At My Lady’s Manor, timber racing blends risk, tradition and ritual

Q: What is the significance of the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase in Maryland?

The My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase is the opening leg of Maryland's timber Triple Crown, highlighting its importance in the local horse racing tradition.

Q: How many races were held at the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase this year?

This year, four races were held during the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase event.

Q: What traditions are associated with the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase?

The event blends risk, tradition, and ritual, with spectators often tailgating and dressing in spring colors to celebrate the occasion.

Q: When did the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase first take place?

The My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase has been held for 115 years, indicating its long-standing history since its inception.

(Kim Hairston/Baltimore Sun/TNS)

The line to enter the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase stretched down Pocock Road well before the first race at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

By the time spectators filtered in, they came prepared.

It was the 115th running of the races — the opening leg of Maryland’s timber Triple Crown — and thousands settled in for the afternoon, setting up tailgates beside their cars and under tents, dressed in spring colors and spread along the rails as horses charged through four races across the rolling course.

For many, the day is less a one-time outing and more a ritual.

“This is the highlight of our spring,” said spectator Mark Olszyk, who has attended the past 10 years with his family.

Olszyk came with his son, Gabe — a senior at John Carroll — and Gabe’s friend, Teagan Baralo, a Calvert Hall senior. And if there was any doubt about the unofficial competition for best outfit, their group made a convincing case.

Olszyk leaned into the day’s tradition with a classic race-day look: A straw hat perched on his head, a yellow button-down neatly tucked with a blue bowtie and Maryland flag-inspired suspenders. Beside him, Gabe and Teagan took a different route entirely. Each wore inflatable horse costumes strapped around their waists, giving the illusion they were galloping through the crowd.

The seniors said this year’s look might not top past efforts — fully enclosed inside oversized inflatable horses. This time, they settled for “riding” them instead. Still, in a field full of bold fashion and louder personalities, it was hard to miss them.

“There’s always some great food … some great odds, some great betting,” Gabe Olszyk said.

The afternoon’s first race, the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase for the largest purse of $50,000, didn’t end without controversy.

Bogey’s Image, ridden by Teddy Davies, appeared to win, only for a lengthy stewards’ inquiry to delay the result as spectators waited along the rails.

Minutes later, the outcome changed.

Davies was disqualified after coming in a pound over his assigned riding weight of 167, handing the victory to Uco Valley, ridden by Darren Andrews and trained by Leslie Young.

“I don’t usually like to win races that way,” Young said. “But I’ll take it. … The horse looked like he jumped great.”

But for as much as the day revolves around tailgates and tradition, the sport itself is something else entirely.

Timber racing, a form of steeplechase racing unique to places like Maryland, sends horses and jockeys over miles-long courses, clearing fixed wooden fences that don’t give on impact. Unlike the more familiar flat races like the Preakness, there are no straightaways or predictable turns. The courses wind through open fields, climb hills and test both endurance and precision.

The path into the sport often starts long before race day.

Andrews grew up riding in traditional English hunt country — galloping across open fields and jumping fences — before working his way into racing, first through pony races and later formal training.

Now 32, he’s ridden more than 100 winners overseas. A call from a friend brought him to Maryland for the first time, an opportunity he hadn’t seriously considered before.

“I’ll be brutally honest,” he said. “It’s never been anything that’s taken my eye … but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed today. I’d love to come back.”

For trainers, the work is less about race day and more about everything leading up to it.

Horses return to training in the winter, building gradually: Jogging miles at a time before progressing to full-speed gallops and eventually practicing over fences.

“They start in January, just jogging for about six weeks,” Young said. “Then we start galloping them … some days it’s hills, some days it’s schooling over fences.”

The goal isn’t just speed. It’s balance. Rhythm. Trust between horse and rider.

“It’s very different than what most people are familiar with,” horse owner Dr. Devon Smith said. “They’re racing over hills … it’s not a flat circle.”

