Fields for five all-turf stakes — that will showcase Virginia-bred, -sired and -certified horses — are set to go this Saturday (Sept. 2) in the newly named Commonwealth Champions Day program at Colonial Downs. A total of $725,000 in purse money will be up for grabs between the five. Four of the $150,000 stakes — the Camptown, Bert Allen, Meadow Stable and Nellie Mae Cox — are open to horses in the three categories noted while the $125,000 Jamestown is for Virginia-bred/sired 2-year-olds.  

The top three finishers in the 2022 Camptown are among a field of 12 fillies and mares in the 2023 edition which will be contested at 5-1/2 furlongs. Larry Johnson’s Spun Glass won last year’s Camptown and recently was a close second in the Jameela Stakes at Laurel July 1 and The Very One Stakes at Pimlico May 19. The Michael Trombetta trainee has $324,729 in earnings. 

DARRS Inc.’s Rambert finished second to Spun Glass in 2022 and has won two of three since in expanding on a consistent career. The Michael Stidham trainee has three wins and four seconds in eight starts with $145,600 in earnings. Mary Slade’s Island Philo, third in last year’s Camptown, leaves from gate position one in the ninth race rematch. 

The runner-up in last year’s Nellie Mae Cox Stakes and the top three finishers from the current meet’s Brookmeade Stakes are in a field of twelve fillies and mares who will vie 1-1/16^th miles in the Nellie Mae Cox’s sixth race. 

O’Sullivan Farms’ Unruly Julie lost by a nose to Tass in a thrilling 2022 edition. The 7-year-old The Factor mare is conditioned by Javier Contreras and is fresh off a third-place finish in a $90,000 allowance at Colonial August 2. 

Country Life Farm’s Galilei, Susan Moulton’s Tufani and Larry Johnson’s Continentalcongres finished one-two-three in the July 15 Brookmeade. Three-year-old Distorted Humor filly Tufani — betting choice in the stakes —had back-to-back wins leading up to the Brookmeade while Continentalcongres powered home to an eleven length allowance score at Colonial three weeks afterwards. 

Dewberry Thoroughbred’s Princess Theorem enters with the most stakes experience of the dozen. The 5-year-old Nyquist mare chocked up  respective third and fourth place finishes in a pair of G3 stakes earlier this year in the Honey Fox at Gulfstream and the Galorette at Pimlico.  .         

The Bert Allen Stakes attracted six entries including Jeremy Brooks’ Wow Whata Summer who won last year’s G2 Penn Mile Stakes and after, competed in the G3 Virginia Derby where he finished ninth. The 4-year-old Summer Front gelding took fourth in Colonial’s Kitten’s Joy Stakes as a 2-year-old. 

Also in-to-go are a pair of horses that have racked up three wins each at Colonial — DARRS’ Palio and Reilley McDonald’s Passion Play. The former is fresh off a turf allowance win in New Kent August 2 while the latter captured the Allen Stakes in 2021. The Bert Allen, for horses aged three-and-up, will be contested 1-1/16^th miles as the second race.   

A field of seven horses aged three-and-up will battle in the Meadow Stable Stakes sprint including the top two finishers from the 2022 renewal — $570,683 earner Boldor and trainer Madison Meyers’ Grateful Bred. The former is owned by Ed Orr and Susie Orr and has reached the winners circle in two other Virginia-bred stakes — the 2021 and 2019 Punch Line’s. The latter won the Meadow Stable Stakes in 2021 and was a runner-up in last year’s Van Clief.

The Meadow Stable, carded as race seven, is 5-1/2 furlongs.

Capping off the stakes five-pack is the Jamestown which has drawn eight 2-year-olds that include a mix of six fillies and two colts. Of the eight, two have reached the winners circle so far — Bird Mobberley’s Low Mileage and Mary Lightner’s Afterneath. The first, a Mineshaft filly, registered a maiden special weight victory on the dirt May 5 at Laurel while the latter won a maiden claimer over Colonial’s turf August 11. The Jamestown has been programmed as the eighth race.  

