Colonial Downs Group Celebrates Six Months of Success

Tax Revenues, Jobs & Player Activity All Exceed Expectations

Richmond, VA – November 4, 2019 – Colonial Downs Group announced today its first six months of financial results since beginning operations on April 18, 2019 in New Kent County. The results also include operations in Vinton, which opened on May 6, 2019 and four months of results in Richmond, which opened on June 29, 2019. Colonial Downs Group is generating additional tax revenues and jobs with the opening of its fourth Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Hampton last week on October 29, 2019.

To date Colonial Downs Group has generated the following:

·       Over 1,000 jobs in New Kent, Vinton, Richmond and Hampton

·       $ 5,911,366 in tax revenue to the Commonwealth of Virginia

·       $ 2,730,165 in tax revenue to New Kent County

·       $ 301,641 in tax revenue to the Town of Vinton

·       $ 738,369 in tax revenue to the City of Richmond

·       Handle (amounts played) of  $729,192,184 (HHR) & $24,374,840 Pari-mutuel

·       Total prizes to players of $674,103,572 (HHR) & $17,585,518 Pari-mutuel

·       Annual payroll of $36.2 Million                                                                                                

Aaron Gomes, chief operating officer of Colonial Downs Group, stated, “We promised to deliver good jobs and generate significant tax revenues across the Commonwealth by bringing together gaming enthusiasts, and the community to experience an exciting and fun new activity at Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums and through the return of thoroughbred horseracing at Colonial Downs racetrack. We are extremely grateful to our patrons who have embraced what we are offering and helped us keep our commitment. The results are exceeding expectations and we look forward to continued growth, opportunity and economic development.”

Colonial Downs Group presently operates 2,150 Horse Racing Machines (HHRs), and owns and operates seven off-track betting locations. Thirty-six thousand spectators attended the live racing events at Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County and more than fifteen million viewers across the nation watched and bet on the races through the TVG network in 2019. 

About Colonial Downs: Colonial Downs’ bright future features the return of live thoroughbred racing and full card simulcasting with the excitement of innovative historic horse racing (HHR) gaming technology. In collaboration with the Virginia Racing Commission (VRC) and Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA), Colonial Downs has brought competitive horse racing back to New Kent County and the Commonwealth with the re-opening of the best turf track in the country and a network of satellite HHR facilities branded as “Rosie’s”. Colonial Downs Group is making a $300 million investment in the Commonwealth of Virginia creating 1,000 new jobs. This effort will generate $25 million annually in state tax revenues, $17 million annually in local tax revenues and $25 million annually to Virginia’s horse industry. The project is not receiving any tax credits or government incentives.

###

Virginia-Breds Dapper Dan and Accountable each scored nice wins October 26th during the International Gold Cup’s annual fall program at Great Meadow.

Donna Rogers’ Dapper Dan, a 7-year-old Pleasantly Perfect gelding, won by 5 1/2 lengths in the $40,000 Steeplethon. The victor was bred by Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone.

Dapper Dan finished second in the 2019 spring Steeplethon and got a maiden special weight win two years ago during the spring Gold Cup event. With the most recent win, his career bankroll now stands at $138,790. He is out of the War Chant mare, Wardrobe.

If ever there was a horse for the course, it would be Lady Olivia at Northcliff’s Accountable, a 5-year-old Cosa Vera gelding who won an allowance flat for the fourth time at Great Meadow.

The Carla Morgan trainee won the Old Dominion Turf Championship — an allowance flat — on October 26 by one-half length over Vincent Van Gogo. Previously, Accountable won the same allowance in spring 2019, fall 2018 and fall 2017. Despite his success at Great Meadow, he paid a handsome $9.00 to win in the most recent edition.

With the win, Accountable saw his career bankroll move into six figures at $101,920. He is out of Seeking Me Allie by Seeking Daylight.

At a ceremonial ribbon cutting October 29th, the Colonial Downs Group announced that Rosie’s Gaming Emporium is now open in Hampton. Rosie’s, located in the Power Plant shopping center just off Interstate 64, features 700 historical horse racing (HHR) machines, simulcast horse racing, a restaurant and bar, and a gift shop. 

Aaron Gomes, chief operating officer of Colonial Downs Group, stated, “It is very exciting to be opening our fourth Rosie’s in Virginia in just one year. We are already seeing tremendous success in Richmond, in Vinton near Roanoke and at Colonial Downs in New Kent County. The Hampton location builds on our commitment to create more than 1,000 jobs and generate significant tax revenues across the Commonwealth by bringing together gaming enthusiasts, horse lovers, and the community to experience an exciting and fun activity.”

Revenues generated through HHR machines enabled the return of live thoroughbred horse racing to Virginia earlier this year. Thirty-six thousand spectators attended the live racing events at Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County and more than 15 million viewers across the nation watched and bet on the races through the TGV network. 

Vincent Jordan, general manager at Hampton Rosie’s, said, “I am so pleased to be returning to Virginia where I previously served in the military to be part of this enthusiastic effort to bring fun, gaming, and economic development to the Hampton community.” Jordan has 20 years of experience in the gaming industry, most recently at Mount Airy Casino Resort in Pennsylvania. 

Rosie’s in Hampton will be open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. It will create approximately 200 jobs in Hampton and generate approximately $2 million in annual tax revenues for the City of Hampton.

Colonial Downs Group and its four Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums will generate $25 million in state taxes annually and has created upwards of 1,000 jobs statewide with an annual payroll of more than $36.2 million.