Eric Porter on Step Out, Brett Owings on The Kid Rocks and Teddy Davies on Jeremy Pass finish The Thomas H. Voss Memorial Steeplechase, the third race of the 115th running of the My Lady's Manor Steeplechase Races, in order. (Kim Hairston/staff) From left, Darren Andrews on Monbeg Stream leads at the jump as Sophie O’Brien on De Nordener clears the fence in The John D. Schapiro Memorial Steeplechase, the fourth race in the 115th running of the My Lady's Manor Steeplechase. O’Brien won and Andrews finished third. (Kim Hairston/staff) From left, Dan Nevin and Tufton Avenue jump next to Virginia Korrell on Minella Plus in The John Rush Streett Memorial Steeplechase, the second race in the 115th running of the My Lady's Manor Steeplechase. Beecher won the race and Korrell took second place. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Sophie O’Brien shakes hands with trainer Joseph Davies after winning The John D. Schapiro Memorial Steeplechase, the fourth race in the 115th running of the My Lady's Manor Steeplechase, aboard De Nordener. (Kim Hairston/staff) Teddy Davies on Bogey’s Image crosses the line first, but Darren Andrews riding Uco Valley was awarded first place in the 115th running of the My Lady's Manor Steeplechase after a lengthy steward’s inquiry. (Kim Hairston/staff) Sophie O’Brien on De Nordener, Darren Andrews on Monbeg Stream and Hunter Holm on Recoup race to the finish line in The John D. Schapiro Memorial Steeplechase, the fourth race in the 115th running of the My Lady's Manor Steeplechase. O’Brien won, Holm took second and Andrews finished third. (Kim Hairston/staff) Show Caption1 of 7Eric Porter rides Step Out to a first place finish in The Thomas H. Voss Memorial Steeplechase, the third race of the 115th running of the My Lady's Manor Steeplechase Races, in order. (Kim Hairston/staff)Expand

The risk is real. Horses can fall. Riders can be thrown. The fences, solid and unforgiving, demand full commitment every time.

Still, that danger is part of what draws people in.

“You just get excited,” Smith said. “That high is something you will chase forever.”

Behind the scenes, the preparation is constant.

“These horses are probably better cared for than most humans,” trainer Tom Garner said. “We just keep them healthy, keep them fit … we love the animals, and we love the sport.”

Yet for many scattered across the hillside, the intricacies of timber racing aren’t the main attraction. Instead, it’s everything around it.

“We tailgate with our friends. We have a blast,” said Terry Peilley, 66, attending for the third time.

“It’s a tradition,” her husband, Bob, 61, chimed in.

Coolers packed with shrimp, fried chicken, burgers, hot dogs and drinks lined the course. Food trucks and mobile bars sat near each other. Groups placed small bets with each other, sometimes based on nothing more than a name or a lucky number.

“I bet on No. 3,” Peilley said, winning $35 on her intuition in the third race. “My daughter’s lacrosse number.”

Nearby, first-time attendees took it all in.

“I didn’t even know this was here,” 19-year-old Aidan Folmer said. “But it’s really fun … a lot of people, nice day.”

For others, it’s something they’ve grown up with.

“My family’s been coming out for about 18 years,” said Jack Kappus, who was celebrating his 20th birthday at the races. “It’s just fun to walk around, meet people… especially when you have family or friends here.”

On the course, the day continued to unfold after the opening race’s dramatic finish.

Tufton Avenue, ridden by Dan Nevin and trained by Mark Beecher, won the John Rush Streett Memorial Steeplechase with a $20,000 purse. Step Out, ridden by Eric Poretz and trained by Neil R. Morris, captured the Thomas H. Voss Memorial Steeplechase for the same amount.

De Nordener, ridden by Sophie O’Brien and trained by Joseph G. Davies, closed out the afternoon by winning the John D. Schapiro Memorial Steeplechase for a $15,000 purse.

As the final races wrapped and the crowds began to thin, many didn’t rush to leave.

They lingered by their cars, finishing drinks, replaying bets and watching the last horses make their way off the course.

At the My Lady’s Manor Steeplechase, the results matter. But for most, that’s not what brings them back.

It’s the feeling — part sport, part spectacle, part tailgate — equal parts risk and ritual — that turns a Saturday in April into a tradition worth circling on the calendar every year.

Have a news tip? Contact Michael Howes at mhowes@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/Mikephowes.