The following appeared in drf.com February 18 and was written by Dan Illman. Coffeewithchris is Virginia Certified and spent his residency at Horseshoe Hill Farm in Ashland.
LAUREL, Md. – Coffeewithchris earned his second stakes victory when upsetting odds-on favorite Prince of Jericho in the Miracle Wood for 3-year-olds at one mile on Saturday at Laurel Park.
The Miracle Wood was one of four $100,000 undercard stakes races on the Winter Spectacular program co-headlined by two $250,000 stakes, the Grade 3 General George and Grade 3 Barbara Fritchie.
The Miracle Wood was the third meeting between Coffeewithchris and Prince of Jericho, with Coffeewithchris kicking off the rivalry with a 2 1/2-length win in the Heft traveling seven furlongs on Dec. 30.
Prince of Jericho gained revenge on Coffeewithchris when they met in the Spectacular Bid on Jan. 21. In that race, also at seven furlongs, Prince of Jericho swept by Coffeewithchris on the turn, then drew off to win by four lengths.
“What really screwed me up more in the [Spectacular Bid] was that they canceled a week,” trainer John Salzman Jr. said regarding frigid temperatures that forced local horsemen to adapt their training schedules.
“We had to get him ready off his biggest race of his life getting back to running another big race in three weeks, and that’s hard to do when a horse gives his best effort.”
“I got too confident with him on the turn,” winning rider Jaime Rodriguez said about the Spectacular Bid. “When he made that move, Carol [Cedeno, Prince of Jericho’s jockey] attacked me early.”
It was a different scenario in the rubber match as Coffeewithchris settled just off pacesetter Feeling Woozy through fractions of 23.79 seconds and 46.79 while Prince of Jericho raced in and among horses in midpack.
Rodriguez made the first move with Coffeewithchris, and they took over the lead turning into the long stretch after six furlongs in 1:11.69.
Cedeno wheeled Prince of Jericho to the far outside and seemingly had all the momentum, but Coffeewithchris always had a little bit more.
At the wire, it was Coffeewithchris by 1 1/4 lengths over Prince of Jericho, with Feeling Woozy another 2 1/2 lengths back in third. Then came B West, Riccio, We Dont Need Road, and Seven’s Eleven.
Coffeewithchris completed the distance in 1:37.54 and returned $9.40 as the second choice in the betting.
Salzman told Daily Racing Form earlier this week that he was worried about the distance, and Rodriguez echoed the sentiment.
“I was a little bit,” he said. “I let him break and get comfortable. Today, he surprised me, because I literally asked him, and he responded right away. He never gave up.”
Coffeewithchris was bred in Maryland by Dr. Thomas Rooney. A son of Ride On Curlin, he was purchased by Salzman for $2,000 as a yearling.
“I bought him off Shamrock Farm,” Salzman said. “I saw him, and I liked him, and he wasn’t bringing no money. It scared me when I bought him. For $2,000, I figured he had a broken leg or something. Knock on wood, he’s okay and he’s been very nice for me.”
Coffeewithchris is owned by Salzman in partnership with Fred Wasserloos and Anthony Geruso. He has won 3 of 10 starts and earned $201.850
Trainer Brittany Russell was pleased with Prince of Jericho’s effort.
“Carol said he wasn’t necessarily comfortable down inside,” Russell said. “He was jostled around a bit on the backside. She had to get him out and get him running. He galloped out good.”
The following appeared on the kentuckyderby.com website. The 2023 “Run for the Roses” will be contested May 6 at Churchill Downs. Fans in Virginia can wager the big event at any Rosie’s Gaming Emporium, VA-Horseplay OTB, at the Virginia Gold Cup Races and at Shenandoah Downs, and online via Twinspires.com, TVG.com, Xpressbet.com and NYRABts.com.
Fifty years after Virginia-bred Secretariat took the Triple Crown by storm, a champion colt with deep connections to the Old Dominion is the early favorite for the 2023 Kentucky Derby (G1). Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) hero Forte is a Kentucky-bred who grew up as a yearling in the Bluegrass. But he spent much of his babyhood at breeder Amy Moore’s South Gate Farm in Virginia, under the care of his accomplished Virginia-bred mother.
