OLD DOMINION HOUNDS  –POINT TO POINT – Saturday, September 12, 2020  – Ben Venue Farm, Ben Venue, Virginia – First Race – 12:00 pm 

First Race –  AMATEUR/NOVICE RIDER HURDLE  – About 2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up. Pageland Series Conditions. 160 lbs.  Maidens allowed 10 lbs. For each series win by the horse, 3 lbs. extra up to 6 lbs. over the base weight.

Second Race – PtP MAIDEN HURDLE  – About 2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up which have never won over hurdles (point to point or sanctioned). Four-year-olds, 155 lbs.; older, 160 lbs.

Third Race – NSA MAIDEN HURDLE  – About 2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up which have never won over hurdles under NSA rules. Four-year-olds, 155 lbs.; older, 160 lbs.

Fourth Race  – AMATEUR AND NOVICE RIDER TIMBER  – About 3 miles. For Five-Year-Olds and Up. Seven Corners Series Conditions. 175 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. For each series win 3 lbs. extra up to 6 lbs. over the base weight.

Fifth Race – OPEN HURDLE  – About 2 1/4 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up. Weights: four-year-olds, 150 lbs.; older, 155 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. Winners under NSA rules over hurdles in 2019-20, 10 lbs. extra. If there are sufficient entries, this race will be split based on ratings numbers. The lowest rated horses and the highest will be separated.

Sixth Race – OPEN TIMBER  – THE LEEDS DON – About 3 miles. For Five-Year-Olds and Up. 165 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. Winners under NSA rules over timber in 2019-20, 10 lbs. extra.

Seventh Race – RESTRICTED YOUNG ADULT FLAT  – About 1 1/2 miles. For Five-Year-Olds and Up to be ridden by amateurs, 15 – 18 years old. Any rider younger than 15 must seek approval from the committee before entering. 140 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs.

Eighth Race – NOVICE RIDER FLAT  – About 1 1/2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up. Novice Rider Flat Series Conditions. Four-year-olds, 150 lbs.; older, 155 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. Winners under rules on the flat in 2019-20, 10 lbs. extra.

Ninth Race – VIRGINIA BRED OR SIRED FLAT  – Sponsored by the VHBPA – Purse $2,000.  About 1 1/4 miles. For Three-Year-Olds and Upward, Registered Virginia Bred or Sired. Three-year-olds, 145 lbs.; four-year-olds, 150 lbs.; older, 155 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. Open to Virginia Certified if fewer than 8 Virginia Bred or Virginia Sired are entered.

All entries close 11:00 a.m., Monday, September 7; Scratch time will be 11:00 a.m., Wednesday, September 9.

ADDITIONAL RACE INFORMATION – Eleven starters allowed in races over hurdles. Thirteen starters allowed in races over timber.

Fifteen starters allowed in races on the flat.

Entry fee $100. For other information contact:  Ms. Kim Poe, MFH, (540) 276-3585; Ms. Debbie Welch, MFH, (540) 631-8607.

The 71st Annual  – BLUE RIDGE HUNT – POINT TO POINT – Saturday, September 19, 2020  – Woodley Farm – 490 Woodley Lane  –  Berryville, Virginia 22611. Post time is 12:30 PM.

First Race – PtP MAIDEN HURDLE  – 12:30 PM  – About 2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up which have never won over hurdles (point to point or sanctioned). Four-year-olds, 155 lbs.; older, 160 lbs.

Second Race – NSA MAIDEN HURDLE  – About 2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up which have never won over hurdles under NSA rules. Four-year-olds, 155 lbs.; older, 160 lbs.

Third Race– AMATEUR/NOVICE RIDER HURDLE – About 2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up. Pageland Series Conditions. 160 lbs.  Maidens allowed 10 lbs.  For each series win by the horse, 3 lbs. extra up to 6 lbs. over the base weight.

Fourth Race – OPEN HURDLE  – About 2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up. Weights: four-year-olds, 150 lbs.; older, 155 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. Winners under NSA rules over hurdles in 2019-20, 10 lbs. extra. If there are sufficient entries, this race will be split based on ratings numbers. The lowest rated horses and the highest will be separated.

