Congratulations to four Virginia connected horses that competed in the 2018 Yearling Futurity, who will share a $5,000 bonus pool based on career earnings they accumulated through their recently completed 3-year-old racing campaigns. The top earners in bonus winning order were Patriotic Punch ($3,000), Appraised ($1,000), Lady Fox ($700) and Beach Traffic ($300).

Virginia-Certified Patriotic Punch (#7) won a thriller at Pimlico September 25. Photo by Jim McCue.

Virginia- certified/Maryland-bred Patriotic Punch, bred by Charles Reed and Michael Zanella, bankrolled $125,969 from 17 career starts through December 31. The Carpe Diem filly, out of Lori Z’s Punch by Two Punch, reeled off three wins in a row during a five-week period in Maryland last year. She was best in maiden claimer and a pair of starter optional claiming races between September 11-October 17. Overall, she has 10 “top three finishes”. Patriotic Punch spent her Virginia residency at Karen Godsey’s Eagle Point Farm in Ashland.

The Yearling Futurity takes place annually at the Warrenton Horse Show Grounds.

Virginia-bred Appraised also has recorded a trio of victories and ten “top three” finishes. The Shanghai Bobby gelding, bred and raised at Morgan’s Ford Farm in Front Royal, collected his wins in a series of claimers at Delaware Park over a nine-week period last year. Out of the Include mare, Looking Great, he has earned $70,067.

Lady Fox broke her maiden on a showery New Years Day at Laurel. Photo by Jim McCue.

Virginia-certified, Lady Fox finished 2020 with $56,540 in earnings — third best from the ’18 yearling class — and has kicked off 2021 with back-to-back wins. The Imagining filly, bred by Lady Olivia at North Cliff, LLC., had four runner-up finishes and a trio of thirds through 2020, good for $56,540. This year, she broke her maiden and prevailed in another claiming race, both at Laurel. The Maryland-bred, out of Lady Olivia by Silver Deputy, spent her residency at David Dobson’s Lady Olivia at North Cliff Farm in Rixeyville.

Pictured with Beach Traffic are: VTA President Brooke Royster, Patricia Ramey and handler Junior Johnson.

Beach Traffic, Reserve Grand Champion and winner of the Certified class at the ’18 Futurity, has collected wins at both Gulfstream and Monmouth. The Maryland-bred gelding, by Cross Traffic, has bankrolled $53,365 to date. Out of Pink Sand by Sky Mesa, Beach Traffic was bred by Patricia Ramey and Maciej Szwarc and raised at Ramey’s Hunt Ridge Stables located at Blue Ridge Farm in Upperville. He has hit the board in half of his 16 starts.

When the calendar turned the page to 2021 on January 1, all Thoroughbreds officially became one year older. That means that Ball Chairman and Border Run are now 33 years old, while Trusted Company is 32. Why is this important, other than the fact that they are all of advanced age, a blessing for any horse? Because they are the last three known living offspring of Secretariat, a precious few still providing a direct link to their illustrious sire.

Ball Chairman is the oldest of the group, born March 18, 1988. Purchased as a young broodmare by owner Charles Fipke, she’s also the only one who has spent time overseas – several years at Coolmore Stud in Ireland, visiting elite stallions like Sadler’s Wells and Galileo. To the court of Sadler’s Wells, she produced seven foals, including G1 winner Perfect Soul and Canadian sire Not Impossible. Five of her last six foals (Sheba Gold, Sadler’s Secretary, Secretariat’s Soul, Dance Secretary and Urban Ball) are broodmares that have current runners in training.

After Perfect Soul was pensioned from stud duty at Darby Dan Farm, the stallion was sent home to Fipke’s Kentucky farm.

For a while mother and son had stalls at opposite ends of one barn, although Ball Chairman was out in her pasture almost 24/7. She was eventually moved to a broodmare barn but still only spends time inside during extreme weather or when she needs any medical or routine attention.

Fortunately, medical needs have been few and far between. Her primary health problems include issues related to retaining uterine fluid and chronic arthritis, especially in her left knee.

