Speed is the name of the game for two horses selected for entry into the Maryland-bred thoroughbred Hall of Fame in 2022.
Award-winning sprinters Eclipse Star de Naskra and Smoke Glacken are the latest after a vote by a committee of Maryland racing industry members led by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and the Traditional Society of Maryland. through Maryland Racing coordinator.
“It is testament to the quality of crossbred horses over the years that the 30th and 31st horses in our Hall of Fame are both,” said Maryland Racing Communications Association President Frank Vespe. are Eclipse Award-winning sprinters,” said Frank Vespe, president of the Maryland Racing Communications Association. “Star de Naskra and Smoke Glacken have both handled and often beat the best of their generation, and they truly deserve this recognition.”
Star de Naskra won the national championship at the age of 4 in 1979, the year he won six of his 10 starts (and was eliminated on the first attempt in another), including the Shares Whitney and Bold Ruler, and Handicap Cornhusker and Carter, after defeating Alydar. In 36 career starts from 2 to 4, he won 15 races, won 8 bets, and finished only 3 times worse than 4th place. Coached throughout his career by Dick Ferris, Star de Naskra was lobbied by his breeder, Carlyle “Jiggs” Lancaster, until the start of the 1979 season when Lancaster sold half the profits to William duPont III’s Pillar Stud in Lexington, Ky.
Naskra’s son Candle Star, of Clandestine, earned $587,391 before suffering an injury after finishing fourth in Division 1 in 1979, forcing Vosburgh to retire. He was named the Maryland Cross of the Year and the Maryland Senior Men’s Champion in 1979.
Smoke Glacken took home his Eclipse award 18 years later, following a 3-year-old season in 1997 in which he caught six of eight starts, all of which took place on the sidelines of the day. He took the championship by winning his last three starts – 3rd Riva Ridge in Belmont Park, 3rd Jersey Shore at Monmouth Park and 2nd Frank J. De Francis Memorial Dash Stakes in Laurel, the latter. facing older athletes for the first time.
A class 1 winner in 2nd place in Saratoga’s Stakes of Hope, which he won in nine lengths, Two Punch’s son on the Magic Horse’s Crown was the Maryland Stall of the Year. at the age of 3 and a two-time division champion. He retired with 10 wins, 9 wins, two seconds and a third and made $759,560 in 14 starts in a racing career that lasted just over a year.
“With the introduction of the Maryland Hall of Fame, each year we’re able to shine a spotlight on Maryland’s important crossbreeds. The association,” and that’s it, said Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders. is an opportunity for many people to learn about these horses and their connection. We congratulate them!”
This year’s entrants will be held during a mid-race ceremony at Timonium, Saturday, September 3.
Under a partnership of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association and the Maryland Racing Media Association, the Hall of Fame was initiated in 2013 as a means of honoring the excellence of state-bred Thoroughbred horses. created and launched with the first class of 12 people. Currently there are 31 members. Smoke Glacken and Star de Naskra join members of MTHOF Awad, Broad Brush, Caesar’s Wish, Challedon, Cigar, Concern, Conniver, Dave’s Friend, Deputed Testamony, Devil’s Bag, El Gran Senor, Find, Gallorette, Heavenly Cause, Jameela, JO Tobin, Kauai King, Little Bold John, Courtesy, Safe Kept, Social Outcast, Twixt, Vertex, What a Summer and Youth and Elkridge bell tower, Good Night Shirt, Jay Trump and Tuscalee.
The latest honorees, with biographies, photos, videos and complete race profiles, will be featured online at www.mdthoroughbredhalloffame.com.
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