The following was written by Don Clippinger and appeared at www.nationalsteeplechaseassociation.com. The annual International Gold Cup card took place October 26 at Great Meadow. Congratulations to Virginia-Breds Dapper Dan and Accountable, who each reached the winners circle that day.

Donna Rogers’ Dapper Dan, a 7-year-old Pleasantly Perfect gelding, won by 5 1/2 lengths in the $40,000 Steeplethon while Lady Olivia at Northcliff’s Accountable, a 5-year-old Cosa Vera gelding, won an allowance flat for the fourth time at Great Meadow. The former was bred by Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone and the latter was bred by Lady Olivia at North Cliff.

On an afternoon dominated by trainer Jack Fisher, his mother Dolly’s Schoodic moved into the top rank of timber racing with a 2½-length victory over division leader Andi’amu in Saturday’s $75,000 International Gold Cup.

Fisher continued his history-making season with three victories at the Great Meadows Race Course in The Plains, Va., and added to his record earnings total with more than $100,000 in purse earnings for the day.

In addition to the International Gold Cup, he also won the $75,000 David L. “Zeke” Ferguson Memorial (Gr. 2) with Riverdee Stable’s Gibralfaro and the $40,000 Sport of Kings maiden hurdle with Gill Johnston’s Brianbakescookies.

Schoodic, a nine-year-old Tapit gelding, was enormously talented but unpredictable over hurdles, but he has shown respect and attention over timber fences. He was a perfect gentleman over the Great Meadow course under Hadden Frost and jumped cleanly over the 3½-mile timber course.

Fresh off a one-length victory in the Genesee Valley Hunt Cup two weeks earlier, Schoodic broke on top but soon ceded the lead to Ballybristol Farm’s Andi’amu, who had extended his unbeaten record over fences with a facile victory in Virginia Fall’s National Sporting Library and Museum Cup on Oct. 12.

Jockey Jack Doyle aboard Andi’amu did his best to choke down the pace, but Frost kept Schoodic close behind him.

Andi’amu jumped fluidly over the Great Meadow timber course but Schoodic matched him jump for jump while about two or three lengths off the pace through the first three miles. Both are stakes winners over hurdles, and Schoodic showed a superior turn of foot as the field of five headed to the final turn.

Schoodic grabbed the lead with three fences remaining, and Andi’amu resisted stoutly over the last obstacles. Both Frost and Doyle drove their mounts to the finish, but it was clear in the final 50 yards that Schoodic would retain his advantage to the finish line.

Irv Naylor’s Super Saturday, who had finished second to Andi’amu in the National Sporting Library, finished third, 13 lengths farther back.

Hudson River Farms’ Codrington College, who had handed Schoodic his only defeat over timber fences in Shawan Downs’ Brown Advisory Legacy Chase on Sept. 28, finished fourth, 3 ½ lengths back and a neck ahead of Rebecca Shepherd’s Curve of Stones.

Sent to the starter at 3.20-to-1, Schoodic paid $8.40 to win after running the International Gold Cup’s 3 ½ miles in 7:15 3/5.

The International Gold Cup’s $45,000 first-place purse raised Schoodic’s 2019 earnings to $109,500. In addition to the Genesee Valley Hunt Cup, he won the Iroquois Steeplechase’s $25,000 Mason Houghland Memorial allowance timber b 16 3/4 lengths and a novice timber allowance at Fair Hill by 6 1/4, both in May.

Andi’amu remains the division leader with $115,500 in purses from four starts. Trained by Leslie Young, Andi’amu won the Virginia Gold Cup over the Great Meadow course in May after taking the Middleburg Hunt Cup in his maiden voyage over timber.

Gibralfaro’s Ferguson

A part of Sean Clancy’s philosophy with his Riverdee Stable partnership is that he doesn’t want to overmatch his horses or run them too often. After two tough but successful starts at Saratoga Race Course, Clancy decided to skip the rich Far Hills meet with Gibralfaro and point him toward the Ferguson.

His measured approach paid off handsomely when Gibralfaro overtook front-running Balance the Budget nearing the final turn and drew clear to win the Ferguson by 3 ½ lengths.

Fisher also claimed second money with Sonny Via’s ever-reliable Hinterland, who closed well and was 10¾ lengths clear of promising new arrival Lethal Steps in third. Eclipse Award winner Zanjabeel, making his first start in more than 13 months, was prominent for two miles but tired in Great Meadow’s long stretch to finish third.

Bettors allowed Gibralfaro to get away at 10.20-to-1, and the Irish-bred paid $22.40 after running the Ferguson’s 2 1/8 miles in 3:57 1/5 on firm ground.

Michael Mitchell rode the winner and remained atop the jockey standings, one race ahead of Doyle, who was blanked at Great Meadow.

In his previous start, Gibralfaro had finished a solid second in Saratoga’s New York Turf Writers Cup Handicap (Gr. 1) after a fourth-place finish in Saratoga’s A. P. Smithwick Memorial (Gr. 1). Clancy, a former champion jockey, believed Gibralfaro deserved a break and pointed him toward the Ferguson.

“I felt he ran hard at Saratoga,” Clancy said. “He’s such an overachiever.” Mitchell put Gibralfaro close behind Balance the Budget and moved when he sensed that the front-runner was beginning to tire.

“He finds his spots,” Clancy said. “He’s very quick over his fences.

