Attention horsemen — Entries for this Sunday’s Virginia Downs Thoroughbred race program at Great Meadow will be taken tomorrow morning (Tuesday) via the Maryland Jockey Club race office at 1-800-638-1859. Conditions for the races are at www.virginiaequinealliance.com

With a week to go before the respective Grade II Commonwealth Derby and Turf Cup stakes are held at Laurel Park on September 19, early nominations closed for both on Friday (September 11). The pair are being sponsored by the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA).

The Derby attracted 26 nominations including a four pack from three time Derby winning trainer Bill Mott, while the Turf Cup drew 28 nominations that include four million dollar-plus earning horses.

Trainer Mott’s prior Derby triumphs came with Orchard Park (2002), Silver Tree (2003) and Go Between (2006), all of whom were owned by Peter Vegso. That same battery has nominated Go Around next Saturday. Mott also has Syntax, Closing Bell and Courtier.

Trainers Chad Brown and Graham Motion have nominated four each as well. Brown’s include Dujac, Fundamental, Offering Plan and Winter Springs while Motion’s are Cat Humor, Nucifera, Pride of Stride and Tale of Life. Cat Humor is owned by the Augustin Stable, who have won two past Derbies with Crowd Pleaser (1998) and Potaro (2001).

Two of the more intriguing Derby nominations are Force The Pass, trained by Alan Goldberg, and Divining Rod, conditioned by Arnaud Delacour. The former won the $500,000 Grade III Penn Mile and $1,250,000 Grade I Belmont Derby and has amassed earnings of $1,074,634. The latter has been solid in key dirt stakes this year, winning the Grade III Lexington while finishing third in the Preakness, Tampa Bay Derby, Ohio Derby and Indiana Derby.

One Go All Go is the lone Virginia-bred nominated. Bred by Albert Coppola, the Fairbanks colt is out of the Marquetry mare Ashleigh Run and is trained by Pavel Matejka.

2014 Belmont Derby (Gr. I) winner Mr. Speaker is one of four millionaires that have nominated to the $250,000 Commonwealth Turf Cup (Gr. II). Claude “Shug” McGaughey, who won the 2011 Virginia Derby with Air Support, conditions 4-year-old Mr. Speaker.

Graham Motion has nominated seven to the Cup including Up With The Birds, who has bankrolled $1,463,189. Four of Motion’s group were bred outside of the U.S. — Under Control (Brazil), Glenard and Planetaire (both Great Britain) and Messi (Germany).

One of Bill Mott’s trio of noms is Vyjack, a 5 year old that has won $1,099,000. Trainer Todd Pletcher’s Mshawish is top earner of the 28, having collected $1,670,151 while winning the Grade II Fort Lauderdale Stakes and Grade I Gulfstream Park Handicap this year, and finishing third in the $6,000,000 Dubai World Cup Turf (Gr. I).

Virginia-breds Middleburg and Special Envoy, who finished a tight first and second in the August 23rd Grade III Cliffhanger Stakes at Monmouth, have both nominated to the Cup. The pair were bred by Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone — the former is a 5 year old Lemon Drop Kid horse out of the Spectrum mare Rum Charger while the latter is a 4 year old Stroll gelding out of Stroll Diplomacy by Cozzene. Christophe Clement trains Middleburg and Arnaud Delacour conditions Special Envoy.

Oldest nomination honors go to Hyper, an 8-year-old Victory Gallop horse owned by Ken & Sarah Ramsey, who won the ’04 Virginia Derby with Kitten’s Joy. Trained by Chad Brown, Hyper has 21 “in-the-money” finishes in 27 grass starts.

The draw for both stakes will take place on Wednesday September 16.

The VEA will host the inaugural Virginia Downs Thoroughbred race event at Great Meadow, in the Plains, on Sunday September 20, giving Virginia racing fans a unique racing weekend opportunity when coupled with the Commonwealth graded stakes at Laurel on the 19th. For more information, visit www.virginiaequinealliance.com.

Andy Picked Me’s gate-to-wire triumph in maiden special weight company at Monmouth Park September 5th led a charge of six wins by Virginia-bred horses on Labor Day week.

The 3 year old Sky Mesa gelding collected the winners share of a $36,000 purse and covered the six furlong dirt race in 1:10.60. Bred by the Lazy Lane Farms, rider Joe Bravo guided Andy Picked Me to a 1 1/4 length victory for trainer Benjamin Perkins and owners, the Briardale Stables. He is out of the Two Punch mare, Night Breeze.

September 1st saw a trio of Virginia-bred scores, led by Once More For Love’s $17,000 allowance victory in wire-to-wire fashion at Finger Lakes. Bred by Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin III, the three year old filly finished six furlongs for fillies/mares (three years old and up) in 1:11.24. Jockey Oscar Gomez directed the impressive win for the Cannon Farms. She is by Not For Love out of the Buckfinder mare, Classic Contender.

