George Strawbridge had signed on as president of the National Steeplechase Association a year earlier-- a volunteer job he freely said he didn't want. He sat down for a conversation with Joe Clancy to assess his presidency and the changing face of the NSA.
Saying he took the job because of his love of the sport, Strawbridge was working to create a unified industry. Asked about how big steeplechasing could get, he responded: "It always will be small, but it has the advantage of being a unique sport. Its uniqueness can make it grow bigger and expand. By unique I mean the absolute enthusiastic reception to the sport in areas that have basically never seen it."
Running to his million-dollar looks and high-profile connections, Pennsylvania-bred High Yield added a second Grade 1 victory to his resume with his determined run in Gulfstream's Fountain of Youth.
Bred by Betty Moran's Brushwood Stable, the son of Storm Cat out of the Forty Niner mare Scoop the Gold sold for $1,050,000 at the Keeneland July Yearling sale, making him the most expensive Mid-Atlantic-bred sold at auction in 1998. Trained by Wayne Lukas for Bob and Beverly Lewis, Michael Tabor and Mrs. John Magnier, High Yield won Saratoga's Hopeful Stakes-G1 at 2. In 11 starts, his earnings were just over $700,000.
Honors for breeder, stallion and broodmare of the year were announced by the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, with Robert Meyerhoff, the Mid-Atlantic region's leading breeder and ranked 25th nationally, recognized for the fifth time in eight years; Country Life Farm's Allen's Prospect won his second title; and Meyerhoff's Dynamic Star, dam of 1999 Ohio Derby-G2 winner Stellar Brush, earned top broodmare honors.
Six Mid-Atlantic-breds sold for as much as $1 million in 1999, two for at least $2 million. Not For Love's 2-year-old son La Salle Street (bred in Maryland by Katherine Willson) was the most expensive Mid-Atlantic-sired horse when sold to Demi O'Bryne for $2 million at the Keeneland April sale. The Robert Meyerhoff-bred Retrospective, a 1992 Maryland-bred daughter of Easy Goer and half-sister to Broad Brush, topped regional-breds, selling for $2.9 million to John Magnier while in foal to Deputy Minister.
