Legacy Chase turns 25 at Shawan Downs, where horses race the other way
· Yahoo Sports
Most American racehorses spend their careers turning left. At Cockeysville’s Shawan Downs on Saturday, they will head the other way.
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The clockwise course is one feature that sets the Legacy Chase presented by Brown Advisory apart from other stops on Maryland’s steeplechase calendar. The 25th running will open the fall steeplechase schedule with seven races and over 50 horses entered across the hurdle and timber divisions.
The first race is scheduled for 12:30 p.m. The card begins with four 2-mile hurdle races before shifting to three timber races of about 3 1/8 miles.
“Obviously, this track, when the home crowd is there, is nice to win at,” local trainer Tom Garner said. “This track’s a bit different because it’s right-handed. We don’t have many right-handed courses.”
Hurdle races are typically faster and use brush fences with padded rolls, while timber horses jump solid post-and-rail fences. Most timber horses begin their careers over hurdles, Garner said, although the transition requires them to become more careful jumpers because timber fences do not give way as easily.
Shawan’s hurdle races take place on an oval course, with horses racing clockwise rather than counterclockwise, as is customary at American flat tracks. Garner believes that could benefit European horses with experience turning right. The timber course uses a figure-eight configuration that carries horses away from the main oval before bringing them back toward the same home stretch.
Garner will saddle several horses Saturday, including Max’d Out in the fourth race, a $35,000 allowance scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Max’d Out won a maiden hurdle at Shawan last year.
The featured race, the $25,000 Brown Advisory Timber Stakes, follows at 3:10 p.m. Keys Discount, trained by Hall of Famer and Butler Road-based trainer Jack Fisher, returns after winning the race last year. The field also includes Animal Kingston, Storm Team, Auction Kingdom, Anzio and Total Joy.
While the racing is the centerpiece, organizers view the 25th running as a celebration of the land that makes it possible. Shawan Downs is owned by the Land Preservation Trust, which was formed by local landowners who wanted to protect the property and make it available to the community.
“It’s meaningful to be able to help continue this tradition,” said James Stierhoff, a former amateur jockey who serves as a race co-chair and works for presenting sponsor Brown Advisory. “It’s a privilege to be part of it.”
A new race committee formed about four years ago to attract younger spectators while maintaining the event’s traditions. The committee moved the paddock closer to spectators and added a vendor village, children’s zone, pony rides and petting zoo.
“We were asked to come in and breathe some new young life into it,” committee member Posey Obrecht said.
The layout gives spectators several ways to watch. Tailgaters can park along portions of the rail, while finish-line boxes place groups beside the action. The surrounding hillside also provides a view of nearly the entire course, a contrast from spring timber races in which horses can disappear across sprawling farmland.
“You can get up close and personal,” Obrecht said. “It’s good vibes all around.”
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Legacy Chase at Shawan DownsAt 1400 Shawan Road, Cockeysville
Saturday, post time 12:30 p.m.
Stream:nationalsteeplechase.com
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