CHARLESTON, S.C. — The Racing Medication and
Testing Consortium and long-time Maryland Racing Commission executive director
Michael J. Hopkins have received the highest awards given by the organization
that represents racing regulators.
The Association of Racing Commissioners
International honored the RMTC with its William May Award and Hopkins with the
Len Foote Award at its awards luncheon Thursday, closing day of the three-day
ARCI’s 83rd annual conference on Equine Welfare and Racing Integrity at the
Charleston Marriott.
The William May Award recognizes an
individual or entity that has had a profound positive impact on professional
racing. It is named for the the late William May, who in the 1970s was one of
the most powerful chairmen in the history of the Kentucky racing commission.
The RMTC strives to develop and promote
uniform rules, policies and testing standards at the national level, along with
coordinating research and educational programs that seek to ensure the
integrity of the sport and the health and welfare of racehorses and participants,
while also protecting the racing public’s interests.
“Without their contributions, I’m not sure
many of us would have been as successful as we’ve been in the areas of drug
testing, medication and medication uniformity, funding of research, development
of lab standards, model RFP for bidding for lab services,” said ARCI president
Ed Martin. “Running that organization is, frankly, kind of a thankless job. But
the effort made is enormous. The executive committee thought that if RMTC was
not here, how much harder all of our jobs would be.”
Said RMTC executive director Dionne Benson:
“If we were to bring everybody up on this stage who contributed — members of
our scientific-advisory committee, our board, those who serve on committees —
there would be very few people left in the audience. Combine that with the
trust put into RMTC and our recommendations by the regulators, we wouldn’t be
an organization without those groups.
“This is a great reflection of the
collaboration among all the industry groups that RMTC represents. We are very
honored to accept this award on behalf of all the people who work so hard for
RMTC.”
The Len Foote Award recognizes exemplary
service and contribution to racing integrity by a commission executive director
as chosen by his or her peers. The award is named in honor of the late Len
Foote, longtime executive director of the California Horse Racing Board, and is
considered the highest distinction for racing officials in North America and
the Caribbean.
Hopkins grew up on his family’s farm,
helping care for six stallions and more than 100 broodmares. At age 12, he was
working the Fasig-Tipton yearling sales at Saratoga for Maryland’s famed
Windfields Farm. His first racetrack job came in 1980 at Pimlico, taking
tickets from fans entering the infield tunnel on Preakness Day. Hopkins, who
spent 12 years as a steward and remains an accredited official, became deputy
director of the Maryland Racing Commission in 1984 and executive director in
2002. He also is ARCI’s chair-elect.
Now here are the bear facts:
As best that can be determined, Hopkins is
the only racing regulator who has wrestled a 500-pound black bear. That came
back in his early 20s, when an old professional wrestler toured towns and
taverns with a declawed bear, challenging young bucks to wrestle the animal.
Hopkins admits that the stewards would have declared the bear the winner.
“My brother called me and said, ‘What are
you doing tonight? … We’re all going to this bar. We’re going to wrestle a
bear,’” he recalled. “The way it was described to me is that to beat the bear,
you had to get the bear on his back, feet up in the air. That wasn’t going to
happen. I think the bear won; the bear did win. Let’s put it this way: I was
watching my brother try to tangle with it a little bit, and the next thing I
know, my brother’s head is bouncing off the wrestling mat like a sack of
potatoes and the bear jumping on him.”
Hopkins said he benefited from great
mentors, including “Mr. Preakness” Chick Lang, Bowie general manager Al Karwacki,
Bowie board member Joe McLoone and Laurel general manager Ken Shertle. “Just a
multitude of people,” he said. “Even growing up, there was Joe Hickey, the
writer who worked for Windfields when I worked for them.”
About ARCI: The Association of
Racing Commissioners International is the umbrella organization of the official
rule-making bodies for professional horse and greyhound racing in North America
and parts of the Caribbean. The RCI sets standards for racing regulation,
medication policy, drug-testing laboratories, totalizator systems, racetrack
operation and security, including for off-track wagering entities. RCI’s
members are the only independent entities recognized to license, enforce and
adjudicate matters pertaining to racing. While the RCI, a not-for-profit trade
association, has no regulatory authority, its members individually possess
regulatory authority within their jurisdictions and solely determine whether or
not to adopt RCI recommendations and policies and rules.