The following was written by Jeff Poole and appeared in the Orange County Review. The 85th running of the Montpelier Hunt Races is this Saturday November 2nd at the home of former President, James Madison. The advance weather forecast looks very promising with sunny skies and a high of 60.

ORANGE — The Montpelier Hunt Races will celebrate their 85th anniversary Saturday with the fall tradition that draws horse racing and tailgating enthusiasts to the home of James Madison.

And while the races have a landmark anniversary, their history predates the 1934 iteration, which was the first recognized by the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association.

According to hunt race archives, Marion duPont Scott and her younger brother, William, never lost their love of horses and horse racing they first embraced as children growing up at Montpelier. While William became a noted course designer and built tracks around the world, his older sister was an equestrian legend.

When their father moved the family from England to Montpelier, the two children were given ponies and soon there was a show at the presidential estate with classes in driving and side-saddle. In 1909, William duPont Sr. constructed a pony stable that now serves as administrative offices at James Madison’s Montpelier.

The young siblings soon found their niches in foxhunting, showing and racing.

By the early 1920s, Marion duPont, according to hunt race archives, “fixed her eye on a small mare she felt might be fast,” and, after convincing a jockey friend to ride her — to victory — soon “was hooked on racing and breeding for racing.”

Her brother, meanwhile, was instrumental in designing the steeplechase course at the sprawling, 2,300-acre property, and by 1923, early jump races were introduced on the grounds.

“These were rough and tumble affairs,” the archives record, but these were replaced five years later by the formal course which is raced today without changes.

The flat track — which annually features the first race of the day — debuted in 1929 — the same year the first “official” jump race was held, according to Montpelier records. “Admission was free and the Montpelier property was opened to the public for the only time during the year.”

Five years later, the National Steeplechase and Hunt Association sanctioned the races and Montpelier has been hosting them ever since.

This year’s event will introduce a new race to the day’s schedule honoring the longtime host of the races.

According to Martha Strawther, the executive director of the hunt races, the Marion duPont Scott Memorial will be the fifth of seven races this year. It will be a filly and mare allowance hurdle, two miles and three furlongs over national fences and run at approximately 2:55 p.m. on race day.

“The duPont family built more race courses and started more meets than any other race family in America,” she said. In addition to a $25,000 purse, the winner of the namesake race will receive an antique English trophy with a chicken on its finial — a nod to Scott’s affinity for cockfighting.

Other additions to the 85th annual event include 1930s-era steam and gas-powered equipment, on display from the Somerset Steam and Gas Engine Association and the James Madison Museum and the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ art mobile. The tractor-trailer mobile museum will be stationed between vendor row and infield parking, Strawther said.

For the first time ever, the races will be live-streamed and broadcast on site, Strawther noted.

Andrew Butts, the chief executive operator of Honor Valor Courage Companies — which will sponsor the Marion duPont Scott Memorial — will have cameras mounted around the course that will be sound-activated and fed to a control center for production. Strawther said there will be a $2 fee for those who wish to stream the races on their mobile devices.

“If it works well, it’ll be great,” Strawther said, since most of the race day’s 16,000 to 18,000 patrons often only get a quick glimpse of the horses and jockeys as they pass by their tailgate or their place on the rail.

Another innovation, Strawther reported, is a change in the race map and parking designations. New color codes for parking passes will help law enforcement officers more efficiently direct race day patrons in and out of the event, she said.

Advance tickets are available throughout Central Virginia, including at Orange-Madison Co-op locations, Virginia Community Bank branches, the Laurie Holladay Shop in Gordonsville, Lake of the Woods True Value in Locust Grove, Faye’s Office Supply, Farm Credit and Med Spa of Virginia in Orange, the Montpelier Visitors Center and the Somerset Center Store. Advance tickets are available through Friday.

Orange County residents receive a 20% discount on advance tickets for general parking, infield parking and general admission. Ticket prices are higher at the gate on race day.

Whether patrons are new to the experience or have been coming for the past 85 years, Strawther said she thinks everyone who attends finds something special to them about the event.

“For those who are just coming for the first time, I hope they get the feeling of hospitality and welcoming that exists throughout the grounds,” she said. “It’s amazing to me how those who have been coming forever are so happy to have them and say, ‘Come into the fold,’ and are eager to share the experience.

“For those who regularly come, I think they still appreciate the experience and the immediacy of the power and speed of the horses,” she continued. “It’s really quite a spectacle.”

For more information, visit montpelierraces.org.

The following appeared in The Paulick Report September 12th.

Melinda Golden of Hancock, Md., has owned horses since 1969 but has never had as much fun as she’s currently enjoying with her homebred filly Parisian Diva.

The 3-year-old West Virginia-bred by Freedom Child out of Paris Heiress, by Wildcat Heir, has won seven races from 11 starts with three seconds and a third for earnings of $191,845.

On top of that, she’s won $36,700 from the Virginia Thoroughbred Association’s Virginia-Certified Program.

“It’s been wonderful,” she said of the program that she first learned about reading the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred magazine. “My filly was on a farm in West Virginia with no other babies around, and I thought, this baby needs to be in a field with other babies, run around with them, learn to push her way into the feed tub, things like that. They are social animals.”

Golden called Brooke Royster at Chance Farm in Gordonsville, Va., and arranged to send the filly there. She spent eight months at Chance Farm (one of more than 125 farms and training centers certified for the program), more than the six-month requirement before the end of a horse’s 2-year-old year, and was registered in the Virginia-Certified Program. Then it was off to the races with trainer Stacey Viands.

