From a Maryland Horse Breeders Association release

The Maryland Horse Breeders Association membership selected two new members and three incumbents to the Board of Directors, as announced at the annual general membership meeting held at historic Belair Mansion in Bowie on May 21. Dictated by MHBA bylaws, the annually held election fills five open seats on the board. Those elected this year will to serve for the next three years.

Lawrence “Larry” Murray and John W. Boniface Jr. join incumbents Donald H. Barr, Michael J. Harrison DVM and R. Larry Johnson. Murray was elected for the first time.

  • Larry Murray
    • Longtime general manager of Glade Valley Farms in Walkersville (Frederick County); private trainer for Howard Bender and his late wife Sondra for more than 25 years; current Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (MTHA) board member.
  • John Boniface
    • Licensed trainer and partner in the ownership of the family’s Bonita Farm in Darlington (Harford County); the family owns more than a dozen broodmares and has 20 horses of racing age, and currently stands two stallions at Bonita, including multiple graded stakes winner Etched; an MHBA director from 1999 to 2001.
  • Donald Barr
    • MHBA vice-president for the past two years and member of the board since 2009; resident of New Market (Frederick County); trainer at Maryland tracks; member of the board of the Maryland Horsemen’s Assistance Fund and an MTHA member.
  • Michael Harrison DVM
    • Owns and operates Willowdale Farm in Butler (Baltimore County), which has been in his family since 1962; a practicing equine veterinarian for more than 30 years; a presidential appointee to the MHBA board of directors in 2009 and 2010, first elected to the board in 2011.
  • Larry Johnson
    • A CPA and forensic accountant, the Virginia resident has had a long history of breeding horses in Maryland, and currently stands Street Magician and Despite the Odds at Heritage Stallions in Chesapeake City; first elected to the MHBA board in 2011; currently sits on the board of directors of the MTHA and Maryland Million.

Of the five directors whose terms expired in 2014, Milton P. Higgins III and James T. Dresher Jr. were ineligible to stand for reelection because of having served six consecutive years as members of the MHBA Board.

Remaining on the Board are Richard F. Blue Jr., Rebecca B. Davis, John C. Davison, David DiPietro, Edwin W. Merry­man, Suzanne Moscarelli, Tom Mullikin, Joseph P. Pons Jr., William S. Reightler Jr. and Robert B. White.