Posted on February 18, 2025 by Aidan Turnage-Barney

Determined Stables and Kingdom Bloodstock’s Determined Kingdom has been named Virginia-Bred Horse of the Year and will be recognized — along with other 2024 award winners — during Virginia Derby Day festivities at Colonial Downs March 15. A series of award presentations will take place between various races from the paddock infield that day and broadcast over Colonial’s simulcast feed. After 21 editions of the Virginia Derby — on turf, held during the summer months since 1998 — the race switches to dirt this year and becomes an official qualifier race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Virginia’s Derby winner will secure a spot in the field for the “Run for the Roses” May 3 at Churchill Downs. 

Determined Kingdom had an outstanding 2024 campaign which included wins in the $125,000 Punch Line Stakes and $150,000 Meadow Stable Handicap, both held at Colonial Downs. The 6-year-old Animal Kingdom gelding collected four wins from six starts and bankrolled $285,900 — pushing his career tally to $734,177. Other winners circle appearances came in a $140,000 fall allowance at Keeneland and a $56,000 early summer allowance at Laurel. The Phil Schoenthal trainee also finished third in Colonial’s Van Clief Stakes and fifth in the G3 Belmont Turf Sprint Stakes. Prior to 2024, Determined Kingdom had won four Virginia-bred stakes — the Punch Line in 2022 & 2033, Meadow Stable in 2023 and Jamestown in 2021. The trophy winner, who also was crowned Virginia-bred Turf Sprinter of the Year, was bred by Audley Farm Equine.

Million-dollar earner Gigante was named Virginia-Bred Turf Horse of the Year. The Steve Asmussen trainee earned $152,175 from five starts last year including a win in the Buddy Diliberto Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds December 21. The 5-year-old Not This Time horse added to his resume with a runner-up finish in the G2 Muniz Memorial Classic at Fair Grounds and a third in the G3 River City Stakes at Churchill. Gigante of course started his career in 2022 with wins at Colonial in a maiden special weight and later in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes, then prevailed in the G2 Secretariat Stakes in 2023. Interestingly, Gigante was sold by his original owners — Diamond T Racing & Iapetus Racing — for $610,000 to Clark Brewster & L and N Racing on January 31 of this year. Virginia’s 2024 Champion Turf Horse was bred by Ann Mudge Backer and Smitten Farm. 

Freshman title awards will be presented to Sail Theseven Seas and Saxton in respective Virginia-bred Filly & Colt categories. The former, a Michael Trombetta trainee bred by Larry Johnson, finished in the top three in all five of her races. She prevailed in a maiden special weight at Laurel to close out her 2024 campaign and earlier in the summer, finished second in both the $125,000 Jamestown and $150,000 Keswick Stakes at Colonial. The latter trophy winner, a Cathal Lynch trainee bred by Lazy Lane Farms, was 2-for-5 last year and bankrolled $110,400. The Mosler gelding won a maiden special weight in New Kent in his career bow and followed up with a gate-to-wire allowance win at Laurel four weeks later. He also took second in the Maryland Juvenile Stakes and third in the James Lewis III Stakes. 

Top Virginia-bred Older Female honors went to Susan Naylor’s Tufani, who was bred by Chance Farm and Distorted Humor Syndicate. The now 5-year-old mare won two key races at Colonial — the $125,000 Brookmeade Stakes and $150,000 Nellie Mae Cox Handicap. Jockey Ben Curtis had the winning ride in both. Overall last year, the Michael Stidham trainee earned $188,500 from five starts and pushed her lifetime earnings to $362,442.      

Virginia-Certified winners include Future Is Now as top female performer and Book’em Danno as top male. Both had outstanding campaigns — the former earned $513,155 while the latter bankrolled $807,500. 

Maryland-bred Future Is Now won four stakes including a pair of Grade 2’s — the Intercontinental at Saratoga June 7 and the Franklin Stakes at Keeneland October 13. Other stakes victories came in Laurel’s The Very One and in Saratoga’s Smart N Fancy. The trophy winner is a 5-year-old Great Notion mare trained by Michael Trombetta and owned/bred by Larry Johnson. Future Is Now spent her Virginia residency at Johnson’s Legacy Farm in Bluefield.

Book’em Danno collected a trio of stakes wins including a Grade 1 score in the Woody Stephens Stakes at Saratoga on the Belmont Day card. The 4-year-old Bucchero gelding also connected in the Pasco Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and Jersey Shore Stakes at Monmouth. In addition, Book’em Danno took second in the G3 Saudi Derby at King Abdulaziz Racecourse. The Derek Ryan trainee is a New Jersey-bred, owned by Atlantic Six Racing, LLC and spent his 6-month Virginia residency at Gracie Bloodstock’s Locust Hill Farm in Middleburg.

Virginia Trainer of the Year honors will be shared by Susan Cooney, whose farm is based in Delaplane, and Madison Meyers, whose Ballyerin Racing is based at the Middleburg Training Center.

