Virginia’s breeders benefitted from a continued business boom in 2023 courtesy of Historical Horse Racing (HHR) revenues at seven Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums located around the state and the continued renaissance of the Colonial Downs thoroughbred meet in New Kent which is expected to grow to 40 days in 2025.

Virginia breeder’s bonus monies distributed in 2023 nearly doubled that of levels from just two years ago — $1,850,000 versus $975,000 in 2021. Up until the 2022 campaign, bonus money had been paid for the win position only from races anywhere in North America. In the last two years (and moving forward) the bonus program was extended to reward not just wins, but seconds and third place finishes in any race including NSA sanctioned races. As a result, 65 different breeders earned awards in 2023 that came from 409 top-three finishes. In all, Virginia-bred horses collected 139 wins, 130 second place finishes and 138 thirds. 

As Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums continue to expand in the Commonwealth and more HHR terminals are placed in operation, signs point to the Breeder’s Fund incentive program potentially growing even more in coming years. A new Rosie’s resort hotel called The Rose is expected to open in mid-2024. The Northern Virginia venue will feature up to 1,200 HHR machines and replace the current Rosie’s in that market which only has 150 terminals.   

Topping the 2023 Breeders bonus leader board was Audley Farm Equine with $220,246 — from 31 individual awards. The uptick in award monies distributed has been dramatic. In 2021, the top bonus earning breeder, Morgan’s Ford Farm, received $126,694. Audley’s combined bonus checks that year amounted to $69,353. In this new era, Audley saw eight different horses they bred reach the winners circle in 2023 including Determined Kingdom, who had stakes scores in the Meadow Stable and Punch Line, Galilei, who crossed first in the Brookmeade Stakes, and Low Mileage, who was best in the Jamestown Stakes. All four victories took place at Colonial Downs and each produced a maximum $25,000 bonus return. In total, Audley recorded 11 wins, 12 seconds and 8 third place finishes.  

Runner-up by monies earned was Morgan’s Ford Farm with $133,566. Their 36 awards came from 8 wins, 16 second place finishes and 12 thirds. Alex Joon, with $326,809 in career purse earnings, captured the Edward P. Evans Stakes and cemented a $25,000 award. The 7​-year-old Flatter gelding cashed in from a trio of other bonus-earning performances at Keeneland, Oaklawn and Fair Grounds. Surya, who Morgan’s Ford also owns, did not reach the winners circle in 2023 but had five award-earning trips including a second and third in allowance company at Colonial. Morgan’s Ford also earned parts of 34 other awards in which they were co-breeders, which brought their total combined award tally to $251,000. 

Ann Mudge Backer and Smitten Farm took third place among bonus earners with $121,923. Among their 15 awards were six wins – four from Secretariat Stakes (G2) winner Gigante — to complement four runner-up finishes and a handful of thirds. Gigante’s other stakes wins were in the Woodchopper (Fair Grounds), Commonwealth Turf (Churchill) and Caesars Handicap (Horseshoe Indiana). The Backer/Smitten combo also connected with Just North at Laurel and Baytown Beaver at Mountaineer.      

Mrs. C. Oliver Iselin III herself scored five rewards, but all were for impressive 6-year-old Tapiture gelding Repo Rocks who won four stakes races in 2023. A career earner of $803,371, Repo Rocks prevailed in the G3 Westchester Stakes at Belmont, the Stymie and Toboggan Stakes at Aqueduct and the Blitzen Stakes at Parx. In all, Repo Rocks provided $108,886 in bonus monies. Horses bred by the Iselin family amassed $159,297 in awards.       

Daybreak Stables’ scored $96,454 in awards, much coming from two horses that had stellar campaigns — Mystic Seaport and Naked and Famous. The former had six wins, including five claiming race victories in a row between August 31 and December 10. The five-pack included wins at Colonial and Delaware Park and three at Laurel. The 4-year-old daughter of Midshipman earned four other awards for second and third place finishes. The latter, a 6-year-old Upstart gelding, bagged four triumphs that included an allowance score at Colonial and three claiming wins at Aqueduct. Overall, Daybreak had 13 wins, one runner-up and six thirds. 