“She’s super tough,” said farm manager Elke Krohn, heaping praise on a mare who is “really good about letting us know when something is wrong. She’s like, ‘right here guys, I’m not right, this is not good.’” And so far, thanks to those equine signals for help and fast action by her caretakers, she has quickly recovered from any issues.

Recently she lost her younger best friend when the Wild Again mare Recoleta passed away peacefully.

The two mares shared a breakfast together in their pasture one day, and after a little nap only Ball Chairman got up again. But Secretariat’s daughter has found a new pal in 24-year-old Thislillightofmine, a daughter of Kingmambo out of a Sir Ivor mare. That makes her a descendant of Secretariat’s half-brother Sir Gaylord, sire of Sir Ivor. And it just so happens that Thislillightofmine’s leading earners as a broodmare were all by Perfect Soul.

“They get along really well,” Krohn said of the newly-paired mares. At this writing, they were spending their time in an indoor round pen at the back of the big broodmare barn. The weather was changing so much, and a serious cold spell was looming, so it was best to keep them inside.

“She does prefer to be outside, but at least they can roam around and look outside through windows.” Krohn laughingly referred to the temporary quarters as their “indoor condo”, adding that they would get back to their “outside condo”, complete with a run-in shed, as soon as possible.

The latest Borderisms

The only known living son of the Triple Crown winner is royally-bred Border Run, a full brother to both Terlingua and Pancho Villa. There’s a strong family resemblance among the three siblings, and owner Curtis Wright is thrilled to have stumbled across Border Run almost a decade ago, when the gelding was listed for sale on a local website.

Born March 23, 1988, just five days after Ball Chairman, Secretariat’s son was a stakes-placed winner of $155,238. A longtime racing fan and horseplayer, Wright recognized the gelding immediately from his racing days and wasted no time acquiring him for the small Washington farm that he and his wife Margo call home.

After nearly ten years with Wright, Border Run is still doing well. “Despite his age-appropriate teeth, he still enjoys carrots, cookies and peppermints. He can still manage hay too, which can be a problem as they age.”

The owner often waxes poetic about the gelding’s antics, and relayed three ‘Borderisms’ based on recent behaviors that define his personality.

Even at his age, Border Run loves to lie down in the pasture for naps, no matter the weather, and will stay motionless on his side with his best friend Anniversary Year (also sleeping) standing over him. Margo can be unnerved at the sight, and recently she got concerned when the nap seemed unusually long. She called for Curtis. “Once I looked out the window,” he said, “right on cue Border’s head came up and he stood up, no doubt refreshed, with a ‘what’s all the fuss?’ look on his face.”

That’s just one of the looks in the gelding’s repertoire. Another is, “Do you know who my father is?” He flashes that look whenever he is annoyed at something, or during a routine procedure he’s not happy with.

For the longest time, the Wrights had the goats Linus and Lucy; beloved Linus passed away last winter. To keep Lucy company, they acquired a new goat, Tara, and two of her baby nephews. Tara can be very noisy – “braying rapid fire sounding like a car alarm”, said Wright. “Like the venerable Sailor Man, Popeye, Border takes all he can take until he ‘can’t takes no more.’ So he flashes that look with his ears pinned, and Tara realizes she’s gone far enough.”

And then there’s a quirky drinking preference that just may be the reason for his longevity.

Wright goes to great lengths to make sure the horses have a nice clean water source, a 100-gallon trough “replete with goldfish to purify the water”. But Border Run prefers to quench his thirst another way when he can. A low area of the pasture collects rain water at certain times of the year, and it can get up to a foot deep. “So this regally bred individual, the result of years of careful planning, and one who wouldn’t walk through an inch of standing water if his life depended on it, likes to drink from the edges of this happenstance pond.”

He added that soon there will be ducks swimming and bathing in the water, but that won’t change the gelding’s behavior. “This lovable equine curmudgeon will grudgingly share what may be the waters of his Fountain of Youth. I think his GPS went sideways and he believes Ponce De Leon came to this corner of the country.”