The same day, Pauper’s Queen swung five wide in the stretch after trailing to that point, then finished off an upset win in a starter event for fillies and mares at Presque Isle Downs. Bred by Gerald Brooks and sired by Royal Academy, Pauper’s Queen returned $27.40 to bettors in the 1 mile, 70 yard race. Out of the Robellino mare, Regallino, the victor earned the winner’s share of a $19,000 purse.

Star of Magic completed the September 1st hat trick by connecting in a 5 1/2 furlong claiming race at Delaware Park. The 6-year-old Medalist gelding, bred by the Braeburn Farm Corporation, scored a 2 3/4 length win in gate-to-wire fashion in 1:03.49. Star of Magic, out of the Thunder Rumble mare, Rumbling Girl, is owned by the D B G Stable.

Larry Johnson’s What a Wildcat and Rodger Smith’s Recrank both had holiday weekend wins at Presque Isle and Columbus Park in Nebraska respectively. The former was second from last in an eight horse field at the half before rallying in the turn and winning by 1 3/4 lengths while the latter rallied three wide in the far turn, cleared the field easily and held on for a one length triumph. What a Wildcat is by Wildcat Heir out of Not What I Do by Parfaitement while Recrank is by Repent out of Crankenpuss by Honour and Glory.

Robin Traywick Williams is the winner of the 6th Best Unpublished Novel contest sponsored by the James River Writers & Richmond Magazine. Her book, “The Key to the Quarter Pole”, centers on an independent woman with a passion for horse racing. Click on the link below to read about the novel in this month’s issue of Richmond Magazine.

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Virginia-bred Sticksstatelydude will compete in a field of eight two-year-olds in tomorrow’s $350,000 Hopeful Stakes (Gr. I) at Saratoga. The 7 furlong stakes serves as an early preview of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile division and of the 2016 Triple Crown series.

Bred by Canyon Lake Thoroughbreds, Sticksstatelydude is fresh off a maiden special weight victory at Saratoga on August 1st. The First Dude colt collected a runner-up in similar company in his only other lifetime start and sports a bankroll of $57,860 heading into Monday’s stakes. He is out of the Gilded Time mare Placerita and has been assigned odds of 12-1 in the morning line. Uncle Vinny, fresh off a win at Saratoga in the Grade III Sanford Stakes, is the early 5-2 favorite.

Jockey Joel Rosario will guide Sticksstatelydude. The race, carded as the 10th of Saratoga’s 11 scheduled on holiday Monday’s meet closer, will be broadcast live from 5-6 PM as part of the Jockey Club Tour on Fox Sports 1.

Virginia-breds took center stage nationally Sunday afternoon by winning the day’s two biggest stakes races, held respectively at Del Mar and Monmouth.

Stellar Wind, bred by the Keswick Stables and Stone Street Thoroughbred Holdings LLC, captured the Grade III Torrey Pines Stakes on the west coast while Edward Evans’ Valid was victorious in the Grade III Iselin Stakes on the east coast.

Stellar Wind took the lead just past the three-quarter pole and cruised to an easy 4 1/4 length win in her $100,000 stakes at Del Mar. The daughter of Curlin faced a field of five other sophomore fillies and covered the mile in 1:36.43. In seven lifetime starts, Stellar Wind has five wins, four of them graded, to go with a third place finish and earnings of $553,200. One of her triumphs earlier this year was in the Grade I Santa Anita Oaks.

John Sadler trains Stellar Wind for Hronis Racing, LLC while Victor Espinoza guided the winner, who is out of a Malibu Moon mare, Evening Star.

Valid earned his third graded stakes win in similar style among a field of six in Monmouth’s $150,000 headliner. Jockey Nik Juarez directed the 5 year old Medaglia d’Oro gelding past frontrunner Bradester at the top of the stretch and never looked back, winning by 3 1/2 lengths. Valid, who is out of the Grand Slam mare, Grand Prayer, was making his 30th start. He covered the 1 1/8 miles effort in 1:50.14. With a bankroll of $699,107, he has collected nine wins, seven runner-up finishes and six thirds.

Marcus Vitale trains the 5 year old gelding for the Crossed Sabres Farm. Valid covered the 1 1/8 miles effort in 1:50.14.

Though it wasn’t an attention getting graded stakes triumph, Brudda Clyde did complete a Virginia-bred stakes hat trick of sorts Sunday by winning his fifth straight in the $16,200 Peace Country Stakes at Alberta, Canada’s Evergreen Park.

The 6 year old Political Force gelding went gate to wire in the dirt mile stakes that attracted a field of eight. Budda Clyde was bred by James S. Carter.