Breeder Sam English II, whose year mirrored Iselin’s, received three winning bonus checks courtesy of Chambeau’s stakes wins in the Camptown and Tyson Gilpin/Glen Petty at Colonial, and an allowance win — also at Colonial — sandwiched between the two. In all, English’s late blooming 7-year-old mare captured four bonuses in New Kent — of five he received which totaled $85,917.     

Note that single bonuses in the incentive program are capped at $25,000. In 2023, there were 14 bonuses awarded at that maximum level. The Virginia Breeder’s Fund is generated by a percent of every dollar wagered in Virginia via HHR, OTB and ADW betting. The Virginia Racing Commission approves how the Fund monies can be used and distributed.     

(WOODSTOCK, VA —- 1/11/2024) —- The Virginia Harness Horse Association (VHHA), which introduced a lucrative Sired Stakes program in 2022, announced that 19 stallions will be standing in the state for the 2024 breeding season. Twelve stallions stood in the Commonwealth two years ago and prior to that, just four stood including Gregory Pecs who passed away in December. 

Twelve trotting stallions and seven pacing stallions, including three new ones, will stand at farms across the state this year –- east, west, north and south.   

Among the 2024 class is Doctor Butch, a winner of $1.6 million in purse earnings who will stand in Virginia for the second straight year. His career triumphs include wins in the New York Sire Stakes Final at age 2 and in the Art Rooney Pace at age 3. He will be based in Northern Virginia, at Equine Reproduction Concepts in Amissville.  

In the Central Virginia region, eight different stallions will stand at various farms. Trotter Dusty Winner, based at Charlie Dunavant’s Woodhill Farm in Victoria, has sired 34 starters that have earned a combined $2.1 million. Pacer Calgary Seelster, who earned $357,616 with a mark of 1:50 3/5, will stand at the Elam Stoltzfus Farm in Charlotte Courthouse. Trotter Armed Dangerously, winner of the Fall Harvest Stakes at Yonkers as a freshman, will stand at Joe Coblentz’s Farm in Nathalie. Other Nathalie based stallions include trotters Secular and Snow King who will be at respective Yoder Farms in that area. Trotting stallion Crime Fighter, by Chapter Seven, rerturns and will will stand at the Ivan Byler Farm in Halifax. Two new stallions –- trotters Climb Higher and Reverse Smith — will be based at the Amos Stoltzfus Farm in Dillwyn and at Gold Hill Acres in New Canton. They are by Muscle Hill and Donato Hanover respectively.      

Another seven stallions will stand in the Southwest portion of the state including pacers Artzina and Jeneral Patton — at Michael Viars’ Farm in Pilgrim Knob. The former bankrolled $780,063 during an impressive racing career and in stud, has sired 54 starters that have earned $3.6 million. The latter bankrolled $470,404 from 29 wins and stands his second season in 2024. Trotter Love Hunter, who boasts a 1:55 1/5 best, will be based at the Cedar Bluff Farm in Jonesville. Trotter Winning Fireworks, a proven sire of 47 starters that have earned over $2 million, will stand at Tracy Bradshaw’s TNT Racing Stable in Bland. The Black Diamond Farms in Hurley will host a pair of pacers — Mr. Julian and Many Moons. The former bankrolled $318,607 and recorded a mark of 1:48 4/5 while the latter is a 5-year-old son of Sweet Lou who will stand for his first season. Wishbone, a son of Gregory Pecs, will stand at Adam Akers’ Round Mountain Stables in Bastian.    

Virginia’s Eastern Shore is represented this year too with trotting stallion Strength of Victory, a Muscles Yankee trotter out of Rosecroft Survivor. He will stand at the Cliff White Farm in Bloxum.               

The Sired Stakes program will offer bonus payments for foals that meet qualifying times and dates as outlined in the rules at vhha.net. Both the stallion owner and breeder will receive $1,500, and if the mare and foal remain in Virginia for the entire foaling year, the mare owner will receive an additional $1,500. 

Sired Stake races will be run based on age, sex and gait as two and three-year-olds. Elimination races will feature a $6,000 purse and finals will go for $60,000. Sired foals are also eligible to compete in the Breeder’s Fund races during the same years, which feature $8,000 elims and $80,000 finals.