Iapetus Racing and Diamond T Racing’s Virginia-bred Gigante made his triumphant return to the winner’s circle by pulling a massive 22-1 upset victory in the August 12 Grade 2 $500,000 Secretariat Stakes at Colonial Downs. The race was held in Virginia for the first time, making the victory for the Commonwealth that much sweeter.

Gigante, the 2022 Virginia-bred Champion 2-year-old, was ridden by Javier Castellano for trainer Steve Asmussen and covered the one-mile over firm going in 1:35.10.

“I feel blessed Asmussen (trainer Steve) gave me the opportunity to ride that horse. I think I got along pretty good with him in the post parade. He acted very professionally. I had the best trip in the race. (I was) where I wanted to be today. There seemed to be a lot of speed in the race. I tried to use my patience. He broke so well from the gate and put me in good position. I just took my time and rode with a lot of patience, a lot of confidence and had the best result today.”

Mo Stash was hustled hard from the starting gate in the Secretariat Stakes and was joined by the forward-placed Major Dude as they entered the first turn. Following an opening quarter-mile in :23.67, Gigante was positioned in last but only 3½ lengths off the lead. The field began to bunch entering the far turn after a half-mile in :48.03 as Castellano began asking Gigante for his best run. At the quarter-mile pole, Gigante made a bold bid for the lead and took command into the lane but had to hold off the late charge of Nagirroc. Gigante kept finding more on the lead and was able to hold his rival at bay by a neck. It was another 1 ¾ lengths back to Silver Knott in third who was followed in order by Major Dude, Northern Invader and Mo Stash.

Gigante, the longest priced horse in the field of six 3-year-olds at 22-1 rewarded his backers by returning $2 mutuels of $47.80, $15.20 and $5. Nagirroc, under Flavien Prat, paid $3.80 and $2.60. Silver Knott, who was ridden by Jamie Spencer, returned $2.80.

With his victory in the Secretariat Stakes, Gigante improved his overall mark to 9-4-0-1 and boosted his overall purse earnings to $583,550.

Gigante is a 3-year-old son of Not This Time out of the Empire Maker Mare Summertime Green. He was bred in Virginia by Ann Mudge Backer and Smitten Farm.

Colonial Downs was the starting point for Gigante. He broke his maiden here one year ago on the dirt and subsequently demolished a field of seven rivals in the Kitten’s Joy Stakes on turf.

Nominations closed August 18 for five all-turf stakes on the Commonwealth Champions Day program scheduled for Saturday, September 2 at Colonial Downs that will showcase Virginia-bred, -sired and -certified horses with $725,000 in purse money on the line. Four of the $150,000 stakes – the Camptown, Bert Allen, Meadow Stable and Nellie Mae Cox – are open to horses in the three categories noted while the $125,000 Jamestown is for Virginia-bred and/or -sired 2-year-olds. 

The top three finishers in the 2022 Camptown are among the 31 fillies and mares that nominated to the 2023 edition which will be contested at 5½ furlongs. Larry Johnson’s Spun Glass won last year’s Camptown and recently was a close second in the Jameela Stakes at Laurel July 1 and Pimlico’s The Very One Stakes on May 19. The Michael Trombetta trainee has $324,729 in earnings. DARRS Inc.’s Rambert, who finished second to Spun Glass, and Mary Slade’s Island Philo who was third, is nominated too.

Other notable Camptown nominations include D. Hatman Thoroughbreds’ Determined Jester, winner of the 2022 Rosie’s Stakes and a turf allowance earlier this month, both of which took place at the New Kent track. Larry Johnson’s Hollywood Walk has won a Colonial turf allowance sprint in each of the last two years. Deborah Greene and Hamilton Smith’s Luna Belle may be the most intriguing of the nominees. The 4-year-old Great Notion filly reeled off five consecutive dirt stakes wins at Laurel between December 2021 and April 6 last year before finishing 11^th in the 2022 G2 Black Eyed Susan Stakes. She has not competed since but still boasts a nominee-high bankroll of $381,570.

The Bert Allen Stakes attracted 20 nominations including Larry Johnson and RDM Racing Stable’s Sky’s Not Falling who sports a robust $294,480 turf bankroll. The 5-year-old Seville gelding won the $100,000 Maryland Million Turf Sprint Stakes last October and has been stakes placed twice at Colonial. 