That mare, Queen Caroline, was a remarkable first purchase for Moore. A retired attorney with an equestrian background from her formative years, Moore wanted to get involved in racing and breeding. While scouting out fillies at the 2014 Keeneland September Yearling Sale, she came across a lovely daughter of champion Blame, best known for holding off Hall of Famer Zenyatta in the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1).
The Blame filly was bred by Morgan’s Ford Farm in Virginia, but the geographical connection was not at all what caught Moore’s eye.
“It was happenstance,” Moore said. “I went to Keeneland and looked at yearling fillies. I wanted a filly because I wanted to be able to breed it if I had any success racing it.
“She was the only one on my list that got an A+ for conformation – a really pretty filly.”
Moore purchased her for $170,000 and came up with a clever name. Alluding to both her sire and dam, the stakes-winning Queens Plaza, she was named for a queen who came in for blame…Queen Caroline.
The estranged consort of King George IV, Caroline of Brunswick was caught up in an early 19th-century British royal scandal. They were married when George was still Prince of Wales, but the union was doomed from the start, and they were soon living separate lives. The crisis point came when George acceded to the throne, and he sought to divorce Caroline on the grounds of adultery. She was far more popular than George, however, and his effort failed. Nevertheless, Caroline was still barred from his coronation in July 1821, and she died soon after.
The equine Queen Caroline would turn out much happier.
“She was the first horse of any kind I actually owned,” Moore noted, since in her youthful riding days, she was always on other people’s horses.
Moore chose Michael Matz as her trainer, citing the combination of his horsemanship and proximity at Fair Hill in Maryland. Matz’s highlights in Thoroughbred racing include training 2006 Kentucky Derby legend Barbaro, but his experience goes well back to his days on the show jumping circuit.
“I knew of him, because in my youth I had been a show horse rider at the time he was a Grand Prix rider. I knew him as an excellent horseman,” Moore said. “I wanted to have a horse at Fair Hill, which is a place I can get to and return from in a day’s drive. It’s a nice training facility for a horse – they get turn-out places and woods to go through.”
Under Matz’s tutelage, Queen Caroline became a multiple stakes winner who earned $401,608. She was twice honored as a champion among Virginia-breds, taking top three-year-old filly honors in 2016 and the turf female title in 2017.
Queen Caroline retired after a limited 2018 campaign. Visiting the well-bred Violence in 2019, she delivered a flashy colt with four white feet on February 3, 2020, at the Cowles family’s Gunston Hall Farm near Lexington, Kentucky. There was one other noticeable thing about the newborn.
“He was born with floppy ears,” Moore recalled. “His ears flopped like a puppy! But they straightened out in a few days after he was born.”
Although a first-time mother, Queen Caroline took on her new role like a pro.
“She was a good mother right from the start,” Moore said. “She is a class act!”
Queen Caroline remained at Gunston Hall as she prepared to be bred back to champion Uncle Mo. Thus her colt spent his first couple of months in the Bluegrass, tended by Larmon Cowles and his team.
Once Queen Caroline was safely in foal again, mother and son went home in early May 2020 to South Gate Farm near Millwood, Virginia. Here are Queen Caroline with her colt (left) and their paddock mates, the mare Rose to Fame and her foal (a Cairo Prince colt who would be named Prince of Roses).
The colt was nicknamed “Gaudy” because of his snazzy white socks, but his personality was more introverted than his markings at that stage.
“Before he was weaned, he was quite shy,” Moore revealed. “He tended to hide behind his mother when you went into the stall.
“Once he was weaned, he blossomed. He was bold and very friendly. He liked to be petted and liked to be scratched.”
“Gaudy” enjoyed learning the art of eating carrots, as taught by Moore’s niece, Emily Ellis (pictured above, holding him to get the right angle for his registration photo). He munched on something else too – his paddock buddy’s tail, chewing the end of it right off!
