The first horse onto the track was Mo Margarita from the barn of James Tsirigotis, Jr., who has eight horses here from Tampa.

“The Tampa horsemen definitely played a big role in the success of our ‘racing revival’ last year and I’m certainly glad to see so many of them return,” said Director of Racing and Racing Secretary Allison DeLuca, who serves in the same role at the Oldsmar, Florida, oval.

The Sunshine State outfits are topped by last year’s co-leading trainer Mike Stidham, who will again have a string at Colonial this summer. The 62-year-old native of Neptune, New Jersey, won 10 races during the 2019 meet including stakes scores with Embolden in the Jamestown Stakes and with Doc’s Boy in the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Kitten’s Joy. He surpassed the 2,000-win mark in November.

“We enjoyed racing here last year,” Stidham said. “We had a lot of grass horses that we were able to run that we couldn’t get in at other tracks. We won a lot of races. Our horses liked the grass course and the dirt surface was good as well.

“We’re anxious and looking forward to another good meet,” he continued. “We will have a strong presence at Colonial and plan to run as many as possible this year.”

In addition to Stidham and Tsirigotis, others trainers who have made the trek from the western peninsula of Florida include Mike Campbell, Francisco Machado, Abdul Williams, James Dimmett, Jonathon Feron, Joseph Minieri, Mauricio Nunez, Derek Ryan, Dennis Ward, John Fennessey, Sarah Nagle, Moises Yanez, and Whitney Vallis to name just a few.

Among the prominent new trainers to have a Colonial Downs outfit is that of Christophe Clemente. The Paris-born Clemente, who saddled Tonalist to win the 2014 Belmont Stakes (G1), though based in New York this time of year he will have a contingent of eight horses here. Earlier this year, Clemente notched his 2,000^th victory.

Of course, Virginia-bred, -sired or -restricted runners will be featured prominently during the Colonial Downs season with numerous stakes opportunities sprinkled throughout the meet with as many as six such events planned for the opening three programs.

“Move in day was hectic – we have 100 horses at home; trying to get a batch down here,” said trainer Karen Godsey. “Mom and I were throwing hay the other day trying to get it all done.  We have 11 (horses) here so far, nine or 10 more to come from the farm and some from other tracks. We’ll trickle them in — I’ll bring another couple more every day.

“It feels great to be back especially after this year that we’ve all had — at one point, didn’t even know we’d be here,” she said. “I hope I have as a good meet as I did last year but don’t know if you can get lucky twice. What the Beep, winner of the 2019 Tyson Gilpin Stakes is back and will compete in the same Virginia-bred stakes this year (Sept. 2).”

Another Virginia-based trainer David Bourke arrived over the weekend and will have 10 horses here for the meet. “I just brought the first set out to train and the track feels great — it has a really nice cushion on it. It is all manicured and looks A1,” he said. “We fortunately brought better a bit better stock with us this year. We have two really nice 2-year-olds. We have something more to look forward to than we did last year. The quality in our stable this year is better.”

The Colonial Downs season begins Monday, July 27, with racing conducted three days a week – Monday through Wednesday – with a first post of 5:30 p.m. EDT with provisions for a limited number of spectators in attendance for the 18-day schedule.

Under conditions established in Virginia’s Phase 3 reopening plan, which allows for outdoor venues to cap attendance at 1,000 spectators, Colonial Downs will plan the following protocols for the nightly meeting:

·        Up to 1000 spectators will be admitted to the outdoor areas of the grandstand and the track apron.

·        All guests will receive temperature checks upon arrival at the facility and a 6-foot social distancing policy will be enforced.

·        Guests are required to wear masks indoors and encouraged outdoors.

Sausville, who grew up outside of Saratoga in upstate New York, won’t just savor the action as a fan. He has been able take his intense passion for racing and turn it into a budding career. This summer, he will be working in the racing department at Colonial Downs. He made a key connection last fall when he met Colonial’s Vice President of Racing Operations Jill Byrne on Breeders’ Cup weekend at Santa Anita. Byrne offered him a position during the 2020 meet and he arrived in New Kent two weeks ago.

Come Monday when the track opens for training, he will be a backstretch “gap” attendant every morning during training hours — overseeing the flow of equine traffic on and off the track, to and from the barn area. During the races, he will help insert Equibase timing system chips into each horse’s saddle towel as an assistant paddock judge. And in between, he’ll do anything else that is needed or asked of him. “I expect to have some long days but am looking forward to the experience,” he said.

Sausville didn’t grow up in a racing family, but his family had a lot of interest in the races given his proximity to Saratoga. “I’d go to the races and simulcast rooms with my father, uncle, and godfather pretty much every Friday and Saturday when Saratoga was racing,” he said. “We did doubleheaders those days — Thoroughbreds in the afternoon and harness, which was right across the street, at night.”

Sausville enjoyed everything about racing and thought about a career in the field but didn’t know how to go about it. After high school, he attended St. John Fisher College in Rochester for four years where he played basketball and got a degree in Marketing. After graduating, he heard about the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program (RTIP) from Gulfstream track announcer Pete Aiello and decided to pursue the opportunity.