Parisian Diva won her debut at Charles Town by 7 ¼ lengths last Sept. 8 in a harbinger of things to come. After a second- and third-place finish in a pair of stakes at the West Virginia track, the little bay filly (Golden says she weighs in at just 954 pounds) ended her 2-year-old campaign with a victory in the Eleanor Casey Memorial Stakes at Charles Town.

After a winter break, Parisian Diva returned to the races at three and has won five of seven, including two stakes at Charles Town. In her only racing venture outside of West Virginia, Golden’s filly was a closing second to odds-on favorite Please Flatter Me in the Alma North Stakes at Laurel Park in Maryland on June 16. With each victory, checks from the VTA arrive like clockwork at the end of the month.

“It’s just lovely to have that money coming in,” Golden said.

Next up for her star filly is the $300,000 Charles Town Oaks on Sept. 21. The Grade 3 race usually attracts top-class fillies from around the country.

“I may be embarrassed, but I think she deserves a chance,” Golden said.

In the meantime she has two other West Virginia-bred “divas,” Bronze Diva and Magician’s Diva, who are 2-year-olds and registered in Virginia’s program. Golden is hoping a yearling full brother to Parisian Diva can follow in her older sibling’s footsteps.

“I have had offers that were fairly substantial (to buy Parisian Diva), and I didn’t take the money,” Golden said. “I’m just having too much fun.”

The following appeared in The Paulick Report and was written by Natalie Voss.

It’s a rarity in horse racing to find a place, be it physical or conceptual, where people can agree. It’s also unusual to hear about a track opening in 2019, which has already seen the closure of Portland Meadows and a likely mortal blow to Arlington Park. Colonial Downs, which is preparing to wrap up its first season of Thoroughbred racing since 2013 under new ownership, is an anomaly in more ways than one. 

“When I met [the new owners], I was very, very impressed with a very comfortable and positive feeling that this wasn’t just all about gaming,” said Jill Byrne, who left a job with Breeders’ Cup to become vice president of racing operations at Colonial Downs. “I felt they had a genuine interest in community, in horse racing. There is a real, genuine desire to make an impact.”

The last races in 2013 were run with the track under the ownership of Jacobs Entertainment, a group which had been hoping to see Virginia’s legislature approve historical horse racing during its tenure. When there was no movement on the issue among key politicians in a socially conservative state, the track sought to cut days and run a two-weekend meet. Horsemen balked, and the two sides were at odds for much of the track’s last few seasons. 

Virginia-bred races were largely shifted to Maryland with a few flat races being held here and there at steeplechase meets throughout Virginia. The state’s breeding program dwindled. Then, two important changes happened – the state legislature, to the surprise of everyone involved, approved Historical Horse Racing (HHR), and the Virginia Thoroughbred Association put the finishing touches on its Virginia-Certified residency program. The Virginia-Certified program opens horses to purse bonuses if they spend at least six consecutive months at a Virginia-Certified farm prior to the end of their 2-year-old year, and the easy money quickly had training centers and farms filling up again.

The approval of HHR was a requirement to complete a pending purchase deal from Jacobs Entertainment to Revolutionary Racing, which has since joined with other investors and been renamed the Colonial Downs Group. The $20 million deal saw the track transfer to people with racing and gaming backgrounds – Revolutionary Racing chairman Larry Lucas formerly chaired Youbet.com, and Peninsula Pacific also became involved in track ownership, bringing in former Peninsula Gaming chairman and CEO M. Brent Stevens. John Marshall, executive vice president of operations, comes with management backgrounds from Calder and The Meadows. In turn, the new owners hired Byrne and directed her to hire the best in the business, including Tampa Bay Downs racing secretary Allison De Luca, veteran Colonial track superintendent Ken Brown, and a slew of others from Tampa Bay, including the crew of starters and outriders.

The track recently hosted the Grade 3 Virginia Derby for the first time in six years (though the race had been run in Maryland as the Commonwealth Derby in the interim to keep its grade). The evening was the most important one of the meet for new management. Hospitality seating indoors was sold out weeks in advance, with all the important Virginia/Maryland faces in attendance (and several from Kentucky). General admission reserved seats were filled, and the apron/paddock fence were once again crowded with families and casual race fans patting outrider ponies and calling out to jockeys. Most of the grandstand’s first floor is now taken up with HHR machines, which stayed humming throughout the night. From the parking lot to the elevators were track personnel ready to direct racing and gaming patrons alike.

Byrne said the meet has not been completely without hiccups. One night, patrons had to be evacuated from the building after a smoke alarm went off (there was no fire). Elevators will occasionally become finicky. All of it is to be expected from a facility that sat empty for the better part of six years. 
The track did host limited Standardbred racing dates while the Thoroughbreds were gone, and Byrne said the track’s dirt surface had been reworked to suit harness racing. Besides being packed down, the grading was also nearly opposite of what’s required for Thoroughbreds. In the end, the track spent six figures pulling it up and replacing it completely, then brought in surfaces expert Dr. Mick Peterson to review it. Now, the dirt track – which had a weak reputation in the region – is better than ever.

“One morning, a girl was jogging the wrong way and her horse spooked,” recalled Byrne. “She fell off. She was fine, the horse was fine. She came back and said, ‘That’s the softest landing I’ve ever had.’”

So far, Byrne said she’s satisfied with the attendance and wagering numbers. Attendance is averaging 2,000 to 4,000 per night, and wagering has been around $1 million per card, which other track administrators have told her are solid figures for a track of Colonial’s stature. Neither is readily compared to 2013 figures, given how much the national landscape has changed with regard to on-track attendance and handle in the past six years.