Later that fall, the weanling would bid adieu to his Virginia family and return to Kentucky for the Keeneland November Breeding Stock Sale. There he was sold for $80,000 as a weanling to Silver Hill, a venture of Eaton Sales impresario Reiley McDonald who operates Athens Woods Farm near Lexington, Kentucky.
McDonald had expected to pay more for the weanling, purchased with a view toward reselling as a yearling. But sire Violence wasn’t that hot a commodity at the time. McDonald noticed that the colt had a bit of a lump on his back, near the tail, but surmised it was just a fatty deposit. Sure enough, that’s all it was, and it gradually went away on its own.
As the yearling developed, he continued to be both handsome and outgoing.
“There’s always one or two of them you get a special feeling for,” McDonald said, and this colt inspired just that kind of inkling.
“He was such a striking horse,” ever the one to catch your eye while driving around the farm.
“He was pretty, almost black, with the white on his face. He was so balanced and leggy that you could tell he was going to grow into a tall horse.”
The colt’s leadership of his paddock mates also set him apart.
“If you happened to be walking through the farm,” McDonald said, “he was always the first to trot over. He wanted to be scratched behind the ear.”
Then the rest of the colts would follow.
“He was ‘the man’ out in the field, the leader. Where he went, they went.”
Under the Eaton banner, the yearling was offered back at Keeneland in September. He brought a little more at $110,000, but that was a bargain considering the hefty sums spent by his high-profile buyers – Mike Repole’s Repole Stable and Vincent Viola’s St. Elias – on other yearlings. Jacob West of West Bloodstock and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher were among the advisory team who found the youngster.
The yet-unnamed colt was sent straightaway to Ocala Stud for his early education. Part of Florida racing lore as the Sunshine State’s oldest operating Thoroughbred nursery, Ocala Stud has ties to several Kentucky Derby winners. Needles, the first Florida-bred to wear the roses in 1956, hailed from the property when it belonged to Dickey Stables. Carry Back (1961) was born, raised, and first trained at Ocala Stud, and both Unbridled (1990) and Street Sense (2007) went to school here.
Forte was a “really nice horse from day one,” Ocala Stud’s David O’Farrell observed. “He was very forward, very early. He always wanted to do more.”
As the curriculum advanced, Forte stood out.
“When he started breezing, he was a cut above the rest,” O’Farrell said. “He was always the head of the class. He was ‘the man.’
“We always felt like he could be a really good horse, from the day he stepped off the van.”
When Pletcher was in town for OBS March, the star pupil was pointed out as one ready to begin his program early in the spring. The juvenile accordingly graduated from Ocala.
Posting his first official work at Pletcher’s Palm Beach Downs base on Apr. 1, 2022, he stretched his legs a quarter-mile in :25.16. He would then receive the honorable name Forte, “strength” in Italian.
Forte proved strong indeed on the racetrack. After romping as the 1-5 favorite in his May 27 debut at Belmont Park, he was a rallying fourth in the Sanford (G3) on a deeper, tiring surface at Saratoga. Forte was back in winning form next time out at the Spa in the Hopeful (G1). In the process, he topped a remarkable all-Eaton graduate trifecta with Gulfport and Blazing Sevens. Forte successfully stretched out to two turns in the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) at Keeneland, prevailing in a terrific battle with Loggins, then clinched his Eclipse Award in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.
Meanwhile, his yearling half-brother was making headlines too. Queen Caroline’s 2021 foal by Uncle Mo turned out to be quite a stunner. Touring the sales ring at Keeneland September, after Forte’s Hopeful victory, he commanded $850,000 from Ocala’s Mayberry Farm. The Uncle Mo youngster is currently limbering up at Mayberry, whose famous graduates include Hall of Famer Zenyatta, 2022 Derby upsetter Rich Strike, and recently crowned Horse of the Year Flightline.
Queen Caroline will meet Flightline himself soon. She’s among the stellar mares booked to the unbeaten champion in his first season at stud. By the first Saturday in May, she could be carrying a half-sibling to the Derby winner.
McDonald is delighted for Repole and Viola.
