Rose Brier got to the winners circle in his first start since winning last fall’s $60,000 Bert Allen Stakes by capturing a $30,000 starter optional claiming race at Gulfstream late last week. The 7 year old Mizzen Mast gelding took on a modest field of five others and went gate to wire in the 1 1/16th miles test. Bred by William Backer, Rose Brier won by one-half length over Captain Dixie, crossed in 1:39.11 and paid $4.80 to his backers. Jockey Jose Lezcano directed the effort for the Panic Stable, LLC. The consistent Rose Brier has made 30 career starts now and has 11 wins, 8 runner-up finishes and 5 thirds for purse earnings of $331,726. Out of the El Gran Senor mare, Mexicali Rose, he was triumphant in both the ’14 and ’15 editions of the Allen Stakes, which were held at Laurel.

Rose Brier captures the 2015 Bert Allen Stakes at Laurel

Another Virginia-bred saw her bankroll zoom past the $300,000 mark courtesy of a win last Friday at Aqueduct. Aix En Provence, bred by James Falk, took care of business against a small field of just three other horses in the $47,000 six furlong sprint for fillies and mares. The 8 year old daughter of Rock Slide took to the far outside through the turn, got the lead with 3/16ths to go and won by three lengths in 1:14.10. The Carol Fisher trainee earned her first win of the year in three starts and collected her 9th lifetime triumph from 49 outings. Aix En Provence, out of the Mutakddim mare, Parisiana, has been consistent in recent times, finishing 4th or better in 15 or her last 19 starts. She came into the race fresh off respective 5th and 8th place finishes to start the year  but after the victory, has an impressive bankroll of $301,991.

Aix En Provence, bred by James Falk, is shown in the winners circle at Laurel in 2014.

Another consistent veteran Virginia-bred made his 44th start on Saturday at Parx and with a two length win, garnered his 7th career victory and 26th top three finish. Lawyer Dave, by Lawyer Ron out of Noworriesforme by El Corredor, competed in a one mile, $53,000 allowance optional claiming race. Amidst a field of six, the winner raced second through the third fraction, zipped to the front and opened up by three at the head of the stretch and crossed two lengths ahead of Gadget Man in 1:39.27. Bred by Lady Olivia at North Cliff LLC, Lawyer Dave paid $10.20 and pushed his career bankroll to $261,822. He was fifth in both the 2012 Van Clief Stakes at Colonial Downs and the 2014 Punch Line Stakes at Laurel.

Really Boppin closed out the week by capturing a 4 1/2 furlong claiming race at Charles Town Saturday night. The 5 year old Bop gelding has made all 19 career starts at Charles Town and collected his third win there with a tight 3/4 length win over Priceless Dancer. Bred by Jackie Hinson, Really Boppin beat six other sprinters in gate to wire form, crossed in :53.09 and returned $9.00. The victor raced two wide down the backstretch, cleared just before the quarter, held clear past the 1/16th pole and hung on for the win. Trained by William Aylor Jr. and owned by the Vermont Farm, Really Boppin is out of the Waquoit mare, Key Reality.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/22/2016:

The Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) today announced immediate and longer term plans for thoroughbred and standardbred racing in the Commonwealth, and introduced a new website that will cater to all aspects of Virginia horse racing.

From an immediate thoroughbred standpoint, pari-mutuel flat races will be held in-state as part of both the annual May 7th Virginia Gold Cup and October 24th International Gold Cup race programs at Great Meadow in The Plains. At least three flat races will be carded in addition to five traditional steeplechase races. At the 91st spring running of the Gold Cup races, the Secretariat Stakes at 1 1/2 miles will carry a $50,000 purse while the maiden flat at one mile will feature a $30,000 purse. Both races carry a ” Virginia preferred” condition. A Virginia-bred or sired flat at 1 1/4 miles rounds out the action and has a $35,000 purse. The spring Gold Cup races attract 70,000 spectators and tailgaters, while the fall races draw around 35,000.

Horses cross the finish at Great Meadow. The 2016 Virginia Gold Cup is slated for May 7th.

Virginia-bred horses will get two different opportunities to compete in neighboring Maryland this year as well. ”Mid Atlantic Day”, a new event slated for June 25th at Pimlico, will feature a trio of $60,000 Virginia-bred stakes, including the inaugural running of the Nellie Cox stakes,  along with a Virginia-bred overnight race. Maryland-bred horses will compete in an identical slate that afternoon to round out the debut initiative. A “Virginia-Bred Day” at Laurel will be held for the third straight year on September 24th. Five $60,000 stakes will be contested — the Brookmeade, Bert Allen, Jamestown, Punch Line and Oakley.