He ended up spending the next 1 1/2 years in Tucson taking courses in racetrack management, racetrack marketing and animal sciences among others. Students in the program get valuable hands-on experience interning at nearby Rillito Park — the birthplace of Quarter Horse racing — which has an annual six-week winter meet.

The combination of classwork and experience — and treks across the country to visit racetracks — came together quite nicely for him. “I realized this is what I wanted pretty quickly after I got out there,” he recalled. “The last two years have been the best of my life, from when I started there, to when I graduated from there (in December), to being able to visit tracks and gain new experiences. I loved so much of it and still love every second of it.”

Sausville’s fascination with traveling to tracks around the country started eight or nine years ago though. “I had already been to Keeneland, Belmont and Saratoga at that point, but the next place I visited was Beulah Park in Columbus. It was on its last legs. It was down to its final few race days left. There weren’t more than a dozen people in the place the day I was there. It was dusty and dirty. But you could visualize how nice the place was at one time. There was an air to it. I said to my family, if there are other places like this around the country, I want to see them.”

Future track trips would sometimes be as a family, as father and son, and on other occasions, solo. On one trip, he drove from school in Tuscon to New York and visited eight or nine different tracks on the way east. With help from RTIP’s Wendy Davis and Mike Weiss, he set up meetings at each with graduates of the program and with former guest speakers they had.

“I found there’s such a comradery among everyone. I got to see so many alumni from the program and meet people that all had a common ground. It was great to see the passion that brings everyone together. I grew up watching races from the rail with my dad. This gave me the chance to see racing from the inside.

“I’m trying to learn bits and pieces of everything,” he added. “When you watch racing as a fan, you see some of those bits and pieces. When you get into it more, you see all the avenues it takes — working hands on with the horses, working the sales, breeding. I spent five months helping foal out mares — something I never thought about doing when I was 16 or 17.”

Sausville was asked about some top highlights from his travels. “Arlington was great,” he replied. “I went to the Million and had an amazing time. Saratoga is my home and I sometimes get spoiled with it. Fairmount Park in Illinois stands out. I was there on a Saturday night when they had an 8:30 PM post time. The place was packed. They ran for lower purses but the crowds were jammed in along the rail. Same with Rillito,” he continued. “They didn’t run for a lot of purse money there. Maiden special weight races went for $1,000. But when the horses came down the stretch, people were three- and four-deep at the rail screaming. At every track, there is an experience that separates each one from the other.”

Sausville estimates he has visited between 55 and 57 closed racetracks. “There is an element about seeing a closed venue. I love seeing what is left. I love the history of racing.  It’s what drew me into visiting. I went to Alabama and visited the Birmingham Turf Club.  It was a mecca at one time, but just never made it. To see it was amazing. It’s gorgeous to see what they built it for. They had been running greyhounds most recently but aren’t any more since the pandemic hit. To see that element of the past is just really exciting to feel it and experience it.”

Garden State Park, Great Lakes Downs and Pinnacle are some of the tracks he has been to that did not survive. “At Detroit Race Course, there is nothing left,” he said. “It’s just a couple of warehouses now. In other places, you can still see the grandstand or the track. Everybody in the industry started somewhere and has experiences. Take a place like Woodlands in Kansas City. Nobody knows what’s going on with it now but there are 10 people that started their careers there and had some of the best times of their professional lives there. I’ve heard some amazing stories about some amazing places and they are all genuine. I don’t know if I would have heard these unless people knew I had that level of interest.”

Before arriving at Colonial Downs, Sausville worked for five months at the 2,200-acre Stone Farm in Paris, Kentucky. After the Colonial meet ends, he will head back to Kentucky but instead of a farm, he’ll be based at Keeneland to help prepare for this year’s Breeders’ Cup. Working at Colonial though completes a “full circle” type experience.

“I’ve always loved watching races on TV and certain simulcast signals would catch my eye,” he recalled. “Colonial was one of them. One of my favorite horses won the 2012 Virginia Derby. I remember watching Silver Max win it upstairs at the Saratoga harness track on a small, dirty simulcast screen. Now eight years later, I get to look out at that beautiful turf course in person every day. It’s amazing to realize where I came from and where I am now.”

Colonial’s Jill Byrne could not be happier where Sausville is now. “I met Alex initially at Breeders’ Cup last year where he was working for Dora Delgado in the racing department. I knew if he was Dora-approved he had to have all the necessary qualities for a future in racing operations! Then I got to see Alex in action at the RTIP Symposium and it was even more obvious that he has the drive, knowledge and passion to learn everything about the racing industry and be a positive addition to our team at Colonial Downs. Alex is going to be a major force in horse racing’s future.”

The VRC’s mission is to promote, sustain, grow and control a native horse racing industry with pari-mutuel wagering by prescribing regulations and conditions that command and promote excellence and complete honesty and integrity in racing and wagering.