“I have a lot of respect for both gentlemen,” McDonald said. “I happen to know Vinnie quite well, and it makes it so much fun to see him having so much fun with a one-of-a-kind racehorse.”
Photo credits:
Photos of Forte as a newborn and 10-day-old at Gunston Hall Farm by Larmon Cowles Photo of Forte running in the field at South Gate Farm by Emily Ellis Photos of Forte as an older foal and weanling at South Gate Farm by Amy Moore Photo of Forte winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by Horsephotos.com
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – February XX, 2023 – The Virginia Equine Alliance – a non-profit, 501 (c) 6 organization that sustains, promotes and expands the horse breeding and horse racing industries in Virginia – has announced Jill Byrne as its new vice president of strategic planning.
“Byrne is a wonderful fit for the role, especially with her decades of experience in the horse racing and breeding industries,” said Jeb Hannum, executive director of the VEA. “From being in the heart of it by exercising horses, to working in strategic communications roles, Byrne has a thorough understanding of the industries.”
The organization will work with Byrne’s depth of industry expertise to further advance the community’s understanding and enthusiasm for horse breeding and racing.
Byrne’s other roles throughout her career have included serving as an on-air personality for TVG, the director of broadcast and programming for Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, the director of industry relations for the Breeders Cup and, most recently, the vice president of racing operations for Colonial Downs here in Virginia.
“I like to say that my career in the industry truly began when I was much younger, growing up on the farm and working with horses, from exercising them to caring for them,” Byrne said. “I am grateful to have had both hands-on experience as well as experience in strategically promoting the industries.”
Raised in Barboursville, Virginia, Byrne grew up on a horse farm with two parents who were both accomplished equestrians. She attended a boarding school near Belmont Park racetrack, and while most students her age may have chosen to spend their weekends differently, Byrne remembers fondly spending weekends with her father at the track.
“My love for the industry began at such a young age, and it has been a part of my life ever since,” Byrne said. “Growing up in Virginia, I have a close connection and passion for the horse breeding and racing industries here.”
Byrne attended the University of Virginia, where she studied history and political science, but her passions led her back to the racetrack. She has worked with many top horses, including Favorite Trick, who eventually became the only other two-year-old horse to win the honor of Eclipse Horse of the Year, aside from the world-renowned Secretariat.
One of Byrne’s passions is thoroughbred aftercare, meaning the care given to thoroughbred racehorses after their racing career is over to ensure a meaningful life beyond the racetrack. Currently, she works with the Virginia Thoroughbred Project based in Montpelier, Virginia.
Byrne says that she is looking forward to promoting and advancing Virginia’s horse breeding and racing industries in her new role with the VEA.
To learn more about the Virginia Equine Alliance and Virginia’s horse racing and breeding industries, please visit www.virginiahorseracing.com.
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About Virginia Equine Alliance
The Virginia Equine Alliance is a non-profit, 501 (c) 6 organization which is comprised of the Virginia Harness Horse Association, the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association, the Virginia Gold Cup Association, and the Virginia Thoroughbred Association. The purpose of the Virginia Equine Alliance is to sustain, promote, and expand the horse breeding and horse racing industries in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The Alliance seeks to establish and support new and multiple venues for horse racing in the Commonwealth and to advocate and support legislation, regulations, and rules beneficial to the breeders and owners and trainers of horses (“horsemen”) in the state. The Alliance represents the interests of horsemen at meetings of the Virginia General Assembly, the Virginia Department of Agriculture, the Virginia Racing Commission, racing associations, breeder’s organizations, horsemen’s organizations, and other like groups. The Alliance is committed to increasing public awareness of the economic and environmental importance to the Commonwealth of the horse breeding and horse racing industries
Congratulations to two longtime Virginia horse racing industry employees —- who both started working at the Colonial Downs Off Track Betting Center in Alberta in December, 1997 —- and are still working at Colonial Downs, some 25 years later!
Paulette Coleman and Karen Henson started work the same day that December and neither could have imagined they would still be working together a quarter century later. At the time, pari-mutuel horse racing was still very new to Virginia. Off Track Betting sites first opened in 1996 in Chesapeake and Richmond then the Colonial Downs track itself opened in September, 1997. OTBs on Hampton and Alberta followed shortly after the inaugural meet in New Kent.
