By Bill Heller
Thankfully, when her husband Steve died 11 years ago and she was left with their one horse, Maggie Seidman did not listen to other people’s voices: “A lot of people told me to sell the horse. They said, `You’re a woman. You’re older. You’re alone.’”
Instead, she listened to her dad and uncle, who instilled in her a love of horses as a young girl, and to her own voice, the one that told her to attend Skidmore College to be close to horses and tells her today that aftercare is essential to anyone who loves horses.
Her years of devotion to ensuring happy and productive lives for Thoroughbreds has led to her being named the 2025 New York-Bred Aftercare Champion. She will be honored at the Salute to Aftercare on July 22nd at the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame.
“I can’t believe I got it,” she said. “I do it because I want to do it. I’m always on Twitter talking about horses or rescuing a horse. They take my breath away. I’ll go over in the morning and listen to the sounds they make.”
The first horse she bought after her husband passed was a filly she named Steve’s Philly. “Steve was from Philadelphia and he loved the city,” Seidman said. Steve’s Philly, a daughter of Tale of Ekati, posted one victory, four seconds and one third in 14 starts, and earned $55,611. Seidman kept the mare and she produced Yo Cuz, a daughter of Laoban who won three consecutive New York-bred stakes in the winter of 2021-22: a division of the New York Stallion Stakes Series, the Maddie May and the East View. She finished three-for-nine and earned $406,800 before being retired. Then Maggie bought her back.
She was a partner on $750,000-plus earner Bold Journey and is now a partner on Bourbon Memory, who was four-for-four before finishing seventh in the Grade 2 Eight Belles Stakes on May 2nd at Churchill Downs. She has earned $162,243.
Seidman is also a partner in Pretty Magical, who won a New York-bred allowance race at Aqueduct on May 15th and has already earned $123,790.
Growing up in Queens, she would listen to the stories of her dad and uncle Gus. “My dad was Cuban and Irish and grew up in Cuba. He always loved horses and loved playing the ponies. I remember him talking about horses in Cuba. He was the art director of the New York Mirror (a now-defunct New York newspaper), and was a very kind man.
“My uncle Gus was a sportswriter for the Moline Dispatch who once rescued two horses from Quad Downs. I went to Skidmore to be close to horses. My parents didn’t like it, but I said I want to be around horses. Anne McMahon (of McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds) was in my class at Skidmore. I remember when she was 18 and dating Joe (they are still married). He was very handsome. We used to go down to the track on walks. We’d run around the racetrack.”
She was an English major at Skidmore, but wound up with an advanced degree in nursing from Cornell and a law degree from New York Law School. “I worked for magazines,” she said. “I went to New York Law School and wrote on women’s issues and health issues for the New York Times Westchester Edition. I was a nurse for several years. I met my husband. I raised my two kids, Jamie and Jennifer. I donated my money to aftercare. I keep my mares. I see 25-year-old mares in a kill pen and I try to rescue them. My mares stay on my farm for the rest of their lives.”
That’s not all she does for horses. She owns about 20 now, some in partnerships, and keeps her broodmares at McMahon of Saratoga Thoroughbreds.
Seidman is a member of the board of Bourbon Lane Aftercare and sponsors an annual picnic for New Vocations, which retrains Thoroughbreds for second careers, each April in Lexington. “They’ve taken four of my horses and they’ve all done well,” she said.
She helped rescue Diamonds N Denim, who suffered a career-ending knee injury at Penn National on July 5th, 2023. Though she did not ultimately survive two surgeries, she led to the start of the Diamond Racehorse Retirement Foundation to assist as many horses as possible in being adopted, repurposed and/or placed in loving homes after their racing careers are over.
She also helped save a horse who was accepted at Old Friends.
Seidman is intent on helping the next and subsequent generations understand the importance of aftercare. “My daughter and her husband are learning the business slowly,” she said.
She also has six grandchildren, and they will learn as well.
“Ever since I was a little kid, I really wanted to make sure they’re respected and loved like I do,” she said. “The young people ask what happens afterwards, after they’re done racing. They need so see that it’s not all that bad after they’re done racing.
“After all they’ve done for us, especially the mares, to throw them in a kill pen, I can’t deal with that. I put them in a safe place. I try to take care of them.”
She always has.