Jeremy Brooks’ Wow Whata Summer won last year’s G2 Penn Mile Stakes and after that competed in the G3 Virginia Derby where he finished ninth. The 4-year-old Summer Front gelding took fourth in Colonial’s Kitten’s Joy Stakes as a 2-year-old. 

Also nominated is Ten Strike Racing’s Alex Joon who captured the Edward P. Evans Stakes by three lengths July 15 at Colonial. The 6-year-old Flatter gelding also won an allowance over the same New Kent grass course last summer.  

The Bert Allen is for horses aged three-and-up at 1-1/16 miles.   

The winner of last year’s Nellie Mae Cox Stakes and the top four finishers from the current meet’s Brookmeade Stakes have all nominated to the 2023 Cox Stakes along with 23 other fillies and mares who will vie 1-1/16 miles. 

Windylea Farm’s Tass edged O’Sullivan Farms’ Unruly Julie by a nose in a thrilling 2022 edition and both have nominated again. The former is a Rob Atras trainee with $350,919 in earnings while the latter is conditioned by Javier Contreras and is fresh off a third-place finish in a $90,000 allowance at Colonial August 2. 

Country Life Farm’s Galilei prevailed in the July 15 Brookmeade while Susan Moulton’s Tufani, Larry Johnson’s Continentalcongres and Audley Farm Stable’s Bode’s Heritage finished next in line. All four have been nominated.

A total of 28 horses aged three-and-up have been nominated for the Meadow Stable Stakes sprint including the top two finishers from the 2022 renewal – $570,683 earner Boldor and trainer Madison Meyers’ Grateful Bred. The former is owned by Ed Orr and Susie Orr and has reached the winners circle in two other Virginia-bred stakes – the 2021 and 2019 editions of the Punch Line. The latter won the Meadow Stable Stakes in 2021 and was a runner-up in last year’s Van Clief.

Capping off the stakes five-pack is the Jamestown, which has drawn 17 nominations that include a mix of 10 fillies and seven male juveniles. Two of the freshmen have reached the winners circle so far – Bird Mobberley’s Low Mileage and Mary Lightner’s Afterneath. The first, a Mineshaft filly, registered a maiden special weight victory on the dirt May 5 at Laurel while the latter won a maiden claimer over Colonial’s turf August 11.

A pair of Pennsylvania-bred/Virginia-Certified 2-year-olds made their Colonial Downs debuts August 5 in $150,000 5-furlong dirt stakes, and both came away with victories — though they occurred in very different fashion.

Cash is King and LC Racing’s Carmelina and Robert and Tammy Klimasewski’s Going Up got their pictures taken respectively in the Keswick Stakes for fillies and Hickory Tree Stakes for males. 

The former departed from post position eight in a nine-horse field, settled into third after the start then surged on the outside just before the wire to edge M3 Racing Stable’s Beachfront Breeze and No Guts No Glory Farm’s Remember Me. The Maximus Mischief filly crossed one-half length the best in :58.39 with Mychel Sanchez up. 

Robert Reid Jr. trains the winner who is now 2-for-3 with earnings of $134,800. She dominated while breaking her maiden June 18 at Parx and came to New Kent fresh off a fifth place finish in the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga.

“You never expect to win especially asking her to come back for a third start in a month and a half,” said Reid. “She shipped all the way from Saratoga just two days ago so it was a lot of work to get here but she came through. Mychel gave a perfect ride. I raced here a bit 20 years ago so initially I was happy with an outside post,” added Reid. “But I got to look where the gate was at the 5/8ths pole and it starts almost right on top of the turn. Mychel broke her sharp though and got her tucked in so she didn’t lose too much ground on the turn.”

As for what’s next, Reid echoed the same thought his rider brought back after the race. “Mychel said the same thing we were thinking — that she wants to go a little farther, so I think a 7/8ths might be perfect.”

Going Up on the other hand did not need a late rally to capture the Hickory Tree. The Mineshaft gelding went to gate-to-wire in beating seven other freshmen males by a comfortable 6-3/4 lengths in :57.04. Jockey Ronnie Allen directed the winning effort for trainer Ron Potts. KP Racing Stables’ Jubawithatwist finished second and Ray Pennington’s King Kontie, the betting choice, was third. 

