Don Litz looked over the crowd and then looked over the valley. He took a deep breath. Finally, his dream was realized.

Maryland Stallion Station opened yesterday with more than 400 visitors touring the grand barn, observing a parade of the five stallions and, like Litz, peering across the valley at historic Sagamore Farm. Litz, 58, long involved in the Maryland horse business, drew on the legend of Sagamore, home and burial place of the exalted Native Dancer, for inspiration in developing Maryland Stallion Station. "That is it for me," Litz said. "There is an energy, and I think it comes from him, Native Dancer. When I look out over the valley, I can feel the energy of that horse. This is almost like Camelot for me, just being here."

Constructed on the side of a hill in the heart of Worthington Valley in Baltimore County - across Tufton Avenue from Sagamore - Maryland Stallion Station represents the most significant major investment in the Maryland breeding industry in nearly two decades. It consists of 100 acres, a spacious barn with 11 stalls and fields for the stallions of nearly 2 acres apiece.

Litz, president of the operation, said he expects more than 350 mares, about half from out of state, to be bred to the five stallions during the coming breeding season, from mid-February to early July. The mares will arrive by van and stay only for the mating. Then, they will be vanned back home or to area farms that Litz has enlisted for boarding.

Aris Melissaratos, secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development, represented Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. at the grand opening and stallion show. He reminded the crowd of Ehrlich's "push" to help the horse industry, an obvious reference to slot machines at racetracks.

"We're with you," Melissaratos said. "We value your industry. We're going to find a way to get it done."

The horse industry in Maryland has lobbied aggressively for slot machines to help it keep pace with neighboring states, whose racing purses and breeding incentives have flourished with proceeds from slots. Melissaratos said that Maryland has about 87,000 horses worth about $700 million and that the state's horse industry contributes nearly $2 billion to the state economy.

"About 685,000 acres in this state are devoted to horse farming," Melissaratos said. "That's about one out of every 10 acres in the state."

James T. Smith Jr., Baltimore County executive, also attended the opening. He called Maryland Stallion Station a "treasure" that confirmed that Maryland's horse industry had not merely a great history but also a promising future.

Many involved in the industry have come to doubt that future as its racing and breeding, once leaders in the region, have struggled. Litz, who has bought and sold horses for years, sees the current troubles as part of a natural ebb and flow.

"I think we're in a transitional period," Litz said. "It's like an engine that's throttled down. It's still a strong engine. Our core-based industry is far stronger than any of the other states around here."

Still, the success of Maryland Stallion Station will depend on the appeal of its stallions to out-of-state breeders. The owners of most Maryland stallion farms have adopted that regional approach. Maryland Stallion Station's advertising motto is: "Dawn of a New Era in Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Breeding."

Litz and his local partners, David M. DiPietro and Herb May, assembled a roster of five stallions to launch their operation. A sixth, Eastern Echo, died last month at age 16 of an apparent heart attack.

The five stallions - Bowman's Band, Jazz Club, Outflanker, Rock Slide and Seeking Daylight - all descend from Native Dancer, the Gray Ghost. From 1952 to 1954, he won 21 of 22 races for Alfred G. Vanderbilt, his owner, and then lived 13 years at Vanderbilt's Sagamore Farm, where he became one of the most important sires in American racing history.

Long enamored by the Sagamore legend, Litz spent years putting together a team to try to recreate it. He recruited investors, the most significant being Lane's End Farm in Kentucky, one the world's premier horse farms. Lane's End was instrumental in securing Maryland Stallion Station's sires.

Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association, described Litz as "eternally optimistic and very persistent." Litz's intense determination was evident throughout his drive to create Maryland Stallion Station. But he deflected the credit.

"It's so much bigger than me," Litz said. "In fact, it's not about me at all. It's about Native Dancer. It's about Sagamore. It's about this valley. I just happened to stumble into a destiny." Bill Howland walks Outflanker, one of five stallions who'll be standing at Maryland Stallion Station, the most significant investment in the state's breeding industry in nearly 20 years.

GENE SWEENEY JR. : SUN STAFF