Paulette Coleman and Karen Henson started working together at the Colonial Downs Alberta OTB in December, 1997.
Coleman worked four years in Alberta before relocating to manage Colonial’s old Richmond OTB location on Hull Street. She since has managed the former Richmond West Broad Street OTB and the Breakers Sports Grille OTB and even now, serves as Horsemen’s Bookkeeper for the summer thoroughbred meet in addition to her OTB duties. Henson spent 17 years at Alberta and after that location closed, managed the Windmill OTB in Collinsville before transferring to Breakers where she is currently based. She also works at the New Kent track during the summer races.
“I love the customers, the excitement of horse racing, and the big days especially,” said Coleman. “I absolutely love it. It’s in my blood. I’ve enjoyed 25-plus years of making friends. Just the other day, my supervisor said that ‘you know everybody no matter where you go’. Horseplayers travel around so you see many of the same ones at the various sites.”
Henson echoed those same sentiments. “It’s the customers,” she said. “I enjoy the aspect of listening to the customers and forming relationships. We’re just like an extended family. They let us know how they are doing. We genuinely want to know that so we can provide a better experience for them. It’s also a privilege to work the live race meet and hear the horses run, which adds another layer of enjoyment for me. This is so much better than any other job I’ve ever had.”
The Breakers Sports Grille OTB is located in the Ollie’s Shopping Plaza on West Broad Street in Henrico.
Because pari-mutuel wagering was still new to Virginians in the late ’90’s, times were different and both ladies have fond memories of those early days in Alberta.
“It was the best of times there,” recalled Coleman. “The place was jumping on the weekends. The betting line was full of tellers, the place was full of customers. It was just a wonderful atmosphere. Racing was new to us so we were surprised at the number of people that already knew how to bet. And then you had locals who wanted to see what it was all about and they wanted to learn how to bet.”
After the initial version of Colonial Downs closed in 2014, Coleman and Henson went on to work elsewhere for a short period of time at Lowe’s and at a propane company respectively. But as soon as the Virginia Equine Alliance opened up a slate of OTBs in 2016, both jumped back into racing without hesitation — in Henrico and Collinsville.
“I missed it,” said Henson. “Horse racing is exciting and fun, especially when you have money in the game and you’re cheering your horse on. We have a lot of longtime players at Breakers but the fun aspect is showing new customers how to play, then watching them build on the knowledge you gave them and what they get from other customers too. It’s neat to see that transition take place.”
“Many people think we don’t want them to win,” added Coleman. “We want them to win. New customers especially think it’s like a casino where they play against the house. We want them to win and bring two or three people back the next time, and have those people bring another two or three back on their next visit to have fun. When you see excitement in their faces from winning, we get excited too. We’re rooting for them. We’ll yell right with them — “come on five, come on five!”
Kentucky Derby prep race season is in full swing now and most every weekend thru mid-April features key stakes races for three-year-old horses, all of whom are battling to secure a spot in the Churchill Downs starting gate on Saturday May 6. Fans can wager the action at either of the two VA-Horseplay OTBs — in Henrico at Breakers Sports Grille (9127 West Broad St) and in Chesapeake at Buckets Bar and Grill (228 North Battlefield Blvd). The six Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums also feature a simulcast area to watch and wager races from up to 20 different tracks daily. Online betting is also available via Twinspires.com, TVG.com, Xpressbet.com and NYRAbets.com.
The following appeared on richmond.com December 27, 2022 and was written by Jerry Lindquist.
Virginia has never been considered a major player in the world of Thoroughbred horse racing, but recent developments have thrust it into the national spotlight.
Famed operator Churchill Downs finalized its purchase of Colonial Downs earlier this year, and did not waste any time making good on its promise to deliver high-stakes racing to the commonwealth.
The company is moving two of its Grade 1 stakes races, the highest rating given by the sport’s sanctioning body, to the New Kent track for the 2023 season.
