In a break with tradition, no rain came Saturday for the My Lady?s Manor Steeplechase Races in Monkton.
The race, which benefits Ladew Topiary Gardens, provided a verdant ? but sometimes quite breezy ? opportunity for about 10,000 fans to watch top-notch timber racing over a 3-mile course and a hunt team relay.
Sham Aciss, owned by Brick?n Brew Stable, won the 96th running, with a purse of $25,000.
Ladew Topiary Gardens, in Monkton, is open to the public from April through October. The attraction offers a variety of events, ranging from lectures to a popular summer concert series.
Formerly the home of world-class horseman Harvey Ladew, who palled around with the rich and famous, including Clark Gable and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, the estate bears the indelible imprint of Ladew?s personal tastes and varied interests.
Since Ladew was an aficionado of “the art of personality,” he surely would have been bemused at the range of expressions displayed Saturday ? from a white super-stretch pickup truck limo with a John Deere logo, to an old Land Rover with a pirate flag and dead fox snapping in the breeze.
An enormous video screen simulcast the races, providing the best view, because the course threaded through trees and between hills.
Now it?s on to the two most formidable races: the Grand National Steeplechase on Saturday, followed by the Maryland Hunt Cup on April 29.