More details, contact information and pricing for each is available at vhha.net or by calling Debbie Warnick at 443-463-0917. The Sired Stakes initiative will complement other VHHA incentive programs like Breeder’s Fund Races and the Certified Residency program. 

The 2024 racing schedule at Shenandoah Downs will feature a pair of 7-week meets. The spring session will run from April 6 – May 19 and the fall meet, pending Virginia Racing Commission approval, will run from September 14 – October 27. Race days are Saturday and Sunday afternoons with a 1:05 PM post. Racing applications will be available at shenandoahdowns.com beginning February 2. 

Dickinson will be instrumental in the daily management of the course in New Kent, Virginia, while working closely with Track Superintendents on development and maintenance at other CDI-owned racetracks.

Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI” or the “Company”) announced Tuesday that Leif Dickinson has been named Director of Track Operations at Colonial Downs Racetrack. In this role, Dickinson will be instrumental in the daily management of the course in New Kent, Virginia, while working closely with Track Superintendents on development and maintenance at other CDI-owned racetracks including the Company’s flagship Churchill Downs Racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky.

“I’m very excited to join the team at Colonial Downs and contributing to that tradition of exceptional track surfaces and the opportunity to develop agronomic programs for other CDI tracks excites me,” said Dickinson. “I consider horse racing to be the most challenging turf management job in the world, but it is one that I take very seriously. I look forward to continuing to promote a safe racing experience and ensuring CDI tracks are the best in the world.”

Dickinson brings over 30 years of experience in Agronomy and Turf Science Management with deep expertise in the care, maintenance and renovation of horse track fields and grounds and is well-regarded as a subject matter expert in Soil Science, Turfgrass Management, Horticulture, Grounds Development, Irrigation & Drainage, Pest Management, Pesticides, Edaphology, Turf Nutrition and Resource Management. He is a member of HISA’s Track Surface Advisory Committee. Prior to joining CDI, Dickinson served as a director or consultant for a number of high profile race courses across the country including Gulfstream Park, Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and Santa Anita Park. He holds an Associate of Science Degree in Horticulture from Mount San Antonio College and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Agriculture from the University of Maine.

“We are pleased to welcome world-renowned turf expert Leif Dickinson to the team,” said Bill Mudd, President and COO of CDI. “This year, Colonial Downs held 196 turf races during a 27-day meet and we will rely heavily on Leif’s experience to manage the course as we expand to over 40 days of racing in 2025. With his expertise in Bermuda grass, we look forward to his oversight at Fair Grounds Racecourse and Ellis Park as well as his close involvement with the team at Churchill Downs Racetrack as they prepare the course in the lead up to the 150th Kentucky Derby week and beyond.”

The 2024 horse racing season in Virginia is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever! Daylight hours are getting more abundant little by little so it’s time to think spring — and beyond. This year, there will be 73 racing performances — 32 days of harness racing, 27 days of thoroughbred racing, 7 NSA sanctioned steeplechase meets and 7 Point-to-Point meets. It’s time to mark your calendars!

Saturday March 2 – Rappahannock Hunt Point-to-Point at The Hill in Boston, VA (rain date is Saturday March 9).

Saturday March 16 – Warrenton Hunt Point-to-Point at the Airlie Race Course in Warrenton. 

Saturday March 23 – Piedmont Fox Hounds Point-to-Point at the Salem Course in Upperville.   

Saturday March 30 – Blue Ridge Hunt Point-to-Point at the Woodley Farm in Berryville. 

Saturday April 6 – Shenandoah Downs Spring Harness Racing Season in Woodstock kicks off. The 7-week “Harness the Mountain Magic” meet continues every Saturday & Sunday at 1:05 PM thru May 19.

Saturday April 6 – Old Dominion Hounds Point-to-Point at the Ben Venue Farm in Ben Venue, VA. They will have 5 sanctioned steeplechase races on the card! 

Saturday April 20 – Middleburg Spring Races at Glenwood Park. A first rite of spring, this is Virginia’s the oldest steeplechase event, and the first of three sanctioned spring jump meets.

Sunday April 21 – Loudoun Hunt Point-to-Point at Morven Park in Leesburg. 

Saturday April 27 – Foxfield Spring Races in Charlottesville. Steeplechase races have taken place here since 1977 and in 2024, look for an enhanced race/purse schedule.    

