The 2025 Maryland Governor’s Cup Series, which began last fall with The Legacy Chase as Shawan Downs, has officially CLOSED!
Scroll down to find out who won what.
Click here to register to attend the Awards Reception, Thursday, June 19th. This year’s party will be at the Elkridge-Harford Hunt Club; the awards presentation will be followed by live music.
Organized by the Maryland Steeplechase Association, the Series is unique in that it combines placings from National Steeplechase Association race meets (aka “sanctioned” meets) with “informal” point-to-point (“unsanctioned”) meets. It is unusual in horse sports to combine performances – how often do you hear of awards for performances in rated and unrated horse shows? Recognized and unrecognized events? Local schooling and national level?
Just as it is true that Maryland has more horses per square mile than any other state, and more horse competitions per square mile than any other state, we also have more jump race meets per square mile than any other state. We rub up and bump up against each other all the time in Maryland. Maryland is also proud to be the home of the National Steeplechase Association.
The Maryland Governor’s Cup Series was launched in the early 1990s as a way to celebrate this uniquely Maryland density of jump races. Yes, we have the most challenging timber race in the world, the Maryland Hunt Cup, and we have our impressive sanctioned meets (My Lady’s Manor, Grand National and The Legacy Chase at Shawan Downs) – but our unsanctioned meets are pretty darn impressive as well, drawing Hunt Cup horses as well as Hunt Cup prospects, trainers and riders, offering respectable purses and a level of professionalism that brings the sponsors and spectators of point-to-points equal joy to those of the sanctioned meets.
Our “big timber” horses are seen legging up in the hunt fields and the point-to-points. The same volunteers work the sanctioned and unsanctioned meets. All meets have an equal voice on the Board of Directors of the Maryland Steeplechase Association.We are one in Maryland.
The Maryland Governor’s Cup recognizes all of Maryland’s diverse meets by awarding horses, riders, trainers and owners points based on placings, with the points for sanctioned meets weighed slightly heavier than those earned at point-to-points. Click here for a full description of the awards and how the points work.