Fifth Race – RESTRICTED YOUNG ADULT FLAT  – About 1 1/2 miles. For Five-Year-Olds and Up to be ridden by amateurs, 15 – 18 years old. Any rider younger than 15 must seek approval from the committee before entering. 140 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs.

Sixth Race – NOVICE RIDER FLAT  – About 1 1/2 miles. For Four-Year-Olds and Up. Novice Rider Flat Series Conditions. Four-year-olds, 150 lbs.; older, 155 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. Winners under rules on the flat in 2019-20, 10 lbs. extra.

Seventh Race – VIRGINIA BRED OR SIRED FLAT  – Sponsored by the VHBPA  – Purse $2,000. About 1 mile. For Three-Year-Olds and Up, Registered Virginia Bred or Sired. Three-year-olds, 145 lbs.; four-year-olds, 150 lbs.; older, 155 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. Open to Virginia Certified if fewer than 8 Virginia Bred or Virginia Sired are entered.

Eighth Race – MAIDEN FLAT  – About 1 1/8 miles. For Three-Year-Olds and Up which have never won on the flat. Three-year-olds, 145 lbs.; four-year-olds, 150 lbs.; older, 155 lbs.

Ninth Race – NOVICE TIMBER  – About 3 miles. For Five-Year-Olds and Up which have not won two point to point or one sanctioned race over timber prior to January 1 of the current year. 165 lbs. For each series win, 3 lbs. extra up to 6 lbs. over the base weight.

Tenth Race  – AMATEUR AND NOVICE RIDER TIMBER  – About 3 miles. For Five-Year-Olds and Up. Seven Corners Series Conditions. 175 lbs. Maidens allowed 10 lbs. For each series win 3 lbs. extra up to 6 lbs. over the base weight.

All entries close 11:00 a.m., Monday, September 14

NO POST ENTRIES UNLESS AN EXCEPTION IS INCLUDED ON THE OVERNIGHT

CENTRAL ENTRY OFFICE (540) 439-3820

ADDITIONAL RACE INFORMATION  – “Improvements to the course; timber fence modifications and removal of a lot of rock outcroppings have been done.”

Twelve starters allowed in all races.  Entry fee: $100. Number cloths will not be issued until entry fees are paid. No schooling allowed at any time (before or after the races). For reserved parking spaces call: Diana Perry (540) 311-1919

For racing information and/or inclement weather call Race Chairman: Jeff LeHew, MFH (540) 636-0500,/(540) 974-0500.

www.BlueRidgeHunt.org

With a runner-up finish in the recent Ellis Park Derby, Virginia-bred Attachment Rate became eligible for the September 5 Kentucky Derby. The Dale Romans trainee was bred by Mr. & Mrs. Oliver Iselin III. In 2020, the Hard Spun colt has earned $142,925 in purse monies. Photos are courtesy of Coady Photography and show Attachment Rate on the Churchill Downs track August 27.   

So far, a victory at the stakes level has proven elusive for Attachment Rate. But consistent and repeated in-the-mix efforts against tough competition have carried Attachment Rate to uncommon heights, with a runner-up effort in the Ellis Park Derby qualifying the chestnut colt to the 2020 Kentucky Derby (G1).

Consistency and durability were certainly hallmarks of Attachment Rate’s sire, the tough-as-nails Hard Spun. Though his signature victory came in the King’s Bishop (G1) dashing 7 furlongs at Saratoga, Hard Spun was much more than a sprinter. A son of Danzig out of the Turkoman mare Turkish Tryst, Hard Spun packed 13 starts into a productive career spanning just over a year, with top-three finishes in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness (G1), Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), and Haskell (G1) among his excellent efforts running 1 1/8 miles or farther.

At stud, Hard Spun has proven versatile, siring major winners over a wide variety of distances and surfaces. With his excellent speed, some folks might have assumed Hard Spun would sire a preponderance of early-maturing sprinter/milers, but in fact the opposite has been true. The progeny of Hard Spun often need time to reach their peak, and a large handful have thrived running 1 1/4 miles or longer—Santa Anita Handicap (G1) winner Hard Aces, Arlington Million (G1) victor Hardest Core, Alabama (G1) winner Questing, and Marathon (G2) winner Rocketry all come to mind.