Sunday April 28 – Middleburg Hunt Point-to-Point at Glenwood Park in Middleburg. This is the final PTP of the spring. 

Saturday May 4 – Virginia Gold Cup Races at Great Meadow in The Plains. Wager the prestigious Gold Cup, David Semmes Memorial and other steeplechase races all afternoon followed by the Kentucky Derby simulcast. 

Saturday May 4 – Kentucky Derby Day festivities at Shenandoah Downs. Enjoy live harness action followed by the Kentucky Derby simulcast on the infield jumbotron.

Saturday May 4 – Kentucky Derby Simulcast. Wager the “Run for the Roses” at any Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, VA-Horseplay OTB or online at Twinspires.com, TVG.com, Xpressbet.com and NYRABets.com

Saturday May 18 – Preakness Day festivities at Shenandoah Downs. Enjoy live harness action followed by the Preakness simulcast on the infield jumbotron. 

Saturday May 18 – Preakness Day Simulcast. Wager the Triple Crown’s 2^nd leg at any Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, VA-Horseplay OTB or online at Twinspires.com, TVG.com, Xpressbet.com and NYRABets.com 

Saturday June 8 – Belmont Day Simulcast. Wager the Triple Crown’s final leg at any Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, VA-Horseplay OTB or online at Twinspires.com, TVG.com, Xpressbet.com and NYRABets.com 

Thursday July 11 – Colonial Downs Thoroughbred Racing Season in New Kent kicks off! The 9-week season will continue every Thursday, Friday & Saturday thru September 7.

Saturday August 10 – Colonial Downs’ “Festival of Racing” Day, featuring the Grade 1 Arlington Million, Grade 2 Beverly D and Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes.

Wednesday August 28 – Shenandoah County Fair Harness Race Meet in Woodstock kicks off at 12 Noon and continues daily thru Saturday August 31.

Saturday September 7 – Virginia Derby Day at Colonial Downs featuring racing’s top 3-year-old turf horses and the sport’s top trainers and jockeys. 

Saturday September 14 – Shenandoah Downs Fall Harness Racing Season in Woodstock kicks off. The 7-week “Harness the Mountain Magic” meet continues every Saturday & Sunday at 1:05 PM thru October 27.

Sunday October 6 – Foxfield Fall Races in Charlottesville – a family-themed day of steeplechase racing.   

Saturday October 12 – Middleburg Fall Races at Glenwood Park in Middleburg.

Saturday October 26 – International Gold Cup Races at Great Meadow in The Plains.

Sunday October 27 – Virginia Breeder’s Harness Championships at Shenandoah Downs in Woodstock featuring 8 title matches and over $650,000 in purse money on the line.

Saturday November 2 – Montpelier Hunt Races at James Madison’s homestead in Montpelier Station. This is the final NSA sanctioned steeplechase meet of the year.     

The following appeared in The Racing Biz January 5th and was written by Frank Vespe.

A pair of reports commissioned by the Maryland Thoroughbred Racetrack Operating Authority released Jan. 5 outline a very different future for Maryland racing. How precisely to get to that future? That’s a bit less clear.

That future portends a consolidation of racing operations at a rebuilt Pimlico Race Course, the creation of a training center to accommodate additional horses, and the replacement of the current private, for-profit ownership structure with a state-owned, non-profit-managed arrangement.

Governor Wes Moore announced Friday morning that the state of Maryland and the Stronach Group, the parent company of the Maryland Jockey Club, had “reached the framework of an agreement in principle” to implement the projects, he said in a statement. Under the agreement, the Stronach Group would turn Pimlico over to the state, retain the right to develop the Laurel property, and maintain ownership of the Preakness itself, while leasing the rights to it to the new track operators.

The cost of leasing the Preakness is unknown. Control of day-to-day racing would transfer as of January 1, 2025.

The two reports were completed by a consultant team led by Crossroads Consulting and Populous. They were mandated by the legislation that created the Authority during the Maryland General Assembly’s 2023 session and synthesized by the Authority into a single report.

The facilities report outlines two potential Pimlico options and identifies three possible training center sites. The price tag for the new Maryland racing facilities is projected to reach approximately $400 million, with the Pimlico renovations projected to cost between $275 million and $285 million.