Going Up broke his maiden May 31 at Presque Isle then followed with a third in the Victoria Stakes at Woodbine July 16.               

“He’s been training well, he’s a cool dude and he takes everything in stride,” said co-owner Tammy Klimasewski. “Nothing bothers him. He acts like he’s been around the world three times. We couldn’t ask for a better trainer and rider. We have a great team.”

“The result was not a surprise,” added Robert Klimasewski. “His mother was a great racehorse and he has dirt pedigree on both sides up and down. He’s been known to not let anybody go by him so when he gets out on the lead, he’s really tough, even in the mornings when they’re working. He outworks everyone and just won’t let anybody get by him.”

Colonial Downs returns to action Thursday with a 9-race card beginning at 1:30 PM. Next Saturday’s (August 12) “Festival of Racing” program will be drawn Wednesday and features three graded stakes — the G1 Arlington Million, G1 Beverly D and G2 Secretariat Stakes.

The “Festival of Racing” program at Colonial Downs, scheduled for Saturday August 12, features three major graded stakes races — the G1 Arlington Million (Race 10), G1 Beverly D (Race 9) and G2 Secretariat Stakes (Race 8). A total of $2 million in purse monies will be on the line between those three stakes. The first of 11 races is scheduled for 1:30 PM and general admission is free!

(NEW KENT, VA — 8/9/2023) — The second, third and fourth place finishers in the Grade 1 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf will square off against each other in a rematch Saturday in the G2, $500,000 Secretariat Stakes at Colonial Downs, a key under card stakes on the 11-race Festival of Racing program which includes the G1 Arlington Million and G1 Beverly D. A field of eight 3-year-olds will compete one mile over the Secretariat Turf Course in the eighth race stakes which is being contested for the first time since 2021.

Godolphin LLC’s Silver Knott was the betting choice in that November “Cup” race at Keeneland where he had a strong runner-up finish to Victoria Road, losing by just a nose. The Lope de Vega colt, who was bred in Great Britain, is fresh off two summer starts at Belmont Park where he was fifth most recently in the G1 Belmont Derby and a close third in the G2 Pennine Ridge Stakes before that. The Charles Appleby trainee has three career wins, all coming at tracks in England. The 3-1 second early choice will be ridden by Jamie Spencer. Overall, Silver Knott has amassed $326,676 in earnings.

Little Red Feather Racing, Madaket Stables and William Strauss’s Nagirroc finished third in last year’s Juvenile Turf and to date this year, has finished second in the G3 Transylvania Stakes, third in the G2 Manila Stakes and in between, authored a track record performance in winning the James W. Murphy Stakes on the Preakness under card at Pimlico. The Lea colt has top-three finishes in all of his eight career starts and has bankrolled $407,550. Flavien Prat, who has ridden Nagirroc in his last four starts, will be in the irons for trainer Graham Motion from post ​three as the 5-2 early pick.

BBN Racing’s Mo Stash, fourth in the “Cup” — crossing just three lengths behind the winner — has continued his front running form since. The Mo Town colt went gate-to-wire in the G3 Transylvania then came just short in a pair that followed. He was a respectable fourth in the G2 American Turf at Churchill and close second in the American Derby at Ellis Park. Victoria Oliver trains and jockey Florent Geroux will lead from post four. Mo Stash has accumulated $460,375 in earnings. 

Spendthrift Farm’s Major Dude, who has won the G2 Penn Mile and G3 Kitten’s Joy Stakes already this year, departs from post ​six with jockey Tyler Gaffalione. The Todd Pletcher trainee’s 11 career starts are the most of any in the field and his $729,895 in purse winnings are tops. In 2023 alone, the Bolt d’Oro colt has bankrolled $554,645 and has placed in five of six stakes. He took second in the Dania Beach and G3 Jeff Ruby Steaks events and was third in the G2 American Turf. Most recently, Major Dude was fourth in the G3 Manlia at Belmont.