Hudgins originally questioned whether she had the qualifications necessary to serve on the Commission board. She has been a longtime owner and breeder of sport horses like hunters and jumpers but had not been involved in horse racing per se. “I didn’t feel I was qualified and didn’t think I could be of any benefit to the industry,” she said. “I thought there were plenty of others who had longer and stronger backgrounds in the sport who could bring lots more to the table.”

After initially declining consideration, she began having conversations with people in the industry. “I still had doubts but knew upcoming years would be pivotal for racing in Virginia with historical racing, OTBs, the return of Colonial Downs and casinos. I started thinking that someone who is behind the industry, has business experience elsewhere and understands how business can impact the state should have their voice heard.”

Hudgins ended up throwing her hat in the ring, was appointed by the Governor on May 19 and attended her first VRC meeting as a Commissioner on June 25.

Her horse farm is in Suffolk and she has attended many equine shows and competitions over the years in Middleburg, Charlottesville and The Plains among others. In addition to the Hampton based business she runs — her late husband Lester started the contracting company 40 years ago — Hudgins went to college for Physical Therapy and has more than a passive understanding of injuries, treatments and more in-depth knowledge of medications and breakdowns. She has practiced for 35 years.

She also earned a Masters of Business Administration from Old Dominion University. She has spent almost thirty years consulting with small business start-ups as well as large corporate entities across the region in targeting and managing growth opportunities. The degrees and experience came in handy, especially when her husband passed away somewhat unexpectedly in 2011 from cancer at the age of 69.

“He ran a general contracting business when I met him in the early ’80’s and he pretty much built buildings,” she said. “I love business though. I’d give him occasional advice on the business and he’d usually just give me a look or roll his eyes. Then one day, he said some of the things I suggested were actually right,” she chuckled. “The joke in our family was that he was the businessman, but I had the MBA.”

Hudgins said her husband did not make any plans for later in life and thought he would keep the business going until he died. When he was sick, he told her she would have to take over the company. “I said, ‘excuse me, say that again’. He said it was important for him, but especially for all the employees that had been with him for 15, even 20 years,” she said. “At that time, the local economy was still depressed and it was a struggle. He was concerned about the older employees that were in their 50’s. It was recession time still and companies weren’t hiring. He was fearful that if the company didn’t continue, they would struggle finding a job elsewhere due to their age and as he said, ‘be put out to pasture’.”

“It hit home hard and it happened so fast,” she continued. “I was responsible for the financial health of the business, the ups and downs, and for all the people.” Initially, she thought about selling. “The employee that was running the business on an interim basis was interested in buying it but he and I had a different viewpoint on what the company culture should be and how people should be treated. He ended up resigning and at that point, I made up my mind to take over.

Hudgins wasn’t an engineer and admitted she was never going to know what her work force knew, but made up her mind to learn about the construction field and all the projects her firm was involved in.

“I knew the key was to get the best employees I could find based on my vision of teamwork, and not the top down management structure.  I found people in the industry that I knew would be a good fit. I had to almost become a cheerleader to get good people to come on board and take chance with us. We slowly and steadily evolved with these new folks, and employees that had been there for a while, through a lot of hard work. It was a journey but it was very rewarding. I was able to treat my older employees as if nothing had even disturbed the flow of their work. I got to see them retire when they planned to retire and attend their going away parties. And I’ve seen young people in their 30’s come in and seen their enthusiasm take the company to where it is today.”

Last summer, Hudgins had her first experience as a thoroughbred race horse owner, in a sense. She was part of the Virginia Racing Club, a collaboration of 30-40 fans from all over the state, who each invested a modest fee to own a share of two horses that raced at Colonial Downs last summer. Ferris Allen trained them both — Speed App and Fly E Dubai.

On opening day’s card — the first one held at New Kent since 2013 — Speed App raced, and won. “There’s a saying in sport horses that if your foal is a winner and you strike gold with it, get out while you can,” joked Hudgins. “You can’t understand how rare that is and how hard it is to replicate. The experience wasn’t about the money so much as it was a chance to go to the races with like minded people and cheer for your horse. The cost was reasonable to get in and it was a wonderful opportunity. And shock of all shocks is that we made a little money in addition to the entertainment.”

At her first Racing Commission meeting last month, Hudgins witnessed firsthand how industry stake holders can band together. She came away impressed. “In my business, problem solving is the biggest thing you can to do to have a view of the future. You need to work in a collaborative way with other groups to have a common goal in which we all share. That’s what I saw at the meeting. Groups with different goals coming together to figure out a way how Virginia is going to move forward. I was amazed. It bodes well for the future of our industry.”

“I see horse racing as a driving economic force in Virginia because it is our heritage,” she continued. “It goes back to the very beginning here. I don’t think there’s anything more beautiful than a thoroughbred horse. Anybody that has an interest and love for the sport can get involved. Racing is like my business. We have people in the field that work with heavy machinery and lay piping, are very good at what they do and earn a good living. It didn’t take a college degree. It’s the same in racing. You need education of a different sort. You need to love working outside and with animals. We have an entire industry that doesn’t go into office buildings.”