The rebuilding of Pimlico is expected to take three years, and during that time, the Preakness would be run at Laurel Park.

The facilities report outlines two options for Pimlico. Both would involve demolishing virtually every structure on the grounds and rebuilding from scratch. While one option would keep the racetrack in its current configuration, the other, which the report says “is the most efficient use of the available land while also resolving some of the key challenges of the Option 1 concept,” envisions rotating the track to allow for the creation of a grand entrance to the facility, better arrangement of structures on the grounds, and slightly more developable land.

The new Pimlico would be able to host approximately 71,000 people for the Preakness, including 16,200 in its new, 137,000 square foot clubhouse. The grounds would also house 560 stalls and two tracks, a turf course and a dirt course, with the latter to be “synthetic ready,” that is, ready to be quickly converted to a synthetic surface in the future.

Also on the grounds will be both surface parking and a parking garage, a hotel, and a veterinary center.

The report flags three potential training centers as its top choices. Those are the old Bowie Race Course site, the Rooney family’s Shamrock Farm in Woodbine, and Mitchell Farm Training Center in Aberdeen. All, according to the report, are within an hour of Pimlico and have a minimum of 85 acres available, which would allow stabling for 600+ horses.

While the future of Pimlico and the Preakness have largely taken center stage in the public mind, in some ways the operating model may be a more critical component.

“It is possible to have a financially viable operating model in Maryland, but thoughtful and strategic changes are needed,” the Crossroads-led report notes. “Revenues from all-sources wagering may not be adequate to enable a for-profit operator to run a sufficient number of race days and also make the necessary capital improvements.”

What then?

“Implementing a public ownership structure for the tracks which recognizes a substantial need for a public investment with the involvement of industry participants to leverage otherwise strong economic foundations is recommended for consideration,” the report suggests. “Further, it is recommended that consideration be given to leasing the tracks to a not-for-profit corporation similar to NYRA.”

“The Stronach Group and the Maryland Jockey Club remain deeply committed to reinvigorating Thoroughbred racing in Maryland, and this framework agreement represents an important first step in that process,” Stronach Group chairwoman Belinda Stronach said in a statement.

The report calls – perhaps quixotically – for the new operator to maintain a racing schedule of between 140 and 165 days, “emulate the strategies for successful boutique meets at other tracks,” increase purses 35% to draw even with Virginia, increase the number of starts by 15% to bring average field size to 8.5 runners per race, and increase breeding incentive funds by 15-20%.

The additional funding will almost certainly require increased subsidies from the state, and the report flags historical horse racing machines – essentially slot machines with the results based on earlier horse races – as one way to boost industry funding.

The plans are subject to approval by the General Assembly. The 2024 session kicks off January 10 and concludes April 8.

The Virginia steeplechase community lost a pillar on December 18 as Will O’Keefe, an iconic race caller and chairman of the Virginia Fall Races, passed away at the age of 76. Condolences go out to Will’s family and friends.

The following story appeared in Bloodhorse.com.

The Virginia Fall Race Committee announced Dec. 20 the death of Will O’Keefe, a Virginia Steeplechase Hall of Fame inductee, horseman, fox hunter, and race announcer. O’Keefe, 76, was race director for the Virginia Fall races and is the son of Dr. Frank O’Keefe, who bred 1966 Kentucky Derby winner Kauai King.

“Will assumed his role of race director for the Virginia Fall Races just 10 years ago and he did it all,” the committee said in a statement. “He arrived early, stayed late, worked out the stall assignments, put up the stall cards, conducted the officials’ meeting, called for the vet check, and welcomed owners, trainers, grooms, and spectators to Glenwood Park for a day of racing.

“Then he took his seat behind the microphone. He called the races with a voice that delivered clarity, drama, accuracy, and knowledge, stride for stride. He always said he had the best seat in the house at every race meet and indeed he did. He may have had the best seat, but the Virginia Fall Race Committee certainly had a one-of-a-kind leader and a friend to all.”

O’Keefe announced his last race at Glenwood Park, at his race meet, a timber race, in October 2022.

In an article about O’Keefe written in 2020 by Betsy Burke Parker, O’Keefe estimated he would handle the race calling for around 20 meets that year and figured during his 41 years of race calling had provided the color to more than 5,000 races.