In 2024, Cooney had 11 wins, 9 seconds and 17 third place finishes. Her Carolina Hideaway had a great summer at Colonial Downs, winning twice and collecting a third in three starts. Those victories came in a $75,000 maiden special weight July 26 and in a $70,000 allowance September 4. Cooney’s Speak Your Mind crossed the wire first on two separate occasions at Laurel and seven other horses from her stable captured individual wins in 2024.

Meyers had an outstanding campaign as well — which included 14 wins, 12 runner-up finishes and 18 thirds. Her biggest win came with Desvio, who was best in the $150,000 Kent Stakes at Delaware Park last July. Strutherstuff captured a $75,000 maiden special weight at Colonial Downs September 4. Back in late winter, Madison’s stable reeled off three straight wins — one at Laurel and two at Charles Town — with Desvio, Treasurer and Destins Rainbow.

The following was written by Leland Schwartz and appeared in FauquierNow January 22, 2025

The 100th running of the Virginia Gold Cup races will be held at Great Meadow, which is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year. The boards of Great Meadow Foundation and the Virginia Gold Cup Association have agreed on how best to keep the racecourse properly maintained, they announced Wednesday.

Race day is May 3, a Saturday.

The two groups said the agreement “follows a year of significant investments and enhancements to the Great Meadow racecourse, ensuring its readiness to host this prestigious event. These improvements include the installation of two new wells to secure a reliable water supply for the venue’s retention ponds, addressing the challenges posed by the 2024 drought, and a comprehensive maintenance plan restoring the racecourse to world-class condition.”

“Our commitment to preserving and enhancing the racecourse at Great Meadow has been unwavering,” said Karen Crane, chair of the Great Meadow Foundation. “We are proud to welcome the Virginia Gold Cup back to the place it was always meant to call home, as we honor a century of equestrian excellence in the heart of Fauquier County.”

The fall races were moved to Middleburg when race officials decided the Great Meadow course was not safe to run on. Great Meadow leadership said they felt conditions would have been ready by the time the races were held at the end of October.

The Gold Cup races at Great Meadow are widely viewed as one of the iconic events that help define Fauquier and Virginia Horse and Wine Country. They generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in local economic activity.

Dr. William Allison, chair of the Virginia Gold Cup Association, stressed the importance of the partnership saying, “The Virginia Gold Cup and Great Meadow share a deep-rooted history. This venue was established as a permanent home for our cherished event, and the collaboration between our organizations ensures we can continue to celebrate the traditions, camaraderie, and world-class competition that define the Gold Cup. We look forward to an unforgettable 100th running in May 2025.”

The Great Meadow Foundation and the Virginia Gold Cup Association expressed gratitude to the Virginia Equine Alliance as well as the many supporters, sponsors and partners “who have made these advancements possible. Together, these collaborative efforts ensure that Great Meadow continues to be a cornerstone of the equestrian community and a destination for excellence in steeplechase racing,” they said.

The agreement was expected given the comments of newly elected Foundation chair Karen Crane a few weeks ago when she said, “I can’t imagine not being able to work this out. We need each other.”

“I don’t see any reason why we can’t get things back to safety for the horse and the rider. That’s always our paramount concern.” What’s more, Crane said, “The original goal when Nick Arundel bought this property was to have a permanent home for the Virginia Gold Cup and the International Gold Cup.”

“We all want the same thing. Great racing in Virginia,” she said.

The following appeared in The Racing Biz February 6, 2025 and was written by Frank Vespe

R. Larry Johnson, who put his stamp on the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred industry on racetracks, in breeding sheds, and in boardrooms in Maryland and Virginia, passed away Feb. 4. He was 78.

“He was successful in all parts of the horse business — standing stallions, selling yearlings and breeding good, competitive racehorses,” said Cricket Goodall, executive director of the Maryland Horse Breeders Association (MHBA), on whose board he sat. “He had strong opinions which often resulted in good ideas. He challenged us all to be better.” 

“Larry Johnson was one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever come across, an absolutely integral part of the Virginia breeding and racing industry,” said Andrew Motion, a neighbor of Johnson’s who assisted Johnson in navigating the commercial breeding landscape, and whose brother Graham Motion trained off-and-on for Johnson for decades.

“He was so helpful with trying to sort things out legislatively, with the horsemen’s groups, and with bright ideas and ways to go about things,” Motion added.

Johnson, a forensic accountant by trade, built a powerful breeding and racing operation notable both for its success – runners he owned himself or in partnership earned more than $20 million – and its humble beginnings.

The best horses Johnson has bred – including his homebred multiple graded stakes winner Future Is Now and Belmont Stakes runner-up Mindframe, whom he sold for $600,000 as a yearling – stem from the same family.

“It starts with a $2,500 Charles Town horse named Ran’s Chick,” said Johnson’s longtime trainer, and friend, Michael Trombetta. “That was the start of it all. I mean, truly, he built something that was a one-in-a-million kind of thing.”

