{"id":29714,"date":"2026-04-27T10:38:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T14:38:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/?p=29714"},"modified":"2026-05-07T11:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T15:03:14","slug":"news-release-governor-moore-secures-the-future-of-marylands-horse-industry-board-through-2036","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/press-release\/2026\/04\/27\/news-release-governor-moore-secures-the-future-of-marylands-horse-industry-board-through-2036\/","title":{"rendered":"PRESS RELEASE: Governor Moore Secures the Future of Maryland\u2019s Horse Industry Board Through 2036"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 27, 2026)<\/strong> \u2014On April 14, Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks and Executive Director of Maryland\u2019s Horse Industry Board, Anne Litz, joined Governor Wes Moore as he signed\u00a0House Bill (HB) 225<\/a>, extending the authorization of the\u00a0Maryland Horse Industry Board<\/a>\u00a0through July 1, 2036. This action ensures the continued operation of the Board and reinforces the state\u2019s long-standing commitment to Maryland\u2019s $2.9 billion horse industry.<\/p>\n

First established in 1998, the Maryland Horse Industry Board was created to promote equestrian activities, support economic development, and serve as the licensing and inspection authority for public stables across the state. Since its inception, the Board has played a unique role nationally as the only state-level entity responsible for licensing stables to monitor horse welfare, safety and consumer protection.<\/p>\n

The passage and signing of HB 225 provides critical continuity for the Board\u2019s core functions, including stable licensing and inspection, promoting and growing Maryland\u2019s horse industry, and advising the Secretary of Agriculture. Since 2002, the Board has awarded nearly $700,000 in grants to more than 500 projects, reinvesting industry-generated funds back into the state\u2019s equine community through the Maryland Feed Fund. The Maryland Horse Industry Board operates without General Fund dollars and is instead funded through yearly stable licensing fees and the Feed Fund.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith this legislation, Maryland reaffirms its position as a national leader in equine support, regulation and promotion,\u201d said Maryland Secretary of Agriculture Kevin Atticks. \u201cIt ensures that the Horse Industry Board continues its important work in an industry that contributes significantly to the state\u2019s economy and is a vital part of our heritage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Maryland\u2019s horse industry supports more than 28,000 jobs and generates approximately $1.24 billion in annual wages, while also playing a vital role in land preservation, tourism and the state\u2019s agricultural economy.<\/p>\n

The Horse Industry Board is currently co-coordinating with the\u00a0Maryland Racing Commission<\/a>\u00a0on the state\u2019s first-ever\u00a0Horse Industry Strategic Plan<\/a>. The plan, currently underway with broad stakeholder input from across more than a dozen sectors, aims to evaluate and strengthen the industry\u2019s long-term sustainability, workforce pipeline, infrastructure and economic growth.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe extension of the Horse Industry Board allows us to not only maintain our current programs, but to build toward the future,\u201d said Executive Director Anne Litz. \u201cMaryland is a horse state and with the strategic plan underway, this provides the foundation needed to implement a shared vision for a stronger, more connected horse industry in Maryland.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ANNAPOLIS, MD (April 27, 2026) \u2014On April 14, Maryland Department of Agriculture Secretary Kevin Atticks and Executive Director of Maryland\u2019s Horse Industry Board, Anne Litz, joined Governor Wes Moore as he signed\u00a0House Bill (HB) 225, extending the authorization of the\u00a0Maryland Horse Industry Board\u00a0through July 1, 2036. This action ensures the continued operation of the Board  Read the Rest…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":251,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[403,12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29714","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-mda-newsroom","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29714","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/251"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29714"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29714\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29737,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29714\/revisions\/29737"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29714"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29714"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/mda\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29714"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}