Attachment Rate’s dam, Aristra, was considerably less accomplished than Hard Spun as a racehorse, scoring her lone victory in a one-mile and 70-yard maiden claiming race at Penn National. But as a broodmare she’s enjoyed a bit more luck; her first four foals to race have all reached the winner’s circle running at least a mile.

The long-winded nature of Aristra’s foals isn’t surprising since she’s a daughter of 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes (G1) winner Afleet Alex, whose best foals include 1 1/4-mile Travers (G1) winner Afleet Express and 2011 Breeders’ Cup Marathon (G2) winner Afleet Again. Just as significantly, Aristra was produced by the Deputy Minister mare Sunset Service, previously the dam of 1 1/8-mile Flying Concert S. winner Vespers and 1 1/8-mile Beautiful Day S. victor Database.

Attachment Rate might not be the most heralded colt in the prospective Kentucky Derby field, but from a pedigree perspective, there’s no reason to think the 1 1/4-mile journey of the Run for the Roses will trip him up.

The following appeared in The Paulick Report on August 26. Trevor McCarthy was the leading rider at the Colonial Downs summer meet which ended prematurely due to Covid-related circumstances.

Trevor McCarthy has endured his share of job-related injuries over the course of a 10-year riding career that has seen him win more than 1,500 races, four overall Maryland championships and 12 individual meet titles.

His latest setback came courtesy of a bout with coronavirus amid the ongoing pandemic that paused live racing in Maryland for 2 ½ months until May 30 and caused the early Aug. 14 closure of the Colonial Downs meet, where McCarthy was leading rider.

Back at full health and eager to return to riding, the 26-year-old McCarthy is named in six of nine races when live racing resumes at Laurel Park Thursday, Aug. 27. It will be his first action since going winless with two mounts Aug. 5 at Colonial.

McCarthy has ridden just 11 of the first 33 days of Laurel’s extended summer meet and just once since June 27 – on July 17 – having spent most of the summer at Monmouth Park and Colonial. He still ranks eighth in the standings in both wins (15) and purses earned ($443,151).

“I’ve been back working out on my bicycle and back on my Equicizer, getting ready to gear up and get back to the races. We’re looking forward to it,” McCarthy, engaged to fellow rider Katie Davis, said. “We’ve been trapped in the house for [two weeks] and it’s been something else. We’re excited to get back.”

McCarthy said he first began feeling ill Aug. 8, enough to cancel his morning workout and evening riding assignments the following day at Colonial and urge Davis to do the same.

“I woke up in the middle of the night and I felt terrible,” McCarthy said. “I said to Katie, ‘We’re not going anywhere.’ She said, ‘What do you mean?’ and I said, ‘I feel terrible. I feel like I’m really, really sick.’

“She kind of looked at me like ‘are you serious,’ and I was like, ‘We’re not leaving the house,’” he added. “We were just very cautious and right then and there I made the decision. I was just thinking more about everybody else than myself at that time. It was the right move, and Katie couldn’t go as well because she’s been around me even though she didn’t have any symptoms. It wouldn’t be smart to have had her go without me.”

McCarthy said he experienced symptoms over the next 48 hours that felt like a severe flu and kept him housebound until he was able to get checked out Aug. 11. It was then that his worst fear was confirmed.

“I was sick for like two days. More like flu – fever, headache, I had the chills, a runny nose. Finally the third day I felt so much better so I went and got tested and that’s when I found out I was positive,” McCarthy said. “Katie was negative, so it was really strange that day. We just went back home and I did my quarantining. It was only about five days total that I felt really bad. I lost my taste and smell for one day. Two days were really strong and then the three days after that were like a small cold I was just kind of getting over.”

Having heard and read stories about COVID-19 cases where people experienced extreme symptoms, McCarthy said he didn’t expect to get a positive result for the virus.