Victory Racing Partners’ More Than Looks will invade New Kent fresh off a 1-1/2 length triumph in the Manila. The More Than Ready colt is 3-for-5 this year — his other two wins include a turf allowance score at Ellis Park and a maiden win at Gulfstream that was taken off the turf. Jose Lezcano will ride for trainer Cherie DeVaux from post seven.     

DeVaus also conditions West Point Thoroughbreds and David Ingordo’s Northen Invader who will be ridden by John Velazquez from post five. After a pair of seconds on dirt this spring at Churchill, the Collected colt switched to grass and romped by eight lengths in a July 1 maiden special weight at Belmont. 

Rounding out the field are Mastic Beach Racing’s Tee At One and Iapetus Racing and Diamond T Racing’s Gigante, a Virginia-bred son of Not This Time. The former has a pair of wins and seconds from four career starts including a runner-up in the Kent Stakes July 15. Mychel Sanchez will direct the Tunwoo gelding for trainer Diane Morici. The latter was victorious in Colonial’s Kitten’s Joy Stakes in 2022 and he won the Caesar’s Handicap at Horseshoe Indianapolis May 17. Javier Castellano  will ride for trainer Steve Asmussen.

General Admission is free every day at Colonial Downs. Limited reserved seating remains available for Saturday and can be purchased at www.colonialdowns.com/racing. If you can’t make it to the races, the entire Colonial Downs Festival of Racing card will be broadcast on FanDuel TV and the FanDuel TV+ app. Live on-site coverage will on begin Thursday with Todd Schrupp, Scott Hazleton and Caton Bredar. Fans can wager on the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing card at wagering outlets throughout the country including www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated.              

Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) is proud to bring three major graded turf course stakes races to the New Kent track for the first time, this Saturday, August 12 – the Grade 1 Arlington Million, the Grade 1 Beverly D Stakes and the Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes. Combined purses for the three stakes races at the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing Presented by New Kent County are $2 million! All are very prestigious, have storied histories and all have been run for decades, mainly at Arlington International Racecourse which closed in 2021. Additional entertainment features being offered Saturday include a military flyover, honor guard, live bugler, musical performances, pony rides, petting zoo and a photo booth. Parking and general admission both remain free for this special event.

“Colonial Downs is taking things to a whole new level with these three stakes races under the new ownership of Churchill Downs,” said Frank Hopf, Senior Director of Racing Operations. “Our fans have come to expect a top rate experience and our first Festival of Racing will go beyond those expectations. Some of the top turf horses in the world will be running in New Kent County this Saturday and will bring international exposure to Virginia.”

The initial Arlington Milliontook place in 1981 and was the first thoroughbred race to ever offer a purse of $1 million. The Million, which received Grade 1 status in 1983, was geared to attract European horses before their year-end championship events in fall. The race annually attracts the best turf runners in the world.

The first Beverly D Stakes was run in 1987 and is for fillies and mares, three years of age and up. The stakes reached Grade 1 status in 1991. The winner of the 2023 Beverly D Stakes automatically advances to the “Cup” Championships at Santa Anita this November. Seven Beverly D winners have gone on to be voted American Championship Female Turf Horse.

The Secretariat Stakesis named for the horse whom many consider to be the greatest of all time. Secretariat was born, raised, and trained at The Meadow Farm in Caroline County. “Big Red” was the 9^th Triple Crown winner in 1973, sweeping the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont in record-setting times that still stand today.

The spectacular Secretariat “Racing into History” bronze statuewill be at Colonial Downs for fans to enjoy at the Festival of Racing. The breathtaking piece was sculpted by acclaimed artist Jocelyn Russell, who has trailered it to stops around the country this year including extended visits at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby, Pimlico Racecourse for the Preakness, and Belmont Park for the Belmont Stakes. The statue, which will be permanently based in Ashland if fundraising goals are met, is 1.5 times Secretariat’s actual size and showcases the horse racing full stride with jockey Ron Turcotte aboard.             

Premium tickets, full racing schedule and information for the Festival of Racing are available at www.colonialdowns.com 

About Colonial Downs

Colonial Downs Racetrack, in New Kent, Virginia, hosts live thoroughbred racing on two nationally renowned surfaces – the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest turf course in North America at 180 feet wide and on a 1 1/4-mile dirt track, second in length to only the world-famous Belmont Park.