Valentine Company

The youngest of the three known Secretariats, at age 32, Trusted Company is the first of them to celebrate an actual birthday this year, since she was born on February 14, 1989. This year the big chestnut Valentine marks her third birthday in the care of Bev Dee’s Bright Futures Farm, who acquired the mare in late 2018 when circumstances changed for her previous owner.

When she first arrived at Bright Futures in early 2019, Trusted Company was such a picky eater that Dee had to offer her food in several different pans like a Smorgasbord. Early on she would eventually eat everything, but then started refusing some of the feed, and didn’t like different food mixed together. But then she acquiesced and started eating out of one bowl.

Unfortunately for Dee, that didn’t last long! “She’s decided she likes variety again, so we’re up to three different kinds of feed at each meal. And each meal yields a new ‘favorite’, so she’s always a step ahead of me.”

Of course, that’s no real problem for Dee, who knows that with senior equines, it’s necessary to cater to their every whim to keep them happy and healthy. And by all appearances, Trusted Company is both.

The mare’s biggest health issue is arthritis, for which she gets a Legend injection every six weeks. “That has helped her tremendously.” She’s also receiving PEMF (pulsing electromagnetic field) treatments two or three times a week. Those support the work the Legend does, explained Dee, helping with any inflammation that might be present but not easily seen.

Clearly the treatments have been working, as Secretariat’s daughter is feeling good. She “pouts” when she’s in the barn, much preferring the great outdoors. “As soon as I open her door to let her outside, she’s bursting with enthusiasm,” said Dee. “She would probably stay there 24/7 if I’d let her.”

Trusted Company’s constant companion remains the 28-year-old gelding Catch This T. Like Ball Chairman’s new companion Thislillightofmine, he descends from Sir Gaylord.

Although the pandemic kept fan visits to Bright Futures at a minimum last year, Dee did manage to hold the annual open house last September. It was a far cry from the usual large crowd, but Trusted Company made the best of it and the fans were thrilled.

“She was the star,” marveled Dee. “She loved the attention (and the cookies) and I think everyone who was here got their photo with her.” The mare obliged almost everyone with an ears-up pose, but sometimes she seemed to tire of stardom. “A few times I think she’d had enough attention and just wanted to nap, so she gave us helicopter ears!”

As the weeks go by with ongoing challenges from the pandemic, there’s always hope. In our small corner of the world, it’s hope that fans will get to see horses again on a regular basis. And for those connected with these three Secretariats, it’s hope that they are the gifts that keep on giving.

Kentucky Derby Day is slated for May 1 at Churchill Downs.

Of the four partner online outlets, TVG handled the most with $5,781,154, a 53% increase over last year’s $3,780,183. Their daily average was $186,488.  Twinspires, with a 50% increase over January last year, took in $2,899,579 in wagers compared with $1,924,191. Xpress, third overall, handled $1,511,187 versus $1,076,650 — up 40% — while NYRABets, newest of the four, saw an 82% gain with $498,510 over last January’s $272,875.

Grand thoroughbred handle tally for the month was $9,591,579 while $1,098,851 was wagered on standardbreds. Both totals are up by 53 and 35% respectively.

A total of $2,440,868 was also wagered last month at the eight in-state Off Track Betting (OTB) Centers. Five are located in Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums in New Kent, Richmond, Hampton, Vinton and Dumfries. The other three are located in restaurant/bars in Henrico (Breakers Sports Grille), Chesapeake (Buckets Bar & Grill), and Collinsville (The Windmill OTB Sports Grill).

Buckets recorded the highest handle of the eight with $513,206 while Breakers was next with $505,400. The most popular thoroughbred tracks, by betting handle, were Gulfstream Park ($417,222), Tampa Bay Downs ($218,263) and Aqueduct ($200,396). The top harness track was Northfield Park at $102,832.

Interest in racing should only increase as the Kentucky Derby prep race season heads into full swing. The last Saturday of this month, February 27, features two stellar stakes for three-year-olds. The $300,000 Fountain of Youth (Gr. 2) is one of eight graded events on the card at Miami’s Gulfstream Park while the $750,000 Southwest Stakes (Gr. 3) — pushed back to this date due to weather — is complemented by the $600,000 Razorback Handicap (Gr. 3).