Ran’s Chick, when bred to Parfaitement, whose entrymate in the 1983 Preakness, Deputed Testamony, was the most recent Maryland-bred winner of the Middle Jewel, produced Special Kell.

Special Kell begat Star Kell, the granddam of Mindframe, and Magical Meadow, the granddam of Future Is Now.

“Whether it’s sisters or nieces or mother, it all goes back Ran’s Chick and the foal she had, Special Kell,” Johnson told The Racing Biz this past June. “Special Kell has just been phenomenal… If [Mindframe] would achieve Grade 1 success, the influence it would have on the pedigrees of so many of my horses… it’s just overwhelming.”

Racing in Johnson’s distinctive white-and-black silks, his horses found success up and down the East Coast, from Florida’s Gulfstream Park to Canada’s Woodbine. Among the better runners he campaigned were the graded stakes winners Spun Glass, Sincerely, and Street Magician, later a sire, as well as Despite the Odds, who ran for Johnson and partners and later was a sire.

Speaking of Street Magician: One year Sheikh Mohammed invited owners of Darley-connected horses to Dubai – on the Sheikh’s dime – and treated them to an extremely first-class visit. Following Street Magician’s win in the Grade 3 Hirsch Jacobs Stakes at Pimlico, Johnson, known for his casual dress and demeanor, was among those invited, since Street Magician was by the Darley stallion Street Cry.

“Larry called me, and he said, ‘You ain’t gonna believe this,’” Trombetta remembered. “’I got an invitation from Sheikh Mohammed to go to Dubai.’ And I said, ‘You gotta go.’”

When Johnson was introduced to Sheikh Mohammed as the owner of Street Magician, the Sheikh made, in Johnson’s telling, the universal “raising the roof” sign.

“Did Sheikh Mohammed just raise the roof for Street Magician?” Johnson asked in laughing wonderment years later.

Johnson also made a stamp on the sport through his roles on various boards of directors. In addition to his time with the MHBA, he served for years on the board of the Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and pushed to make the organization more accountable to its membership. More recently, he has served with the Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA) and had joined the board of the state’s horsemen’s group, the Virginia HBPA.

In his work in Maryland, Johnson was among a small group of people who helped design a more robust system of breeder bonuses that helped the state’s breeding industry bounce back from the lean years that preceded the mid-2010s. In 2012, the state’s foal crop had dropped to just 371; nine years later, it topped 700.

“He was instrumental in shaping the direction of Maryland racing,” said Bruce Quade, who was chairman of the Maryland Racing Commission at the time. “Both behind the scenes and in the spotlight, he helped make racing successful.”

Johnson, like Quade, originally was from Maryland’s Prince George’s County. Johnson later graduated from the University of Maryland, and though Quade said he at first felt a bit intimidated – Johnson was already “well established and highly respected,” Quade said, while he was new to the Commission – the two later became close friends, bonding over their shared background and commitment to improving Maryland racing.

“He was a true friend to me personally, and a steady hand for Maryland racing,” Quade said. “He could see the big picture and guide others to see it, too.”

Johnson also was instrumental in the work to develop Virginia’s certified residency program, which incentivizes horses spending part of their formative years in the Old Dominion. In 2022, he was both Maryland’s leading earner of Maryland Fund awards – the sixth straight year he earned that title – and the leading earner of Virginia certified developer bonuses.

“He helped develop [the certified program] at a time when we didn’t have racing, and our farms and our infrastructure were disappearing,” said VTA executive director Debbie Easter. “Not only did it do what we hoped as far as saving our farms and allowing them to grow, but it’s done other things, like help fill races at Colonial Downs and improve the quality of horses there.”

Johnson is survived by his daughters Tracy and Kelly, as well as grandchildren. Arrangements are pending.

Though many of Johnson’s best-known horses were Maryland-breds, in more recent years, he had moved much of his operation to his Legacy Farm in Bluemont, VA. He had plans to breed over 20 mares this year, a roster that Andrew Motion said was “the best list of stallions I’ve ever seen Larry breed to.”

“His program was really set up to pop, and as his program popped, it was going to be good for Virginia,” Easter said.

“It’s a great loss to Maryland and Virginia,” she added.

For all his work on boards, Johnson’s first love was the game itself: breeding, racing, and handicapping.

“It’s a great ride,” Johnson said prior to the 2024 Belmont weekend, during which his homebred Future Is Now won the Grade 2 Intercontinental and Mindframe, whom he bred and sold, ran second in the Belmont Stakes (G1). “I don’t do this to necessarily make money. I try not to lose money. But it’s weeks like this: if this doesn’t get you going, you really ought to just go into hibernation someplace.”

“He loved this sport; he loved this game, understood all the ins and outs,” said Trombetta, who worked with Johnson for nearly 30 years. “In all the years I’ve worked with him, we never had one cross word or disagreement. Truly, one of my very best friends.”