O’Keefe got into race calling when he was the race secretary for the Casanova Hunt Point-to-Point in the late 1970s. When announcer Barney Brittle stepped down in 1978, O’Keefe had to find a replacement and went to his father to handle the calls by promising he would be at his side to help identify horses and provide any details as the race unfolded.

“I realized after that first year, it’d be just as easy to do it myself,” O’Keefe told Parker. He took the microphone full-time in 1980.

O’Keefe said that having grown up going to racetracks along the East Coast with his father, he learned the finer points of a solid race call.

“There’s a certain rhythm to it,” he told Parker. “I probably have a Southern accent when I talk, but I don’t think I do when I announce. You learn to project your voice.”

O’Keefe was recognized with numerous honors for his contributions to the sport. He was named Point-to-Point Man of the Year (has also served as Virginia Point-to-Point Association secretary, and Virginia Steeplechase Association secretary and president) in 1986; won the VSA’s Francis Thornton Green award in 1990; was inducted in the Virginia Steeplechase Hall of Fame in 2007; was recognized with the Yves Henry Lifetime Achievement Award and was named Loudoun Preservation Society’s preservationist of the year in 2011; and, received the Monk Noland Award for service to the racing community by the Steeplechase Owners and Trainers Association and National Steeplechase Association in 2019.

In 1980, O’Keefe also owned and trained the Virginia Point-to-Point Association champion steeplechase mare Royal Greed.

Instead of flowers, the family would like donations to be made in O’Keefe’s name to the Virginia Fall Races, PO Box 2, Middleburg, Va., 20118. A celebration of life in his honor and memory will be held in the spring.

–Virginia Racing Commission December 6, 2023 meeting update written by Nick Hahn (as it appeared in The Racing Biz)-

The summer meet at Colonial Downs in 2024 will look very similar to the one run earlier this year. But what comes next could be pretty interesting.

The Virginia Racing Commission approved December 6 a request by parent company Churchill Downs, Inc. for Colonial Downs to host 27 days of racing beginning July 11 in a three-day, nine-week format. With last summer’s initial Festival of Racing at Colonial Downs that included the Arlington Million (G1), Beverly D (G1) and Secretariat Stakes (G2) setting a single-day Colonial handle record (just shy of $10 million), racing officials chose the status quo, setting August 10 for the renewal.

Also unaltered is the stakes-loaded Virginia Derby Day, which will again be the last day of the 2024 meet on September 7. The meet format remains largely unchanged except that post time for Friday racing has moved to 4:30 pm. Commissioners approved Thursday’s post time for 1:30 pm, but Colonial Downs is considering moving that day’s start time to 4:30 pm, as well. 

Purse levels will reach nearly $700,000 per day under a two-year contract that was approved by the Commission between Colonial Downs and the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (VHBPA); it was more than $650,000 daily in 2023. Using $700,000 as a baseline purse level, racing would expand to 40 days in 2025 assuming historical horse racing machines come online at The Rose in Dumfries, expected to house 1,000 terminals. Virginia law mandates one day of live thoroughbred racing for every 100 HHR terminals that come on-line, making the timing of the Dumfries opening sensitive. Currently there are 2790 terminals in Virginia operating with the number expected to rise, if the Dumfries location meets its opening goal, to over 4,000 by the end of next year.

While Churchill Downs is not contractually tied to hosting forty days of racing in 2025, the construction of a new 20-room dormitory on the backstretch by 2025, updates to the irrigation system along the outer rail, and improvements to the turf lighting system are part of the agreement. It was learned during the meeting that Colonial Downs will be looking for new supervision over its highly regarded racecourses, as Harrison Young, Director of Racing Surfaces, will not return in 2024.

Commissioners also approved fourteen days of harness racing from April 6 through May 19 at Shenandoah Downs, the up-and-coming harness venue that has operated racing in a county fair-like atmosphere in Woodstock, Virginia for over a century. “Shenatoga” will host racing on Saturdays and Sundays will first race post time being 1:05 PM.

Commissioners also approved ADW License renewals for TwinSpires, TVG, Xpressbet and NYRAbets. 