“I went into the test kind of confident that I wasn’t going to have it because I kind of whacked this thing out in two days and I was feeling so much better on the third day. Hearing from everybody else, it’s a week-long drag where you’re really sick,” McCarthy said. “So, when I knocked it out in two days I thought it was just a bug or a small virus or flu. They ended up testing me for the flu, as well, and I was negative, and I was positive for the coronavirus. It was really weird and I guess it just hits people differently.

“After those five, six days I was fine. It was weird,” he added. “Katie eventually showed a little bit of symptoms, nothing as severe as mine, just stuffy nose and she lost her taste and smell. But she wasn’t anywhere close to how sick I got. It was strange.”

McCarthy credited his career and active lifestyle with helping to curtail the most serious symptoms of coronavirus as well as lessen its duration.

“I think it has a lot to do with being an athlete, being young, being in good shape, and having a healthy diet. When I had symptoms, our local farmer’s market delivered groceries to our house. We just kept eating our strong diet, all natural foods and trying to give ourselves the best nutrition and keep our immune systems up,” he said. “I drank a lot of Pedialyte, hot tea, lots of water and kept on my diet. After five or six days, I was back to normal.”

All jockeys coming from the Colonial meet, including other Maryland regulars such as Davis, Forest Boyce and Jorge Ruiz, are required to serve a 14-day quarantine period from Aug. 13 and have a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours in hand to return to ride at Laurel, with Aug. 27 being the first eligible day. McCarthy said he is scheduled to be re-tested Aug. 24.

“I haven’t had any symptoms lately,” he said. “It’s just a part of what’s going on in this world right now. I’ve got to follow the rules and that’s it. There’s not much more we can do.”

McCarthy is excited about the upcoming calendar in Maryland. Laurel is scheduled to host nine $100,000 stakes over Labor Day weekend including the Federico Tesio for 3-year-olds and Weber City Miss for 3-year-old fillies Sept. 7. Both races are automatic qualifiers for the Preakness (G1) and Black-Eyed Susan (G2), respectively, rescheduled for Oct. 3 at Pimlico Race Course.

“It should be a real exciting fall meet. It’s going to be great,” McCarthy said. “It seems like they’re going to have a nice weekend the first part of September and then you’re always looking forward to Preakness time and Maryland Million time, as well. It should be a fun fall meet.”

The Colonial Downs thoroughbred race meet may have ended prematurely on August 10 due to Covid-related issues, but it was great to see a couple two-year-old colts who were raised and broken at the newly renovated Middleburg Training Center reach the winners circle in New Kent.

Congratulations to Guillaume and Palio — both owned by David Ross — who spent their Virginia residency periods at Ballyerin Racing at Middleburg. These race photos of the pair are courtesy of by Coady Photography.

Jockey Trevor McCarthy guides David Ross’s Guillaume to victory. 

Trevor McCarthy is shown with Palio, winner of a $40,000 Virginia-restricted 2-year-old maiden race.

Thanks to Virginia businessman Chuck Kuhn and his son Steve — and their investment of several million dollars — the Middleburg Training Center is once again a premier stabling destination for horsemen.  Kuhn, who is the founder of JK Moving Services in Sterling, Virginia, bought the property several years ago and kept its valuable 149-acres as an equine center instead of letting it get in the hands of developers. Renovations were completed this spring. Photographer Joanne Maisano took some pictures of the finished product in early August.

STATEMENT:

Colonial Downs Group places the health and safety of our team, partners and visitors as our top priority. We established thorough protocols prior to the 2020 racing season to address any issues that may arise from the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of recent test results at the track in New Kent County, and in an abundance of caution, Colonial Downs is cancelling the remainder of its 2020 meet. In making our decision, we collaborated with the Virginia Department of Health, Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent Protection Association (VHBPA) and Virginia Racing Commission. We have communicated the outcome with all participating parties. We sincerely appreciate everyone’s cooperation and support. This was a difficult decision, but the best one for Virginia’s racing community. We are already starting to make plans for the 2021 meet at Colonial Downs and are optimistic for a safe return in a better health environment for our nation, state and community.

Dear VA-Bred, VA-Sired & VA-Certified Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners,