The Maryland Horse Breeders Association membership has selected three incumbents, one returning, and one new member to the 2023 Board of Directors.
Dictated by MHBA bylaws, the annually held election fills five open seats on the board. Those elected will serve for the next three years.
Incumbents returning to the board are Henry S. “Tim” Clark III, Charles C. Fenwick Jr. and Thomas J. Rooney. William K. Boniface, who has previously served five separate terms on the board, returns. Lisa Hofstetter joins the board for the first time.
William K. Boniface – A member of the MHBA since 1983, Boniface has been the co-operator of his family's Bonita Farm in Darlington since 1982. He served as president of the MHBA in 2004 and 2005 and was a board member for 15 years, starting in 1988.
He was president of the Harford County Council from 2006 to 2014 and director of administration for the Harford County government from 2014 to 2020. Boniface also served as past chair of the MHBA Finance Committee and the MHBA Breed Promotion Committee and was on the Board of Trustees of the Maryland Agricultural Land Preservation Foundation from 2008 through 2011. He is currently a member of the Maryland Horse Foundation Board of Trustees, Harford Land Trust, and Harford County Farm Bureau.
Boniface and his family bred 1983 Preakness winner Deputed Testamony and 1995 Preakness runner-up Oliver's Twist. His goal is to “continue advocating for horse farms throughout the state as an important partner to the entire equine industry and Maryland's agricultural community.”
Lisa Golden Hofstetter – Hofstetter is co-owner of Sycamore Hall Farm and vice president of Northview Stalion Station, both in Chesapeake City, and owner of eight stallions, including perennial Maryland leading stallion Great Notion, as well as 20 broodmares and numerous horses of racing age and younger. She joined the MHBA in 2023 and will serve her first term on the MHBA board of directors.
“My father and mother [Richard and Ann Golden] were both great supporters of Maryland racing and breeding,” said Hofstetter. “My brother [Michael Golden] and I hope to continue their vision. As owner of both a stallion and broodmare farm, my main focus would be making sure the Maryland-bred program continues to be appealing to breeders, owners, operators, and stallion farms. It is important Maryland-bred bonuses/rewards keep up with other regional programs.
Obviously the most challenging issue currently facing the Maryland horse industry is the future of Maryland racing and our track facilities. Hopefully with the recent passing of legislation creating the Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority, we are a step closer to rebuilding the future of Maryland racing.”
Henry S. “Tim” Clark III – Clark is the owner and operator of Glengar Farm in Glyndon. He worked for his father, Hall of Fame trainer Henry S. Clark, managed Bowling Brook Farm in the 1960s, and spent 10 years with American Totalizator Co. He also worked as a special agent for the government from 1970 to 1995.
Clark has been an MHBA member since 1975 and has served on the board of directors since August 2022, when he was elected to finish a vacant term. He is a member of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association, International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors, Military Vehicle Preservation Association, Baltimore County Farm Bureau, Maryland Farm Bureau, Southern States Cooperative, and Mid-Atlantic Farm Credit. Clark's objective is to “help preserve and protect Thoroughbred racing in Maryland.”
Charles C. Fenwick Jr. – Fenwick has been a member of the MHBA since 1975. He has served on the MHBA board of directors since August 2022, when he was elected to complete a vacant term.
Fenwick is the president of the Fair Hill Foundation board of directors and a member of the Shawan Downs Committee with the Land Preservation Trust. In 2022 he received the Robert N. Clay Conservation Award from the Equine Land Conservation Resource. Other service includes the GBMC Healthcare Board of Directors, Gilman School Board of Trustees and he was previously on the National Steeplechase Association board of directors, Temple Gwathmey Steeplechase Foundation Board of Trustees and the Maryland Horse Industry Board of Directors.
Fenwick trained Hall of Fame steeplechaser *Ben Nevis II and rode him to victories in the Maryland Hunt Cup in 1977 and 1978 and the Aintree Grand National in 1980. He won the Maryland Hunt Cup as a rider five times, the others with *Dosdi (1979), Cancottage (GB) (1983) and Sugar Bee (1987), and trained Eclipse Award-winning steeplechaser Inlander (GB) and 1995 and 1997 Maryland Hunt Cup winner Buck Jakes. His goal is to “see steeplechasing become a more meaningful part of Maryland racing.”
Thomas J. Rooney – Rooney is the president and CEO of the National Thoroughbred Racing Association. His family has owned Shamrock Farm in Woodbine since 1950. He served as captain in the U.S. Army JAG Corps from 2000 to 2004 and served as a U.S. Representative from Florida, representing the 16th congressional district from 2009 to 2013, and the 17th district from 2013 to 2019. Rooney joined the MHBA in 2019, was a presidential appointee to the MHBA board of directors that year and has served ever since.
“I would like to make sure owners and breeders with a small stable are represented,” said Rooney. “Having worked at the top level of politics, I understand in order to move forward in a productive way you have to have an open mind and understand all points of view.”
The five join current directors George Adams, Amy Burk, Michael J. Harrison DVM, Michael Horning, Christine Holden, Ann B. Jackson, Grace Merryman, Kent A. Murray, Gina Robb and Adair B. Stifel.
The MHBA's Annual General Membership meeting will take place Friday, June 23 at 12 p.m. at the Maryland Horse Library & Education Center in Reisterstown. Charlie Hoppa, the president of the Reisterstown Improvement Association, will serve as guest speaker.
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