(WARRENTON, VA — 10/3/2015) —- Last Saturday, the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) wrapped up an ambitious program of back-to-back racing weekends in both Maryland and Virginia that featured a slate of five Virginia-bred events, three graded stakes and the inaugural running of what could become a new tradition.

“All three sessions turned out great and the entries were everything they hoped it would be,” said VEA President Debbie Easter. “We touched many levels of horses with different conditions over the two weekends and want to thank the horsemen for supporting this new program.”

The $300,000 Virginia-Bred Day at Maryland’s Laurel Park featured five $60,000 stakes, two of which went to the gate with fields of 12 and finished in respective four horse photos. Complete St.’s half length win in the Brookemeade Stakes came with Horacio Karamanos, Colonial Downs’s leading all time leading rider, up top, while Away We Go squeaked out a neck victory in the Jamestown Stakes for 2 year olds.

A pair of 2014 champs successfully defended their titles in the 2015 editions. Jockeys Trevor McCarthy and Julian Pimentel, who authored those stakes victories aboard Rose Brier and Two Notch Road last year, returned to the irons and guided encore triumphs respectively in the Bert Allen and Punch Line Stakes. The talented Exaggerated, owned by the Lael Stables, put an exclamation point on the day by connecting easily in gate to wire fashion in the Oakley Stakes.

This was the second straight year the Virginia-bred event had been held at Laurel Park and the fourth straight year the stakes have been bundled together to create an impact card. The Brookemeade, Bert Allen and Oakley Stakes have been contested since 1997, the first year racing was held at Colonial Downs. The Punch Line made its debut in 2000 and the Jamestown started in 2007.

“It just goes to show that you can put on a good program with Virginia-bred races,” said trainer Rodney Jenkins, a Middleburg, Virginia native who conditions Away We Go. “It was a great betting card and we had horses come in from Saratoga, Belmont, Monmouth and all over to race in this state-bred program.” All sources betting handle from those five combined races was $1,272,555.

A trio of graded stakes that were in danger of losing their graded status were held at Laurel as well. The $400,000 Commonwealth Derby (Gr. II) and $250,000 Commonwealth Cup (Gr. II) were part of Laurel’s card on September 19th and the $150,000 Commonwealth Oaks (Gr. III) complemented the Virginia-bred card on the 26th. The VEA funded the purses for all three, none of which were run in 2014.

In the Derby’s 17th running, a Virginia-bred ironically got to the winners circle for the first time ever, in the only year the stakes had been held outside the Commonwealth. One Go All Go, bred by Albert Coppola, went gate to wire and beat 2015 Belmont Derby (Gr. I) winner Force The Pass in a 35-1 upset performance. Claude McGaughey’s Mr. Speaker, the 2014 Belmont Derby (Gr. I) winner and one of two $1,000,000-plus earners in the Cup field, scored a 1 1/4 length triumph in that stakes’ 10th running. Onus made a dazzling move in mid-stretch to win the Oaks and continued a three race streak where she previously scorched the field by 10 1/2 and 8 lengths. All three have come with jockey Forest Boyce up top.

A day later, Sunday September 20th, the inaugural running of Virginia Downs, a six race card of thoroughbred turf events, took place at Great Meadow. The scenic venue, that plays host to the annual spring and fall Gold Cup steeplechase races, laid out nicely for an afternoon of tailgating and wagering. An estimated crowd of 2,500 took in the action and the Fauquier SPCA, the official non-profit partner, raised over $14,000 from the event.

“It was a wonderful first time event” said Mary Tarr of the SPCA. “People seemed to be there for the horses as opposed to being there to be seen like at the Gold Cup and some bigger events. There is room to grow and we definitely want to be involved next year. Proceeds will help us take care of animals with health issues, train them for quicker adoption, and to help upgrade our facilities.”

An inner rail was set up around the undulating one mile grass oval the week prior. Horses started each race in a steeplechase type manner and many of the riders had participated in past Gold Cup jump events there. 53 horses competed and total of $150,000 in purse monies were distributed at Virginia Downs.

The first race was a $15,000 maiden/starter allowance exclusively for Virginia-breds, and trainer Lilith Boucher’s Mushroom King and Class Classic finished one-two. Conditioner Elizabeth Voss swept both $30,000 allowance co-features with Swoop and Renown, who both won by identical 5 3/4 length margins. Trainer John Thomas connected with Ice Women, who drew clear in the stretch in a $25,000 fillies/mares maiden race while Jimmy Day’s Bonded Ire crossed 3 1/2 lengths over Boucher’s Jump Ship in the $25,000 male counterpart. Linda Gaudet’s Annawon had the closest finish of the afternoon, edging Gun Point by three-quarters of a length in a $25,000 allowance.

“This was my first time at Great Meadow,” said Gaudet, whose 8-year-old Annawon stretched out from 1 1/16th to 1 1/2 miles. “He had been running in turf races at Laurel and Delaware and I thought the Virginia Downs race might be a good spot for him. He’s a big, old plodder and kind of a nut, so there was a concern, but I thought it would be a slower pace and he’d have a shot to be okay. He ended up being calm, cool and controlled. For him, it was almost like running in a field.”

“I loved the rolling hills and the undulating course,” said trainer Voss, whose stable consists of 16 jump horses and 5 flat ones. “I loved the facility, the rail was a nice surprise and the turn was good. The setting made for a nice day out and I’d love to come back to race in the future.”