Things heat up even more in March. A trio of Derby preps are on tap March 6 including the $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby (Gr. 2), $300,000 Gotham Stakes (Gr. 3) at Aqueduct and the $300,000 San Felipe (Gr. 2) at Santa Anita. Each of the three host tracks has also loaded up on powerful under cards. Tampa has the Grade 2 Hillsborough and Grade 3 Challenger, Aqueduct presents the Grade 3 Tom Foolery and Santa Anita hosts a pair of Grade I’s — the Frank Kilroe Mile and Santa Anita Handicap — and the Grade 2 San Carlos.

The $1 million Rebel (Gr. 2) at Oaklawn takes place the following Saturday with a four pack of under card stakes including the Grade 2 Azeri and $500,000 Essex Handicap. Santa Anita hosts the Grade I Beholder Mile the same afternoon.

Fair Grounds plays host to the $1 million Louisiana Derby (Gr. 2) and a trio of other Grade 2 stakes on March 27. The Fair Grounds Oaks, New Orleans Classic and Muniz Memorial Classic will all appear on that card.

The month closes out with the big Florida Derby card at Gulfstream on March 27. A total of ten stakes will be on the program that day including the Grade 2 Pan American and Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks.

The following appeared at potomaclocal.com February 15 and was written by Uriah Kiser

Rosie’s is thinking bigger. Much bigger.

Rosies Gaming Emporium, a 19,000-square-foot gaming center opened on January 8 with 95 video slots in the Triangle Shopping Center in Dumfries, proposes building a massive $389 million casino resort on the grounds of Potomac Landfill, a debris junkyard on the edge of town.

“The Rose” would be a first for Virginia and include 50,000 square feet of gaming space, a 250-seat sports bar, seven other bars and restaurants, 200 hotel rooms, a 1,500-seat theater, and 7,000 square feet of meeting space.

A rendering of the proposed Resort Casino in Dumfries.

Colonial Downs, the owner of Rosies, which operates a racetrack in New Kent County near Richmond, and four other Rosie’s emporiums across the state, is expected to pitch the idea at the Dumfries Town Council at its 7 p.m. meeting Tuesday, February 16.

According to documents in the town council meeting agenda, the casino would create 640 jobs that pay a $15 an hour wage. A total of 96 managers hired to work at The Rose would make an average of $70,000 a year, documents state.

Colonial Downs says the new casino would generate $11.3 million a year in new tax revenue for Prince William County and nearly $80,000 a year for Dumfries.

If all goes to plan, Colonial Downs proposes breaking ground on the new facility in August. That’ll mean closing the Potomac Landfill 11 years earlier than planned.

The casino would sit on 22 acres of the landfill property. The remaining 79 acres would be converted into a park with sports fields, trails, and open space.

According to town documents, the park would open in December 2022, and the casino would open a month later.

The Colonial Downs Group opened their 5th Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Dumfries, Virginia on January 8th.

In 2016, the town struck an agreement with the landfill to close the facility, which is full of debris hauled in from construction sites, in 2032. At the time, town officials expressed interest in turning the landfill into a public park.

In 2011, the landfill became notorious for the smell of sulfur, which permeated the surrounding area. Neighbors living nearby, and drivers on Interstate 95 traveling past the dump, complained.

Rosies Gaming Emporium is the first gaming joint to open in Northern Virginia. Since it turned on its games, more than 21,000 people have visited the gaming parlor in the shopping center, located next to a McDonald’s and a public library.

According to Rosies, it has donated more than $75,000 to charity since opening and has created 100 jobs.

Rosies proposes converting the current gaming parlor in the shopping center into an employment center.

In November 2019, a total of 468 of the town’s nearly 6,000 residents voted in a referendum to approve gambling in Dumfries. The referendum passed with more than 60% of the vote, following an extensive advertising campaign by Colonial Downs.