Bred by Albert Coppola, One Go All Go returns to the winners circle at Laurel September 19th after winning the 2015 Grade II, Commonwealth Derby. Jockey Ron Higsby directed the effort. Photo by Jim McCue.

In 2017, pari-mutuel thoroughbred racing in Virginia will move to a new home at Morven Park in Leesburg, where plans are currently moving forward to renovate an existing, undulating steeplechase track and transform it into a first class, one mile turf course for thoroughbreds. The racing project is part of a new Horse Park initiative at that facility, and VEA officials already have signed an initial five year lease with Morven management. Once completed, the course will have both an inner and outer rail, a starting gate, along with a chute, which will allow for seven furlong, one turn races. Vehicle tailgating will be offered along the stretch and in areas adjacent to the outside turn. A large parking lot is also being built to accommodate projected crowds of between 3,000-5,000 spectators. Excavation work on the course itself is expected to begin in late spring or early summer. A race meet of up to 14 days will debut in the latter half of 2017, in order to give ample time for the grass course to mature.

The 2015 harness racing season took place at Oak Ridge in Nelson County. The 2016 meet will be at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds in Woodstock. Photo by Dee Leftwich.

The future of Virginia’s standardbred racing circuit also has been firmed up, with the town of Woodstock, Virginia becoming home to pacers and trotters beginning this September. The VEA has signed a lease with the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds to run a ten day pari-mutuel meet over five consecutive weekends starting September 10th. An extensive track renovation project will soon begin there as well. The current half mile oval, which has played host to county fair, non-betting harness races for 98 years, will be widened and the turns banked in order to accommodate larger fields. World-renowned track consultant Greg Coon will oversee the upgrade process and once complete, the track should be one of the finest half-mile ovals in the Mid-Atlantic region.

In another initiative, the VEA today introduced a new industry website at virginiahorseracing.com. The all-encompassing site will serve as a marketplace where stakeholders, from both the thoroughbred, standardbred and steeplechase sides, can access details about upcoming VEA related events. Horsemen can find race and stakes conditions, entries, results, race office contact information and directions, while potential race attendees can access event details and hours, admission and tailgating prices, guest services contacts and more. Results and replays from past racing events are available along with detailed information on the VEA member organizations. A “Bet Now” page will encourage visitors to learn more about partner Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) companies like TVG, XPressBet and Twin Spires. Fans can get updates and learn of breaking developments through social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, which are all linked to the new site.

The Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA) is proud to support the upcoming Virginia Horse Festival and Secretariat’s annual birthday celebration at The Meadow in Doswell on April 1st – 3rd.

The upcoming Secretariat Birthday Celebration is slated for Saturday April 2nd.

In addition to competitions, clinics, demonstrations, seminars, and food/retail vendors, there will be special events including a paddock party on Friday April 1st from 6-8 PM featuring special equine guest, Groundshaker. The 5 year old  bay mare is a descendant of Secretariat and the last horse bred & raced by Penny Chenery. She has made only two lifetime starts, was trained by Jonathan Sheppard, and is by Quiet American out of Cotton Anne. The reception continues inside Meadow Hall and tickets are $35 per person.

Groundshaker, the last horse bred and raced by Penny Chenery, will be special guest at the upcoming Virginia Horse Festival.

The actual Secretariat birthday celebration is on Saturday April 2nd from 5-8 PM at Meadow Hall and will focus on the 80th anniversary of Meadow Stable. Members of the Secretariat team will be on hand for an evening of memories. Tickets are $75 and are available at www.virginiahorsefestival.com.
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The Morgan’s Ford Farm and Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone, both well known breeders in the Commonwealth, each had a pair of their Virginia-bred horses reach the winners circle this past week. Super Bird and Congrats to Ken, bred by the former, won down south at Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs respectively while Special Envoy and Cinco, bred by the latter, scored at Tampa and Charles Town.

Super Bird, sent off at 6-1, made a nice rally in his one mile, $18,000 maiden claiming race on March 12th. The 3 year old Birdstone colt raced unhurriedly early, was 10th at the quarter fraction and 9th at the half. The eventual winner saved ground through the turn, angled out approaching the stretch, got to the front with 1/16th left and won by 1 3/4 lengths over Mr. Coupons in 1:39.78. The Nick Zito trainee earned his first victory in five career starts.

Trainer Nick Zito’s Super Bird collected his first win at Gulfstream March 11th. The winner was bred by the Morgan’s Ford Farm.