Frank Petramalo, executive director of the Virginia HBPA,  said HHR machines at Colonial and Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Richmond and Vinton are outperforming their original projections. They were predicted to return $175 a day but are instead bringing in $235 per day. Another emporium is due to open in Hampton next month. But there’s a catch – based on the way the HHR law was structured, the track and the horsemen won’t see HHR boosts until 2020. 

The expense of refurbishing the frontside and backstretch facilities, the new track surface, the $500,000 per race card that’s offered in purses – it all adds up. Byrne said many people may not realize how much Colonial is spending, operating on faith that this cash and more will come back through HHR machines. 

“I think a lot of people think we have the HHR money now,” she said. “We don’t even get the residuals until April of next year, and don’t even get the full effect until 2021.”

While Colonial management waits for that HHR cash, it pledged a $500,000 gift to Richmond’s Miles Jones Elementary and has distributed $10,000 checks to a handful of other family-focused regional charities. Byrne said giving back to the local community is part of the new owners’ corporate philosophy, too.

And what about the horsemen, who were so eager for a longer racing meet catering to local connections? Petramalo said they’re willing to play the long game, in part because they’re confident Colonial is, too. 

“In the old days, we were running for $200,000 a day so it’s quite an advance,” he said. “Our maiden special weights are $50,000. That’s unheard of, for us. We used to run for $26,000 or $28,000. 

“[Senior track management are] all experienced, dedicated racetrackers. That was not necessarily the case under the old administration. But more importantly, the company they’re part of is dedicated to bringing racing back. They care about racing. The horsemen are delighted.” 

Petramalo acknowledged the meet is still too short from the horsemen’s perspective, but he expects that to change in the coming years as HHR revenue grows.

“Our rule of thumb is they’ve got to have anywhere from six to eight weeks to make it economically viable to come up here,” he said. “You’ve got to get at least two starts out of a horse and it’s tough to do that in five weeks.

“I don’t think we’ll quite make 30 days next year if we stay at $500,000 and no one wants to go below $500,000.”

The culture, so far, seems to involve management making themselves good listeners. Murals painted in staff stairwells implore employees to ‘Make someone’s day’ and ‘Do the right thing because it’s the right thing to do.’ The track got special permission from the Virginia Racing Commission to offer reduced takeouts of 16 percent on win/place/show wagers and 12 percent on the Pick 5. Safety and biosecurity protocols were stepped up, as management was aware of the growing public concerns there. The track is one of the only facilities requiring health paperwork to be dated within 72 hours, rather than the usual 30 days in an effort to catch and isolate horses with fevers before a contagious disease outbreak begins.

Cooperation is also part of the status quo at Colonial. 

“We’ve had great support in meetings with the whole Mid-Atlantic racing group with Monmouth, Delaware, Parx, Maryland, New York,” said Byrne. “I think people would be surprised that yes we’re all competitors, but at the end everybody wants to work for the same thing, which is to not cannibalize the same horse population.” 

And next year? Byrne expects the track to make the meet a bit longer – the most it’s agreed to is 30 days, after 15 dates this year – and keep purse levels high. The meet could also shift later in the calendar in hopes of catching turf horses traveling from Saratoga to Keeneland or Florida. 

“I think it’s been a feel-good story,” she said. “Even though we’re kind of in competition with each other, I think people are happy to see a track that’s coming back instead of one that’s closing.”

Courtesy of National Steeplechase Association website; written by Don Clippinger

Stakes winners Bercasa and Wigwam Bay will carry the 155-pound highweights for Colonial Downs’ $50,000 Randolph D. Rouse Handicap for fillies and mares on Saturday.

The 2 ¼-mile Rouse Handicap attracted a field of 10 and will help to bring down the curtain on the final program of the reborn Colonial Downs meet near Richmond, Va. Kicking off the program will be a $30,000 maiden hurdle. First post time is 5 p.m.

With the windup of the five-week Colonial meet, 10 jump races will have been run on its spacious Secretariat Turf Course.

The race honors the memory of Virginia horseman Randy Rouse, who was awarded the National Steeplechase Association’s F. Ambrose Clark Award for lifetime achievement in 2016 and died the following year at the age of 100.

Bercasa is a new member of Irv Naylor’s stable and will be making her first U.S. start for trainer Kathy Neilson. A four-year-old, she earned her stakes victory in Galway’s Tote Account European Breeders Fund Hurdle, which she won by 3½ lengths on July 31. Sean McDermott will ride the Irish-bred.

Owner-trainer Jonathan Sheppard’s Wigwam Baby won the 2019 edition of the Iroquois Steeplechase’s Margaret Currey Henley by 1¼ lengths. She most recently lost her rider when she landed awkwardly in Saratoga Race Course’s Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes on Aug. 7. Darren Nagle has the mount.

Carrying 151 pounds will be Beverly R. Steinman’s homebred Market Alley, who won the Mrs. Phipps by 3¼ lengths. A maiden winner at Foxfield Spring in April, Market Alley finished fifth in the Henley.

Another member of the Steinman stable, Bullet Star, finished third in the Mrs. Phipps and will carry 143 pounds in the Rouse Memorial. Trainer Doug Fout named Barry Foley to ride Market Alley and gave the call to Kieran Norris aboard Bullet Star.

