Diamondback Fire a First for Equine Studies Program

When Diamondback Fire, a 2-year-old gelded son of Friesan Fire, goes to post in Saturday's third race at Laurel Park on Maryland Pride Day, it will mark a significant milestone for the University of Maryland's undergraduate Equine Studies program.

Diamondback Fire will be the first Thoroughbred in nearly 30 years to race after being foaled at the University of Maryland's undergraduate program.

"It's a pretty big deal and we're very excited," said Dr. Amy Burke, who serves as the program's coordinator and is responsible for teaching Horse Management, Equine Science and many horse related lectures and labs  in the department's four-year program.

Burke arrived at the University of Maryland in 2001 to rejuvenate the equine program. The Virginia Tech graduate felt it was important for students to gain the experience of foaling, raising, feeding and grooming Thoroughbreds because "the Thoroughbred isn't used just for racing, but for all kinds of disciplines." In 2004, she and other faculty initiated a new graduate program and renovated an old swine facility into the new Equine Research Unit.

With the program's last horse being foaled "somewhere around 1989 or 1990," Burke started the foaling program with the mare Daylight Lassie, donated by breeder Marilyn Doetsch. The mare's foal - the program's first in 30 years - is Diamondback Fire, owned by La Bella Vita Farm and trained by Mary Eppler after being purchased in 2013 for $9,000 at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic December Mixed Sale

"We kept the mare at our bigger farm in Ellicott City until a month before she was to foal," Burke said. "Then she was shipped down to the campus farm on the main campus of the university. The students very much participated in the foaling and raising [of Diamondback Fire]."

Once the foal was born, Burke wanted to "capture the excitement" generated by the birth on and off campus by having a 'Name the Foal' contest. The winner was Diamondback Fire, an acknowledgement to the student-run newspaper and shell of the Terrapin mascot.

Burke, who has had subsequent foals prepped and sold at the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic sales, has between 15-20 students each spring involved in the foaling class. She hopes to have three foals next spring, including more that make it to the races.

Source: Maryland Jockey Club