The sun rises over the track at Pimlico Race Course. Photo by William F. Zorzi.
Gov. Wes Moore (D) announced appointments to the new Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority on Friday in keeping with legislation establishing the 13-member panel to develop a plan for ensuring the viability of horse racing in the state.
In making the appointments, Moore drew upon a known talent pool in the thoroughbred racing industry, as well as political advisers close to him.
“The horse racing industry is an important part of our state’s history and our present-day economy. We have a long, distinguished tradition of racing here in our state,” Moore said in a statement. “My administration is committed to working with all stakeholders to not only move us forward but to ensure a solid, successful, and sustainable future for Maryland racing.”
The governor named:
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• Gregory A. Cross, a lawyer with Baltimore’s politically powerful firm of Venable LLP and an experienced hand in racing negotiations, as chair of the nine-person authority;
• Mary C. Tydings, of Easton, the governor’s campaign treasurer who recently retired from Russell Reynolds Associates, an executive search firm; and
• Jeffrey L. Hargrave, founder and president of Mahogany, Inc., a commercial construction firm in Baltimore.
Cross, who negotiated the 2010 deal under the administration of Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) that ensured the Preakness Stakes could not be moved out of Maryland, has been actively involved this past year in conversations with the track owners and industry officials about an agreement for the future of racing in the state.
Moore announced his appointments of three nonvoting ex-officio members, a last-minute addition to the legislation:
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• Nicole Earle as representative of the area around Pimlico Race Course;
• Joe Franco to represent the area around Laurel Park track; and
• Gavin B. Stokes to represent the environs of the Bowie Race Course Training Center.
Moore also announced the appointment of representatives who were nominated by industry organizations, in keeping with the legislation.
Selected by the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association was Alan M. Foreman, general counsel to the organization and executive director of the national Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Associations Inc.
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Representing the Maryland Horse Breeders Association will be Thomas J. “Tom” Rooney, a former Republican congressman from Florida who is president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. Rooney also has a hand in his family’s Shamrock Farm, a thoroughbred breeding operation in Woodbine, Howard County, that was founded by his grandfather, Art Rooney Sr.
Others on the authority are:
Craig A. Thompson, another Venable lawyer and Moore’s campaign chair, who will represent the Maryland Stadium Authority, which he chairs; and George P. Mahoney Jr., a paving contractor and Baltimore County horse owner, who was named Tuesday by the Maryland Racing Commission to be its nonvoting ex-officio member.
On May 23, the General Assembly’s presiding officers — Senate President Bill Ferguson (D-Baltimore City) and House Speaker Adrienne A. Jones (D-Baltimore County) — sent on to Moore the names of the nominees they jointly picked:
Louis J. Ulman, a lawyer and former chair of the Maryland Racing Commission; and Charles G. “Chuck” Tildon III, a former member of the Racing Commission and vice president of the University of Maryland Medical System Corp. who was campaign treasurer of former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.
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One member remained unknown Friday — the representative of the Maryland Economic Development Corp. (MEDCO). As provided in the legislation, that member will either be either J. Thomas Sadowski Jr., MEDCO’s executive director, or Scott E. Dorsey, the president of Merritt Properties LLC, who chairs the MEDCO board.
Questions to MEDCO as to whether a decision had been made were unanswered.
COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Michigan State has an excellent chance to make a strong statement this weekend that the rebuilding job under new head coach Jonathan Smith is ahead of schedule, if the Spartans can take down 8-point favorite Maryland on Saturday.
A Michigan State victory would be a strong statement within the football industry, but maybe not as strong from a fan perspective. I’m not sure Maryland’s football brand is as respected in the state of Michigan and regionally as it should be, for a program that has gone 8-5 in the past two seasons and defeated Auburn and North Carolina State in bowl games the past two years.
Maryland is good. The Terrapins are coming off a 50-7 victory over a weak UConn team last week. Maryland’s offense looked very good against a weak, soft, conservative UConn defense.
Michigan State’s defense was ahead of schedule last week against a mediocre Florida Atlantic offense. Michigan State’s offense was behind schedule, experiencing inconsistent accuracy and decision-making at the quarterback position, which was somewhat understandable considering it was sophomore Aidan Chiles’ first start as a college player. MSU’s running game also lacked consistency, especially in short yardage and in the red zone.
The big news from Maryland last week in my opinion was the excellent play of new starting quarterback Billy Edwards. The 6-foot-3, 222-pound redshirt-junior had waited behind the outgoing, record-breaking Taulia Tagovailoa for three years. Tagovailoa left Maryland as the Big Ten’s all-time passing leader. He went undrafted and is now playing in the CFL.
Edwards looked good last week. He’s strong in the pocket, is a physical ball carrier on designed runs or scrambles. He was accurate over the middle on intermediate routes, and seemed to do a good job processing coverages, although UConn’s coverages were simple, slow and soft.
I saw this Michigan State vs Maryland game as a swing game on the schedule prior to the season. But considering how well Edwards and his receivers looked last week, and Michigan State’s sputtering start on offense, this game goes from being a swing game to uphill slog for the Spartans.
One teen shot another during a dispute in a Maryland high school bathroom Friday in what authorities called an isolated incident.
The victim, a 15-year-old student at Joppatowne High School, was in serious condition after being airlifted to a hospital, the Harford County Public Schools said in a news release, citing information it received from the county sheriff’s department.
A 16-year-old student whom police identified as the shooter fled shortly afterward but was caught minutes later nearby, according to the news release. Officials said no information would be released immediately about the weapon, which had not been recovered.
The state’s attorney has said the suspect will be charged, the release said, citing Harford County Sheriff Jeff Gahler.
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Shortly after the shooting, the sheriff’s office asked people to avoid the area, but emphasized that the confrontation was an “isolated incident, not an active shooter.” A parent-student reunification center was established at a nearby church. More than 100 personnel responded to the high school about 20 miles (32 kilometers) northeast of Baltimore, Gahler said.
The fight happened two days after a shooter whom authorities identified as a 14-year-old student killed four people at a high school outside Atlanta. Wednesday’s attack renewed debate about safe storage laws for guns and had parents wondering how to talk to their children about school shootings and trauma.
Michigan State football heads out east looking to open Big Ten play with a big-time victory.
The Spartans will play at Maryland on Saturday afternoon in their first conference game of the year. Michigan State enters this matchup with a 1-0 record on the year following last week’s win over Florida Atlantic. Maryland is also 1-0 thus far on the season, picking up a blowout non-conference win over UConn last week.
Maryland enters this game as a more than touchdown favorite depending on the sports book. The Terps have won the last two meetings between these two schools.
Below are the details for Saturday’s matchup between the Spartans and Terps:
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Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET on September 7
Location: SECU Stadium (College Park, Md.)
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)
Listen: Spartan Media Network or MSUSpartans.com
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