Down in the pasture, they were racing. Up on the hillside, they were partying.
It's hard to say which was more competitive at yesterday's Marlborough Hunt Races in Davidsonville -- the 10 horse races or the tailgate contests with 30 entries.
The combination drew a record crowd that packed historic 218-acre Roedown Farm in Anne Arundel County for the 25th running of the races.
"What could be better than this? The ground is good, the weather is great, the crowd is big," said Lenny Hale, director of racing for the Maryland Jockey Club who was on the prowl for trainers. "It's a fun workday. And it's a good day to test out tailgates."
The tailgate setups vying for titles such as "best presentation" and "best theme" are hardly your average tuna-sandwich-in-a-plastic-bag picnics.
Tom and Jessica McCarthy of Annapolis left the good china at home in favor of pressed glass dishes, but they did serve champagne in Waterford crystal flutes.
Their car lacked a tailgate to pop open -- it's a 1937 Rolls-Royce -- though that didn't deter a few dozen guests from circulating near the McCarthys' spread, nibbling on herbed ham, asparagus with hollandaise sauce and the like. It was served against a backdrop of spring's yellow daffodils and purple grape hyacinth in planters on the couple's tables.
Like many people, the McCarthys have no direct link to the horse race.
"We come every year. We just come to have fun," Jessica McCarthy said.
As did a lot of other people.
"It's a social event where friends from the last 20 years get together. It is a unique day," said Del. Virginia P. Clagett, an Anne Arundel County Democrat who lives nearby.
Race co-chair E. Steuart Chaney, who woke up panicking that the cool, windy weather would lead to a small turnout, grinned as visitors squinted in the midafternoon sunshine.
"We are running out of programs," he said, estimating that the crowd topped last year's 5,000.
The races at Roedown, an afternoon to benefit Marlborough Hunt Club, draws a crowd more laid-back and less tweedy than at many timber races.
Organizers never sought to have it sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association, and it remains more of an amateur race, said John Cory, Roedown's racing secretary. The second set of races in the Maryland Governor's Cup series, it prepares the horses and jockeys for races later in the season.
"I brought my kids up riding. I can't stay away from it," said Anne Sieling of Annapolis, as she loitered near the rail for a closer view. "This is probably one of the most fun spectator races."
The purses are small, horses are not handicapped, and wagering is of the friendly sort. Billed locally as an outdoor family day, the event packed Roedown Farm -- owned by Jeanne and Hal C.B. Clagett -- with children tossing footballs and practicing lacrosse.
For people like Mike Miller of Davidsonville and his daughter Katie, the day was perfect.
While the father chatted with friends, the daughter perched on a rail, petting race officials' horses and watching the races. Her pick to win in every race was either No. 7 -- "Seven is my lucky number because my birthday is Feb. 7. And, I am 7 years old" -- or whichever horse was in the lead as it zipped past her.
While people often associate steeplechases with all things English, that viewpoint didn't necessarily carry over to the hillside.
Party themes ranged from cowboy -- David Price of Annapolis made a pair of wood horses that seemingly every child at Roedown sat on for a photo -- to Mardi Gras, where a gaggle of friends from Riva put on a party that included New Orleans dancing music.
Honors for "best overall tailgate" went to "Chez Roedown," a group from Annapolis whose "country French" theme featured herbed chicken roasted on a full-sized gas grill.
Pub Date: 3/29/99