Also at the 151-pound level is owner-trainer F. Hill Parker’s Get Ready Set Goes, the 2016 novice and female champion who will be making her first start of the year. She most recently finished fourth in the 2018 Margaret Currey Henley. Richard Boucher will ride.

Parker will also saddle Riverdee Stable’s Snowie Hill, a full sister to Get Ready Set Goes who scored her maiden victory on the Colonial course on Aug. 17. Assigned 143 pounds, Snowie Hill will be ridden by Jack Doyle.

Joseph Fowler’s Down Royal, second in the Henley and Mrs. Phipps, will carry 147 pounds. The five-year-old Alphabet Soup mare is trained by Kate Dalton and ridden by Bernie Dalton, the co-breeders of Down Royal in New York.

Also at 147 pounds is owner-trainer Bethany Baumgardner’s Mavourneen, who finished fourth in the Margaret Currey Henley on May 11 and was third two weeks later in Fair Hill’s Iris Coggins Memorial. Graham Watters will ride the nine-year-old who was bred in Maryland by Mimi Voss.

The Fields Stable’s Dawn Wall, also bred in Maryland by Voss, will carry 143 pounds. Winner of the 2018 Coggins Memorial, she was fourth this year before finishing fifth in the Mrs. Phipps. Ross Geraghty will ride for trainer Elizabeth Voss.

Completing the field is KMSN Stable’s Inverness, who finished second to Snowie Hill in the Colonial maiden hurdle on Aug. 17. Trainer Keri Brion named Michael Mitchell to ride.

Here is the field for Saturday’s $50,000 Randolph D. Rouse Stakes for fillies and mares at 2 ¼ miles. The horses’ handicap weights are in parentheses at the end of their profiles.

Dawn Wall. 2013 b. m., Not For Love—Guelph, by Sky Classic. Owner: The Fields Stable. Trainer: Elizabeth Voss. Jockey: Ross Geraghty. Breeder: Mimi Voss (Md.). 2019 record: 2-0-0-0, $5,500. 2018 record: 2-1-0-0, $30,000. 2017 record: 2-0-0-0-1, $3,600. Finished fifth in Saratoga’s 2019 Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes. Never a factor in Fair Hill’s 2019 Iris Coggins Memorial and finished last of four. Won Coggins Memorial in final 2018 jumps start. Foal of two-time female champion Guelph, who also was the novice champion in 2005. (143)

Inverness. 2014 dk. b. or br. f., Giant’s Causeway—Fareena, by Point Given. Owner: KMSN Stable. Trainer: Keri Brion. Jockey: Michael Mitchell. Breeder: Spirit Lake Enterprises (Pa.). 2019 record: 4-0-1-1, $9,800. 2018 NSA record: 4-0-1-2, $17,500. Just beaten in 2019 Colonial Downs maiden hurdle. Finished third in 2019 The Cup Runneth Over maiden hurdle for fillies and mares, then was seventh in Iroquois Steeplechase’s Margaret Currey Henley. Finished second in 2018 Margaret Currey Henley in second start over fences. Maiden winner on flat at Penn National. (143)

Snowie Hill. 2015 b. f., Run Away and Hide—Ready to Goes, by Lord Avie. Owner-trainer: F. Hill Parker. Jockey: Jack Doyle. Breeder: F. Hill Parker (Oh.) 2019 record: 3-1-0-0, $20,300. 2018 NSA record: 1-0-1-0, $3,600. Won 2019 Colonial Downs maiden hurdle. Opened 2019 with fifth-place finish in The Cup Runneth Over maiden hurdle for females. Finished second in first start over fences, a 2018 maiden hurdle for three-year-olds at Shawan Downs. Full sister to Get Ready Set Goes, stakes-winning champion novice and female in 2016. Her name honors owner-trainer-breeder’s mother, Frances Snowden Hill Myers, the breeder of Get Ready Set Goes who died in 2014. (143)

Market Alley. 2014 ch. m., Flower Alley—Skirmish, by War Chant. Owner: Beverly R. Steinman. Trainer: Doug Fout. Jockey: Barry Foley. Breeder: Beverly R. Steinman (Ky.) 2019 record: 4-2-0-0, $60,000. 2018 NSA record: 2-0-0-0, $2,750. Won Saratoga’s 2019 Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes. Won 2019 Foxfield Spring maiden hurdle after fourth at The Cup Runneth Over, then was well-beaten fifth in Iroquois’ Margaret Currey Henley. Had two fourth-place finishes to open her jump-racing career in 2018. (151)

Bercasa (Ire). 2015 ch. f., Casamento—Berocco, by Danehill Dancer (Ire). Owner: Irvin S. Naylor. Trainer: Kathy Neilson. Jockey: Sean McDermott. Breeders: Old Carhue and Graeng Bloodstock (Ire). 2019 NSA record: No starts. Failed to finish in Galway’s Guinness Galway Tribe Handicap in August after victory in Tote Account EBF Hurdle. (155)

Wigwam Baby. 2011 b. m., Langfuhr—Tepee Tot, by Waquoit. Owner: Jonathan Sheppard. Trainer: Jonathan Sheppard. Jockey: Darren Nagle. Breeders: Bill Pape and Jonathan Sheppard (Pa.) 2019 record: 3-1-0-0, $30,750. 2018 record: 5-0-1-0, $4,800. 2017 NSA record: 4-0-1-1, $22,250. Won Iroquois Steeplechase’s 2019 Margaret Currey Henley before losing rider in Saratoga’s Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes. Finished sixth in The Cup Runneth Over ratings handicap. Finished second in 2018 Montpelier handicap. Finished sixth in Life’s Illusion Stakes at 2018 Carolina Cup, then fell in Margaret Currey Henley Stakes and was seventh in Fair Hill’s Iris Coggins Memorial. Finished second in Saratoga’s 2017 Mrs. Ogden Phipps. (155)