Debbie Easter of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association received approval after her presentation to amend Virginia breeder and stallion awards to award bonuses for Virginia-bred -sired thoroughbreds to receive bonuses from third place up, replacing the winners-only bonus that was previously applied. Virginia’s $3 million Certified Residency program that rewards thoroughbred performance that reside in Virginia for at least six months up to their two-year-old year remained unchanged.

Later in the meeting, the Commission heard a Victor-Strategies report about HHR in response to a Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) concept that would remove HHR regulation from the Racing Commission and place it under the Virginia Lottery Board at first and perhaps eventually under the purview of a newly created statewide gaming commission.

Currently, a gaming sub-committee in Virginia’s General Assembly is reviewing all gaming regulation in Virginia. Under the Virginia Racing Commission, HHR has been a significant portion of the economic model that has worked well for Colonial Downs since its reopening in 2019. The 2023 meet recorded $72 million handle, down slightly from $75.1 million in 2022 but far above any prior year.

“The uniqueness of horse racing is such that you need review by a dedicated agency,” said Richard Schuetz, an expert who took part in the presentation.

Recent advancements in racing in Virginia have been encouraging enough to inspire Virginia’s First Lady, Suzanne Youngkin, to appear in a recently released video promoting Virginia’s overall horse industry and showcasing racing. The new video was presented to the commission.

The Commission thanked Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association (VHBPA) director Frank Petramalo for his decades of service in representing the horsemen. Petramalo is stepping down as executive director of the VHPBA but will remain as consultant. Commissioners were introduced to Glen Berman, who is taking over Petramalo’s role. 

Schedule to mirror 2023 season racing Thursday through Sunday

Racing dates for 2024 at Colonial Downs were approved today at the Virginia Racing Commission meeting. The 27-day live racing season will be held over nine weeks from Thursday, July 11 through Saturday, September 7. The New Kent racetrack will race three days per week, Thursday through Saturday.

“The success of the 2023 meet, which brought weekend racing back to Colonial Downs, was a credit to the tremendous support here in Virginia from the owners, trainers, horseplayers, hard-working staff, and partners,” said Senior Director of Racing Operations Frank Hopf. “We’re excited to build upon the momentum and look forward to a tremendous 2024 season.” 

The Festival of Racing including the Grade 1 Arlington Million is slated for Saturday, August 10. The Grade 3 Virginia Derby will anchor the closing day card on Saturday, September 7.  The entire stakes schedule for the 2024 season will be made available in the coming weeks.

The 2023 season offered more than $650,000 per day in purses and boasted an average of 8.19 starters per race. Average daily handle was $2,658,028. Purse money for the 2024 season is expected to be nearly $700,000 per day.

The best and brightest horses representing the Virginia breeding and certified program were on display September 2 in Commonwealth Champions Day at Colonial Downs. Five stakes for varying ages and over multiple distances were presented as part of a 10-race card at the New Kent track. Among the top performances were a stakes riding double for jockey Horacio Karamanos and a second stakes win of the meet for Chambeau and Determined Kingdom.

In the first of the day’s stakes events, Reilly McDonald’s Passion Play ($6.20, $2.80 and $2.10) took the lead on the far turn and was relentless in holding off the late challenges from DARRS, Inc.’s Palio and Jeremy Brooks’ Wow Whata Summer to prevail by a neck in the $131,500 Bert Allen Stakes. Horacio Karamanos was aboard the Virginia-bred Mary Eppler-trained son of Hold Me Back who covered the 1-1/16 miles over firm turf in 1:43.67. The win was the sixth in 29 starts for the 7-year-old gelding who earned $90,000 for the effort to boost his lifetime bankroll to $327,497.

“This horse deserved to win,” said Karamanos, who has ridden Passion Play in nine of his last 10 starts including a win in the 2021 edition of this race. “He always tries. His last race (a seventh-place finish) was so tough for him. Today, I just wanted him to break ok and see how the race unfolded. After a couple others went to the front, I sat back a bit and relaxed until the eighth pole. When I asked him, he fired so nicely all the way to the wire.”

O’Sullivan Farms’ Unruly Julie ($30.40, $10 and $5.60) changed tactics and ran to a front-stepping, half-length tally over Naval Empire in the $105,500 Nellie Mae Cox Stakes under jockey Wesley Ho. The Javier Contrerastrained mare ran the 1-1/16 miles in 1:42.25 to score her seventh victory from 36 trips to the post. She added $60,000 to her lifetime earnings which now stand at $225,819.