The Arlington Million, Beverly D. Stakes and Secretariat Stakes (a Grade 2 race) will be held August 12 at Colonial Downs in a one-day extravaganza of racing that Churchill’s executive director of racing, Gary Palmisano, thinks will be worthy of national network television – possibly on NBC.
The move didn’t come without controversy. The Arlington race was moved from the company’s now-shuttered track in suburban Chicago, and the Kentucky-to-Virginia move is a major switch within the industry.
The American Graded Stakes Committee, entrusted with regulating designations, met Churchill’s request to move the races after what was described as one of the most contentious discussions since the 11-member group was formed 49 years ago. In the end, industry publication Horse Racing Nation reported that the vote in favor was 6-to-5.
It’s another switch, though, that made waves locally.
The track is switching from its Monday-through-Wednesday racing formula – which produced record wagering – to Thursday-through-Saturday for the 2023 meet, which will run from July 13 to September 9. (Post time will be 1:30 p.m.)
“We could have hit the easy button and ran Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays … like every person we talked to has told us to do. Folks think we are crazy,” Palmisano said at a recent Virginia Racing Commission meeting. “We understand the challenge … and ask for a year to navigate through the process, make this the best we can make it, then re-assess.”
The Commission expressed concern during its Dec. 14th gathering that the new times would go head-to-head with the more prestigious races being run at Saratoga.
While Churchill’s vice-president for gaming operations, Jack Sours, acknowledged it was a gamble, he said the goal was to attract larger in-person attendance. To accomplish that meant Fridays and Saturdays and, down the road, Sundays – with twilight racing as well.
In 2022, Colonial’s average live attendance for 26 days (one day was lost to hot weather) was about 1,700 … which accounted for only 10 percent of the betting handle.
In 2011, the Virginia Derby drew a reported 10,100 for the event’s first night race. More than 5,000 were on hand for this year’s Derby when the 11-race card generated a track-record handle of $6.5 million, surpassing last year’s former standard of $4.8 million.
At the VRC meeting held at Colonial, Frank Petramalo, the longtime executive director of the Virginia horsemen’s association, questioned the change, noting Colonial used the Thursday-through-Saturday format for one year after the track re-opened in 2019 … and betting had more than doubled since then.
He noted the average off-track handle went from approximately $1.1 million daily (2019) to $2.2M (2021) and $2.8M (2022), both track records.
In addition, Petramalo questioned Churchill’s expectations of significantly increasing live attendance at Colonial Downs. And, neither did he buy their argument that Saratoga, which will have a 1:05 post time, seldom started on time and therefore Colonial Downs should not be hurt badly by betting on races at the iconic track in upstate New York.
“Let’s not kid ourselves … in this digital age … most racing is watched on TV and the internet … and that’s reflected by the people who are wagering. It’s nice to have fans at the track, but let’s be realistic. If a [bettor] has a choice between watching a card at Saratoga or Colonial Downs … I’m sorry … but it’s going to be Saratoga,” said Petramalo, who indicated the horsemen would favor Sunday-through-Tuesday here instead. “It’s crazy to give up our Mondays and Tuesdays. We’ve established ourselves. We’re beating everyone else in the market. Let’s look at the data … not go on wishful thinking.”
The commission heard Petramalo but didn’t listen, voting 5-0 to approve Churchill’s plan for the coming year.
Details haven’t been announced – like purse structure – but the Arlington and Beverly D. will be the first top-level Thoroughbred races held at Colonial, although it’s doubtful either will pay more than the $1 million that first Colonial owner Jeff Jacobs handed out for the Virginia Derby in 2006 and 2007.
That was part of his ill-fated, thee-year “Grand Slam of Grass,” a four-race affair that included the Secretariat Stakes. It also marked the Virginia Derby’s first of 11 Grade 2 runnings at Colonial Downs. Now Grade 3, the 2023 Virginia Derby will close the meet on Sept. 9.
Palmisano said daily purses would remain at $600,000 or more, which naturally pleased Petramalo, even though he wondered how that record-track amount under the former owners could be maintained by switching dates.
“I know we’re diving into the deep end,” Palmisano said. “But we’re going to make it happen.”