Get Ready Set Goes. 2012 ch. f., Run Away and Hide—Ready to Goes, by Lord Avie. Owner-trainer: F. Hill Parker. Jockey: Richard Boucher. Breeder: Frances Hill Myers (Ohio). 2018 record: 2-0-0-0, $2,500. 2017 record: 2-0-0-0, $4,500. Champion, novice and female, 2016. Finished seventh in Carolina Cup’s 2018 Life’s Illusion Stakes, then was fourth in in Iroquois Steeplechase’s Margaret Currey Henley. Reigned as 2016 female champion after winning Saratoga’s Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes and Far Hills’ Peapack Stakes, and also seized novice title by earnings. (151)

Bullet Star. 2014 dk. b. or br. m., Bullet Train (GB)—Ptarmigan, by Unbridled Jet. Owner: Beverly R. Steinman. Trainer: Doug Fout. Jockey: Kieran Norris. Breeder: Magalen O. Bryant (Ky.). 2019 NSA record: 2-0-0-2, $10,000. 2018 record: 3-1-0-0, $14,000. 2017 record: 1-0-0-0, $1,200. Finished third in Saratoga’s 2019 Mrs. Ogden Phipps after third in Daniel Van Clief Memorial. Finished fifth in Fair Hill’s 2018 Iris Coggins Memorial. Her dam was champion steeplechase female in 2010. (143)

Mavorneen. 2019 ch. m., Langfuhr—Rowdy, by Malibu Moon. Owner-trainer: Bethany Baumgardner. Jockey: Graham Watters. Breeder: Mimi Voss (Md.) 2019 record: 2-0-1-0, $7,000. 2018 record: 3-2-0-0, $27,000. Ran solid race to be second in 2019 Daniel Van Clief Memorial at Foxfield Spring, then was fourth in Iroquois Steeplechase’s Margaret Currey Henley and third in Fair Hill’s Iris Coggins Memorial. Closed 2018 season with back-to-back wins in Foxfield Fall maiden hurdle and Montpelier allowance hurdle. (147)

Down Royal. 2014 gr. or ro. m., Alphabet Soup—Miss Crown, by High Yield. Owner: Joseph F. Fowler Jr. Trainer: Kate Dalton. Jockey: Bernie Dalton. Breeders: Bernard and Kate Dalton (N.Y.) 2019 NSA record: 2-0-2-0, $22,500. 2018 record: 3-0-1-2, $13,400. 2017 NSA record: 3-1-1-0, $24,000. Finished second in Iroquois Steeplechase’s 2019 Margaret Currey Henley and Saratoga’s Mrs. Ogden Phipps Stakes. Began 2018 with second in Carolina Cup allowance hurdle, then was third in similar races at Middleburg Spring and Iroquois. Awarded second place in Far Hills’ 2017 Gladstone Stakes after sustaining interference from first finisher, then won a Charleston allowance hurdle. (147)

(NEW KENT, VA — 9/3/19) —-  The first season of the “Racing Revival” at Colonial Downs comes to a close Saturday night (September 7) with a stakes-laden card focusing on Virginia-bred runners. All five stakes races are to be run over the Secretariat Turf Course which has gotten rave reviews from the horsemen competing here this season. 

Three of the events are 5-1/2 furlong-dashes with the other two to be run over a mile and an eighth distance of ground. Two-year-olds get their first state-restricted stakes chance in the $100,000 Jamestown Stakes at 5-1/2 panels. The 3-year-old and up distaff set will compete in the $100,000 Camptown Stakes (5 1/2f) and in the $100,000 Brookmeade Stakes (1-1/8m) while the remaining two stakes are open to 3-year-old and up of either sex – the $100,000 Punch Line Stakes for sprinters and the $100,000 Bert Allen Stakes for routers.

Something Special Racing and Stewart A. Smith’s Tryon Summer, wire-to-wire winner of the one-mile Nellie Mae Cox on Aug. 10, will attempt to extend her speed an extra furlong in the mile and an eighth Brookmeade. J. D. Acosta will again ride the Discreetly Mine filly for trainer Vickie L. Foley.

Runner-up Durven, who races for the Big Lick Farm of trainer Sarah Nagle, returns hoping the extra distance will work in her favor as she was closing on the winner last month. Jorge Ruiz gets a return call aboard the homebred daughter of First Dude. Another exiting the Nellie Mae Cox is the Susan Cooney-bred, -owned and -trained Fionnbharr, the 8-5 beaten favorite last out.

Of the new faces here, Ann Backer’s Ferdinanda is coming in off a runner-up finish in a second-level allowance at Saratoga on Aug. 1. Four for five in the money this year, the Barclay Tagg-trained Giant’s Causeway filly will have the services of Forest Boyce.

Quest Realty’s Speed Gracer looks for redemption in the Bert Allen after having his number taken down in the Edward P. Evans Stakes on August 10. The Susan Cooney-trained gelding was disqualified and placed fourth for stretch interference as the 9-5 favorite. Jorge Ruiz retains the mount Saturday.

