The HW contingent in Maryland is the very best in the country. Led by Board Member Jennifer Sully and Communications Director Bailey Chapman, they tirelessly protest at both Laurel and Pimlico, leaflet and table in the surrounding communities, and engage with local and state politicians. In short, the horses have no better friends.
Jen, Bailey, and their small army were, of course, at the Preakness this past Saturday. Not only were they educating patrons and passersby, but garnered media – allowing them to reach a much larger audience – too.
In addition, Ronda Cooperstein (a regular contributor to these pages) was able to get this letter published in The Baltimore Banner Sunday. On behalf of the horses, thank you, all.
Awesome! Keep up the good work!
Thank you, Maryland contingent, one and all! And the horses thank you. Great article Ronda!
Here are the other letters I had posted before Preakness:
https://baltimorepostexaminer.com/letter-to-the-editor-stop-the-preakness/2025/05/15
And this one was in The Baltimore Sun Paper
Tax dollars shouldn’t subsidize horse racing | READER COMMENTARY
By Reader Commentary
May 7, 2025 at 3:23 p.m.
Nowhere in the May 6 article “Maryland officials to vote on Pimlico demolition plans ahead of Preakness” do we hear any voices other than industry insiders and politicians. It is taken as a given that Maryland taxpayers want millions of our hard-earned dollars used to save a private industry that relies on animal exploitation and the human weakness for gambling. This is patently false. Horse racing is falling out of favor in the opinion of many Marylanders, and rightly so. We do not support millions of our state tax dollars being spent on this unreliable project. Maryland faces a huge budget shortfall causing cuts in services and rising taxes and fees. Moreover, costs are rising and there is no reason to believe that the Pimlico investment won’t run into financial trouble. According to the website Construction Dive, “Construction input prices increased at a rapid pace for the third consecutive month in March and have now risen at a 9.7% annualized rate through the first quarter of 2025, making it harder to plan and budget for both public and private sector projects.” One day in the not-so-distant future, we will look back and shake our heads in shame for the abuse of taxpayers and horses alike.
— Ronda Cooperstein, Pikesville
Thank you Ronda, Jennifer, Bailey and everyone at HW!
Fantastic letter by Ronda Cooperstein!
Awesome turnout for the horses by the HW Army of activists! The signs tell the story. Thanks to everyone who showed up for the horses!