Congrats to Ken won his second lifetime race March 9th in a 1 1/16th miles claimer against nine other foes. The 4 year old son of Congrats raced three wide early, settled off the pace, went three wide in the turn and cleared. Sent off as the heavy betting choice, Congrats to Ken crossed in 1:46.86, won by 5 3/4 lengths and paid $4.40 to his backers. The Keith Nations trainee is out of the Kris S mare, Never a No Hitter. He captured the winner’s share of a $10,500 purse and boosted his career bankroll to $56,809, though he was claimed out of the race by new owner/trainer Charles Harvatt.

Special Envoy, bred by Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone, continues to thrive at Tampa Bay Downs

Special Envoy, a 5 year old Stroll gelding, continued to perform well at Tampa Bay Downs, his obvious favorite track. The Arnaud Delacour trainee won his fourth race there, which complements a second and third place finish. His only “out of the money” career blemish at Tampa came in last month’s Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes where he finished sixth. His most recent triumph came in a one mile, $26,000 allowance optional claimer on March 11th. Facing a field of seven others, Special Envoy was best in a three horse photo, beating Cement Clement by a neck in 1:35.37. The victor, who returned $4.60, is out of the Cozzene mare, Diplomacy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pisc8yVT-TU&feature=em-share_video_user

Cinco also won by a neck margin, though the 4 year old daughter of City Zip did it in gate to wire fashion. She battled seven others  throughout the 6 1/2 furlong maiden claiming sprint and was pressured most of the way. After opening up by two at the top of the stretch, Cinco held off the late challenge of American Keepsake and crossed in 1:23.60. The filly, who was making just her third career start, is out of the Thunder Gulch mare, Regal Approach.

Each of the three Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) companies that operate in Virginia experienced double digit increases in betting handle for January and February when compared to figures of a year ago. Residents of the Commonwealth wagered a total of $9,792,753 for the two month period via TVG, Twin Spires and XPressBet.

TVG was the top handle producer in both January and February with respective tallies of $2,781,844 and $2,479,775. The two month total of $5,261,619 was an increase of 12.43% over 2015.

Twin Spires was second while handling a combined $3,893,985, a 10.10% boost over last year. XPressBet was third, and their $2,119,599 two month handle tally was a dramatic 35.15% increase over last year.

The respective increases are not unexpected though, given the fact that EZ Horseplay, the ADW division of Colonial Downs, was still in operation through early April of last year and was the top handle producer. EZ took in almost $5 million in betting action during 2015 January and February combined. Without them this year, total handle for the two month period is off 23.35%, though the trend of increased business at the remaining trio of ADW’s is encouraging, especially with many key Derby prep races and the Triple Crown still to come.

Virginia-bred American Dubai will face a challenging field in Saturday’s Grade 2 Rebel Stakes. Photo from Coady Photography.

This weekend, Virginia-bred American Dubai faces a field of 13 other three year olds in a major Derby  prep — the $900,000 Rebel Stakes (Gr. II) at Oaklawn. The son of E Dubai was bred by Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin, III. He is fresh off a third place finish in the $500,000 Southwest Stakes (Gr, III) last month at Oaklawn. The under card features a pair of $350,000 stakes — -the Grade II Azeri and the Grade III Razorback. Santa Anita hosts the $500,000, Grade I Santa Margarita Stakes and Gulfstream cards the $200,000 Inside Information Stakes (Gr. II). All the stakes can be wagered via any of the three ADW providers noted above.

The first week in March saw a trio of Virginia-bred horses reach the winners circle and for the second time in a week, another quartet finished second on the very same day…again!

No Free Lunch started the month off with a four length win in a $10,700 claiming race at Ohio’s Mahoning Valley Racecourse. The 5 year old son of Successful Appeal was best in a field of nine and finished the six furlong sprint in 1:13.81. Bred by the Morgan’s Ford Farm, the winner stayed close to the front right from the start, rallied confidently through the stretch and ran past the leader with 1/16th to go. No Free Lunch, out of the Tiznow mare, Thor’s Daughter, is trained by Glenn Kopp and now has over $139,0000 in earnings.

Scott Lake’s Tough Weather (shown here winning in December) took control of her 5 1/2 furlong filly/mare claiming race at the top of the stretch and won by a solid 2 3/4 lengths. The 5 year old daughter of Wiseman’s Ferry  prevailed over eight others in a March 3rd clash at Penn National. Bred by Sam English II, Tough Weather trailed Supsa at the quarter by just one length before coming on strong in the turn. Out of the Montreal Red mare, Soft Weather, the victor was sent off as the even money betting choice, crossed in 1:05.26 and boosted her lifetime bankroll to over $100,000.

Tough Weather wins her 3rd career race from 16 starts December 18 at Laurel. Photo courtesy of Jim McCue.