The Colonial Downs Group, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums^® in Richmond, Hampton, New Kent, Vinton, and Dumfries which offer innovative historic horseracing (HHR) gaming technology and full card simulcasting as well as Rosie’s Game Room in Collinsville, which features a limited selection of some of their best HHR titles plus full card simulcasting. The 2023 live racing season, which consists of 27 days from July 13 through September 9, is highlighted by the Grade 1 Arlington Million, Grade 1 Beverly D. and Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes on August 12 and the Grade 3 New Kent County Virginia Derby on September 9.  The Beverly D. is a Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win & You’re In” race.

Cash Is King and LC Racing’s Carmelina and Ray Pennington III’s King Kontie are respective early favorites in co-featured $150,000 dirt sprint stakes for Virginia-Restricted 2-year-old horses Saturday (August 5) at Colonial Downs. The former heads a field of 11 in the Keswick Stakes for fillies while the latter heads a field of eight in the Hickory Tree for males. The pair will be contested as races 6 and 7 at the five-furlong distance.

Carmelina is a Robert Reid Jr. trainee who is fresh off a fifth place finish in the Grade 3 Schuylerville Stakes at Saratoga July 13. The Maximus Mischief filly dominated though by 5-3/4 lengths in a maiden special weight at Parx Jun 18 in her only other  start. Carmelina, 5-2 early will leave from post ten with Mychel Sanchez up. 

Ultra Championship Racing’s Ran Out of Trainer is the second choice, based off a gate-to-wire effort July 6 at Charles Town where she crossed 6-1/4 lengths the best in her sole career outing. The daughter of Tonalist is trained by Anthony Farrior and will be ridden by Horacio Karamanos from post seven.

Trainer John Robb has two entered in the stakes. No Guts No Glory Farm’s Remember Me and Super C Racing’s Buckin’ Great —  both coming off dirt wins at Laurel — will depart from posts three and six with Jose Betancourt and Xavier Perez in the irons respectively.

King Kontie impressed opening week at Colonial Downs with a gate-to-wire maiden special weight triumph. The Karakontie gelding took an eight length lead into the head of the stretch and crossed 5-3/4 lengths in front. Jockey Fredy Peltroche is back on top and will lead King Kontie from the inside post.

Robert Klimasewski and Tammy Klimasewski’s Going Up is the second early pick. The Mineshaft gelding reached the winners circle May 31 in his career bow at Presque Isle and most recently, took a respectable third in the Victoria Stakes at Woodbine. Ronald Dale Allen Jr. will ride for trainer Ron Potts from post three.       

Peggy Augustus, a successful owner and breeder who bred Eclipse Award winners Stellar Wind (Curlin) and Johnny D. (Stage Door Johnny), passed away Sunday at her home on her Old Keswick Farm in Charlottesville, VA. She was 90. Her death was confirmed by one of her former trainers, Bill Hirsch Jr.

“She was a great lady, just one of the best,” Hirsch said. “The thing I remember most about her was that, unlike most owners, she knew how to win and she knew how to lose. A lot of them don’t know how to lose. She never skimped on anything. Whatever her horses needed, no matter the cost or the effort it took to get something to me, she got it done. Her number one priority was always her horses. She was just a fabulous lady.”

Hirsch said that Augustus was suffering from breathing problems, which were worsening, and that she told friends and family that “it is time for me to go.”

Augustus, a member of the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame, was born in Cleveland Ohio before moving to Virginia in 1950. Before getting involved in racing, she was an active owner, trainer and rider who competed against men and professionals and won major championships throughout the United States
and Canada, including the National Horse Show at Madison Square Garden, the Devon Horse Show, the Royal Winter Fair, the Pennsylvania National and Virginia’s top four horse shows Hot Springs, Keswick, Deep Run, and Warrenton.

She is also a member of the Virginia Horse Show Hall of Fame and the National Horse Show Hall of Fame, and was a named a Living Legend of the National Horse Show in 1996. In 1997, she was elected into the Hunter Hall of Fame. In 2008, she told the website virginialiving.com, that she had been interested in racing since she was 10 years old and started compiling statistics on horses running at the Chicago tracks.
Before she was old enough to attend a day at the track, her mother, Elizabeth, would sneak her into the races.