“She’s been training the best she ever has. She ran in this race last year (finishing second). Coming into this race she’s really been a different horse. Honestly, she took me to the lead,” Ho said when asked about the change in running style. “She was so keen in taking the lead, she pulled me there. I just tried to save as much as I could for the stretch run and she still gave me everything she had. I’d have rather been mid-pack but she had other ideas today.”

D Hatman Thoroughbreds and Kingdom Bloodstock, Inc.’s Determined Kingdom ($3.60, $2.60 and $2.40) improved from a sixth-place finish in the 2022 edition of the Meadow Stable Stakes to notch a wire-to-wire neck victory as the 4-5 favorite in the $130,000 2023 renewal of the 5½-furlong dash. Victor Carrasco rode the gelded son of Animal Kingdom for trainer and co-owner Phil Schoenthal who sprinted the distance in 1:02.08.

“He’s certainly taken a step forward as a 4-year-old,” Schoenthal said. “He’s a lot keener horse. It’s a beautiful thing to have a Virginia-bred who loves the grass at Colonial. We’ll give him a couple of starts in the fall and then turn him out on the farm like we do with all our grass horses. As long he’s doing good we’ll make this a regular stop every year.”

The Meadow Stable was the sixth win in 18 starts for Determined Kingdom, who previously won the Punch Line here in July. The $90,000 winner’s share Saturday elevated his earnings to $442,189.

Bird Mobberly LLC’s Low Mileage ($8.40, $4.60 and $3) rallied along the rail to take command mid-stretch and draw off to a 3¼-length victory in the $125,000 Jamestown Stakes for Virginia-bred/sired 2-year-olds. Jevian Toledo was aboard the John Salzman trainee who recorded his first stakes tally and second win in four starts overall. The daughter of Mineshaft covered the 5½-furlongs in 1:04.22 and earned $75,000 for the score to push her bankroll to $121,500.

Wrapping up the stakes action was the $130,000 Camptown Stakes which was taken by Sam English II’s Chambeau ($4.60, $3 and $2.40) who picked up her third win of the season after capturing the Tyson Gilpin/Glenn Petty Stakes in July and an allowance race last week.

“I wasn’t as confident today as I was last week,” English said. “We only started her (for the first time) as a 5-year-old, and she’s only run eight times in her life. She’s a special horse.”

Lots of excitement, special features, and premier horse racing are on tap for the 20^th running of the New Kent County Virginia Derby on Saturday, September 9. The nation’s top 3-year-old turf horses will compete on the widest turf course in North America. The day will be highlighted by the Grade 3, $500,000 Virginia Derby^® for 3-year-olds ($200,000 more than last year). Other stakes races will include the $250,000 Woodford Reserve Virginia Oaks^®, $150,000 Korbel Da Hoss Stakes, $150,000 Biosaphe Colonial Cup, $125,000 Exacta Systems Rosie’s Stakes, and $125,000 TAA Kitten’s Joy Stakes. A total of more than $1.3 million dollars will be up for grabs on Virginia Derby Day. Post time is 1:30 p.m. 

Plenty of family friendly entertainment will be available on the grounds including pony rides, a petting zoo, strolling entertainment, face painter, juggler/magician & stilt walker. Fans can also enjoy the magnificent bronze Secretariat statue at Colonial Downs on Derby Day along with the National Museum of Racing & Hall of Fame’s Traveling Exhibit. The exhibit will be open during 4 consecutive days of racing at Colonial Downs starting Wednesday, September 6 and culminating on Derby Day, Saturday, September 9.

“It has been a terrific season for Colonial Downs under the new ownership of Churchill Downs. We are proud of providing a high-level racing product along with added entertainment elements to Virginians this summer.,” said Frank Hopf, senior director of racing operations at Colonial Downs. “We look forward to concluding our successful meet with Virginia Derby Day on September 9^th.”

Additional seating for Derby Day will be available in the banquet room. General admission and parking are free. For more information on 2023 Colonial Downs Racing presented by Woodford Reserve visit www.colonialdowns.com.