the rail, in a lovely COSTCO outfit, Chrome baseball cap, with glass of beaujolais and, perhaps, crab cakes. :cool" Laurel sounds like a healthy track (for now, keeping fingers crossed) and the Stronach group is buying Rosecroft Raceway, which is probably a good thing.
“COSTCO is doing well, . . . , shopping is a great alternative and you end up losing your money too.”
:lol: Oh, I did look into that and made sure there was one nearby. :yes:[/QUOTE]
You are in luck, MD is all about being horsey and eating seafood. Can we start calling you “crab cakes?” There is an extra benefit too. Most VA graded stakes, including our derby, are being run in MD. If things don’t work out better in PA, I wouldn’t be surprised to hear that PA will be running its derby at Laurel soon.
Smart move on your part if you like horses and seafood. Hope Coctco has a fashionable safety helmet for you to wear if you go to 2017 Preakness. Carry a well organized emergency medical kit. The grandstands are ripe for collapse. Don’t lean on the rails either. They were installed circa 1607.
No one mentioned Charlsie Cantey or Jeanne Edwards, both going on to national celebrity status.