“You had to be 21 to get into the racetracks back then,” she told the website. “If I picked less than four winners, it was a bad day.”

As a teenager she was heavily influenced by involved in showing and briefly lost interest in racing. In 1952, the Augustus family bought Old Keswick Farm in Virginia, where Elizabeth was involved in raising
Thoroughbreds. When her father died in 1963, Peggy moved to Old Keswick and carried on the breeding business with her mother under the name Keswick Stables. According to Virginia Living, Augustus bred 48 stakes winners.

One of her first stars as a breeder was Johnny D., who was owned by Dana Bray. A foal of 1974, his biggest wins came in the 1977 GI Washington D.C. International and the 1977 Turf Classic International S. He was named champion turf male of 1977. Her next big horse as a breeder was Husband (Diesis), who she also campaigned. After racing in France, his biggest win came in the 1993 GI Rothman=s International S. at Woodbine. After his racing career was over, Husband wound up in South America. Augustus would buy him back from his new owner and let him live out his final years at Keswick.

For Augustus, Stellar Wind, who she bred along with Stonestreet Thoroughbred Holdings, was somewhat of a last hurrah. Sold for just $40,000 at the 2013 Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, the mare went on to win six Grade I races and was named champion 3-year-old filly in 2015. Stellar Wind was the last offspring of the last mare bred by Keswick Stables. Stellar Wind finished fourth in the GI Kentucky Oaks as the 3-1 favorite.

Augustus also enjoyed great success at the sales. In 1984, she sold a yearling colt by Roberto at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga to Hugh de Burgh, who was representing Maktoum bin Rashid al Maktoum, for $4 million. It was the second highest price for a horse sold at that sale. According to her profile on the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame website, Augustus also sold a filly at Saratoga for $2.1 million and she is the only person in the history of the Saratoga sales to have bred and sold five yearlings that went on to win more than a million dollars.

“If she was not the best small breeder in the world during the lates ‘70’s early ‘80’s she certainly was right up there,” said Debbie Easter, Executive Director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association. “She sold million-dollar yearlings every year at Saratoga. The champions and G1 runners she bred or co-bred during that time was amazing; Stellar Wind, Husband, Johnny D., Alwuhush, Sabin and Simply Majestic.

Virginia racing fans may remember Bop, also bred by Keswick Stables, who won the Punch Line Stakes at Colonial Downs three consecutive years, from 2001-2003. The son of Rahy earned $365,766, won 12 of 23 starts, and set track records at the five-furlong distance in three of them (at Penn National, Gulfstream and Colonial).

JULY 10, 1951 – JULY 18, 2023

Obituary – Jack Mason Weaver

IN THE CARE OF

Clore-English Funeral Home

Jack Mason Weaver, age 72, of Culpeper, Virginia passed away on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 at VCU Hospital in Richmond, VA. He was born July 10, 1951 to the late Jack D. And Betty Priest Weaver. He graduated from Culpeper County High School and Smithdeal-Massey College.

Jack Mason was a third generation car dealer at Dick C. Weaver & Son. He loved horse racing, UVA athletics and his many, many friends. Jack spent countless days over the years playing horses with friends at Colonial Downs. There was a Celebration of Jack’s life Tuesday, July 25, 2023 from 2:00 p.m. until 5:00 p.m. at Peppers Grill, 791 Madison Road, Culpeper, VA.

New Kent, Va. (July 27, 2023) — Colonial Downs, working jointly with the Virginia HBPA and Virginia Racing Commission, today announced it is cancelling the Saturday, July 29 racing program out of an abundance of caution due to excessive heat forecast. The Saturday cancellation is in addition to the previously announced cancellation of Friday’s card.

Friday races will be brought back as drawn on Wednesday, August 2, with a 1:30 p.m. ET post time. There will be an additional race date to be announced to account for Saturday’s program.

The National Weather Service is predicting temperatures in the upper 90s and heat indices ranging from 105 – 110 degrees for Friday and Saturday.