Likeness won handily in his $10,080 one mile starter event at Sunland Park on March 6th.  Bred by James Sumter Carter and the Walmac Farm, the 5 year old gelding made a five wide move in the far turn to take the lead heading for home. Likeness crossed 5 1/4 lengths ahead of his next closest foe and paid $3.80. The winner was ridden by Alfredo Juarez, and is by Ready’s Image out of Gucci Gulch by Gulch.

On March 5th, four Virginia-breds earned second place finishes in quality races, just six days after another four-pack collected runner-up scores in a series of allowance races. Hot and Dangerous, a 5 year old mare bred by DSR, LLC, got her place finish in a $30,555 allowance test at Sunland while 3 year old colt My Chennai Xpress, bred by Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin, continued to perform well at Oaklawn, getting second in a $73,000 allowance event. Awake The Day, a 4 year old filly bred by Sam English, was second best in a $24,500, 4 1/2 furlong allowance sprint for fillies and mares at Charles Town and finally, Scented Up, bred by the Vermont Farms, LLC, was just shy in a 1 1/16th miles maiden claimer at the same venue.

(courtesy of The Paulick Report) Other than some minor scrapes and cuts, Crossed Sabres Farm’s multiple graded-stakes winner Valid emerged from Saturday’s $500,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2) in good order, trainer Marcus Vitali said Sunday.

Making his fourth start of the Championship Meet, the 6-year-old gelding went to his knees in mid-stretch after clipping heels with Anchor Down while making a bid for the lead. The son of Medaglia d’Oro was able to gather himself and get back to running to finish fourth behind upset winner Blofeld.

Favored at 6-5 in the field of seven, Valid was placed third ahead of Anchor Down following a steward’s inquiry, earning $49,000 and moving over the $1 million mark in lifetime earnings, with $1,009,577 from 36 starts.

“The more I watched it, and the more I looked at it last night several times, he was the winner. No doubt in my mind. It’s a tough way to lose a race. It’s unfortunate,” Vitali said. “He looked good this morning. He looked like he was in a little bit of a fight but nothing major. He’s acting good, ate good last night, had a good attitude this morning. It was just unfortunate luck. I’m glad everybody lives for another race.”

Second in both the Hal’s Hope (G3) and Donn Handicap (G1) to multiple Grade 1 winner Mshawish after winning the Harlan’s Holiday Stakes earlier this winter, Valid has placed in the top three in 12 of 14 career starts at Gulfstream Park. Vitali planned to monitor him further before looking at another start.

“We’ll give him another week or two and we’ll make a decision,” he said. “Right now, we’re looking good.”

Last Sunday, Virginia-bred horses were well represented in a quartet of high quality allowance races and though none got to the winners  circle, all four collected second place finishes in their events.

A pair of horses bred by the Corner Farm & John Behrendt collected their respective second place finishes at Parx and Santa Anita. Cat Fiftyfive, a 4 year old Tale of the Cat colt, collected his runner-up in a one mile, $54,000 allowance race while Georgia Blue, a Neil Drysdale trainee, earned second in a $56,000 maiden special weight race event. The former is conditioned by James Lawrence II and is out of the Secret Hello mare, Chemise, while the latter is a sophomore filly by Exchange Rate out of Senate Caucus by Siphon.

Maleeh, bred by Edward Evans, is a 6 year old son of Indian Charlie.

Maleeh, a 6 year old Indian Charlie horse, was a beaten favorite in a $69,000 allowance optional claiming race at Aqueduct. Bred by Edward Evans, the Kiaran McLaughlin trainee is out of the Gold Fever mare, Gold Mover. Queen Caroline completed the bridesmaid four pack with a second place finish in a $50,000 maiden special weight event at Gulfstream. Bred by the Morgan’s Ford Farm and trained by Michael Matz, the 3 year old filly is by Blame, out of the Forestry mare, Queens Plaza. She surprised after being sent off at odds of 32-1.

Long On Value winning the Canadian Turf at Gulfstream. Photo courtesy Adam Coglianese.

The day prior, Long On Value (shown here) had a similar same fate in the $150,000 Canadian Turf Stakes (Gr. III) at Gulfstream. Trained by three time Virginia Derby winning conditioner Bill Mott, the 5 year old Value Plus horse was trying to repeat after a 1 3/4 length triumph in the 2015 edition. Out of the Orientate mare, Long Message, Long On Value came up 2 1/2 lengths shy this year, falling to Heart To Heart. He was bred by the Snow Lantern Thoroughbreds. Courtesy of Coady Photography.

Long On Value wins the Jamestown Stakes at Colonial Downs as a 2 year old in 2013. Courtesy of Coady Photography.