Morgan Ford Farm’s River Deep, the adjudged victor last month, seeks the repeat for trainer Phil Schoenthal and jockey Sheldon Russell. Big Lick Farm’s Black Prong, third through the line but moved up to the place spot, also returns for the Bert Allen.

Also returning is the veteran campaigner Two Notch Road, owned by James Hackman and Glenn Thompson, who has more than half a million dollars in earnings from his 45 race career that includes seven victories including four in Virginia-bred stakes.

Seven of nine horses that competed in the August 10 Meadow Stable Stakes, including winner Elusive Mischief, return to battle again in the 15th running of the Punch Line Stakes. The 4-year-old Into Mischief colt won by a length over Braxton with Sheldon Russell in the irons. Russell also piloted Elusive Mischief to victory in the 2018 Punch Line at Laurel in a race that was taken off the turf and contested over a sloppy dirt track. The Ian Wilkes trainee is owned by Lothenbach Stables and was bred by Jim and Katie Fitzgerald.

Boldor, a Steve Asmussen trainee, is a former TDN “Rising Star” based off his maiden breaking triumph at Keeneland last October.  The 3-year-old Munnings colt finished a tight third in the Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn this past January and followed three weeks later with a sixth in the Grade 3 Southwest Stakes. He has been idle since. 

Tyson Gilpin Stakes winner What The Beep returns to action in the Camptown Stakes for Eagle Point Farm’s Karen Dennehy. The 4-year-old Great Notion filly gave Dennehy, whose locally based farm is in Ashland, an emotional opening week win. Jockey Forest Boyce, fresh off her third Virginia Oaks score on Saturday, gets the mount aboard What’s The Beep.

Kent Desormeaux will make a rare appearance in New Kent when he directs Holly and David Wilson’s Holly Hundy in the same race. The 3-year-old Yes It’s True filly had back-to-back wins at Santa Anita earlier this spring in respective maiden special weight and allowance optional claiming events. Nine fillies and mares will go to post in the 8th race.

Always one of the meet’s most interesting races, the Jamestown Stakes is for 2-year-olds at 5 1/2 furlongs. Dare To Dream Stable’s Embolden impressed opening night when he powered to a ten length, gate-to-wire victory in a $50,000 maiden special weight race. Trevor McCarthy will ride the Michael Stidham trainee.

Country Life Farm’s Belle Aurora won a similar turf sprint at Laurel August 16th. The Mike Trombetta conditioned filly won by two lengths after finishing a solid third in her career bow July 26th. Nine freshman participants will go to post in the sixth race.    

Also on closing night’s program are two steeplechase events topped by the $50,000 Randolph D. Rouse Steeplechase over 2-1/4 miles which has been carded as the third race. Post time for the first is at 5 PM.

Oakwood Stable’s Kensington Court opened a yawning lead for much of Saturday’s $25,000 ratings handicap and held on deep in the Colonial Downs stretch to win by a nose over newly imported Querry Horse.

Robert A. Kinsley’s Al, half of a 7-to-5 favored entry, closed ground in the stretch to finish third, two lengths farther back. Mark Buyck’s Aydoun checked in fourth in a field of eight horses rated at 115 or lower.

Trained by Julie Gomena, Kensington Court ran the handicap’s 2¼ miles in 4:01.75 on firm turf. The seven-year-old by Giant’s Causeway went off at 9.90-to-1 and paid $21.80 to win.

Kensington Court, ridden by Kieran Norris, grabbed the lead at the drop of the starter’s flag and went on cruise-control well ahead of his opponents while maintaining a steady gallop. He led by 10 going into the final run down the backstretch and was up by 15 entering the final turn.

His pace slackened on the final turn, and Leipers Fork Steeplechasers’ Querry Horse gradually cut into the leader’s margin. The Leslie Young-trained newcomer, was only 2½ lengths back at the furlong pole and gaining a bit of ground with every stride under Gavin Sheehan.

Al and jockey Jack Doyle closed from the back of the field, but their bid sputtered near the sixteenth pole as 7.90-to-1 Querry Horse drew onto Kensington Court’s withers. Norris went to work to keep his mount moving forward, and they reached the finish line with a couple inches to spare.

In the evening’s opener, Why Not Racing’s Jump Ship sailed to the lead in midstretch and won the $30,000 maiden hurdle by 2¼ lengths.

Trained by Lilith Boucher and ridden by her husband, Richard Boucher, Jump Ship went off as the 3.30-to-1 second betting pick behind Sherry Fenwick’s Anticipating, who finished second.

Nervous at the start, Jump Ship was well back early as Convivial and then All Out of Aces set the pace with 5-to-2 Anticipating right behind them. Anticipating grabbed the lead on the final turn, but Jump Ship made steady progress on the turn and took the lead shortly before the furlong pole.

The seven-year-old Virginia-bred ran the 2¼-mile distance in 4:04.28 and paid $8.60 to win.

Gill Johnston’s Lost Story finished third, and jockey Jack Doyle claimed foul against Anticipating and Darren Nagle. Lost Story was on the inside entering the stretch, and Anticipating lugged in slightly despite Nagle’s left-handed whip.

Doyle pulled Lost Story out of the tight spot and was 2¾ lengths behind Anticipating at the line. Colonial’s stewards disallowed the foul claim.

The coming week’s jump races at Colonial will be run on Friday rather than Saturday as originally scheduled. On tap are a $30,000 maiden hurdle for three- and four-year-olds and a $20,000 ratings handicap for horses pegged at 110 or lower.