Colonial Downs race dates for 2023 were approved at the Virginia Racing Commission’s December 14 meeting, and the 27-day, 9-week meet features a move to partial weekend racing after several years of operating on a Monday-Tuesday-Wednesday afternoon schedule.
The summer campaign will run from July 13 – September 9 with racing every Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 1:30 PM. The 20th running of the $300,000 Grade 3 Virginia Derby is scheduled for closing day, Saturday September 9. A request has also been made to the American Graded Stakes Committee, as of press time, to consider running a pair of Grade 1 stakes, the Arlington Million and Beverly D, along with the Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes, at Colonial on Saturday August 12. The 2023 live race meet will be the first at Colonial Downs under the operation of new owners, Churchill Downs Incorporated (“CDI”).
A view of Colonial Downs’ finish line during the VRC’s meeting in New Kent December 14.
“There were many considerations taken into account to arrive with this schedule,” said Jack Sours, VP of Gaming for CDI. “The long-term goal of Churchill Downs is to offer racing on weekends. That is our goal to be clear. We feel racing on Thursday, Friday and Saturday is a good first step toward that. This will allow more fans to enjoy racing in New Kent and will allow us to run the Virginia Derby on a Saturday.”
The 2021 and 2022 Virginia Derbies were both held on a Tuesday. The ’22 edition attracted an all-time record handle of $6.5 million. The overall ’22 meet itself offered $612,000 in average daily purses, had 8.35 starters per race and saw 1,382 horses from 321 trainers compete in the 9-week session. Approximately 40,000 fans attended the races on track.
Capensis, with jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., captured the 2022 Virginia Derby (Coady Photography).
“Another consideration in this process was finding a consistency in the post times. As we enter into this more competitive schedule, we need fans to be able to find our signal easily. Saratoga normally starts at 1:05 PM or a little bit after, so we can start after their first race and continue in that manner through the afternoon. Another key consideration was the ship-ins. We have a lot of horses that ship from Maryland and other areas so by having consistent matinee post times, it will be easier for them to plan and then get back home at a reasonable hour.”
From a fan standpoint, the new management team will face some hurdles.
“Moving to new days and times will require a lot of human resources,” added Sours. “We have to staff the place to accommodate large Saturday crowds and we know that’s not going to be an easy challenge. We’re all aware of staffing issues these days but we’re committed to overcome that challenge. There’s also the logistic piece as to how this will all flow,” he continued. “We want to get our feet on the ground with this new schedule, then can always come back with further adjustments. The final consideration is the opportunity to host corporate outings on Thursdays and Fridays. We have found success with that piece at our other properties. It will give us a chance to expose racing to a new audience and drive attendance.”
Summer racing in New Kent provides unique scenes on occasion.
Sours said HHR handle is on pace for $3.9 billion this year, a 25% increase over the prior year. He expects that Colonial will add more Historical Horse Racing (HHR) terminals in 2023 which could result in additional race dates come 2024. There are currently 2,606 machines in operation between six Rosie’s Gaming Emporium sites. He projects that two more could come on board as early as September next year. The Rosie’s in Emporia will have 150 and the first phase of “The Rose” gaming resort in Dumfries is expected to open with 1,150 terminals.
“More HHR means more race dates,” said Sours. This will allow us to add more dates and possibly race over the entire weekend instead of just Saturdays. We may even explore evening racing in the future but we need to understand the entire operation first before we can even think about that. That’s something we’ll have to work towards.”
Gary Palmisano, CDI’s Executive Director of Racing, spoke at the meeting and addressed the strong safety record of Colonial’s turf and dirt surfaces. “It’s a very well kept track and we want to continue to maintain what already is in place,” he said. “The track crew that has been on board — that includes Harrison Young, Ken Brown and James Jackson — will not change.”
Horses will be out of the gate July 13 at Colonial Downs (Coady Photography).
Palmisano noted the 50th anniversary of Secretariat’s Triple Crown run will be an important element of Colonial’s promotional focus in 2023 especially if the Secretariat Stakes is held in New Kent along with the other two Grade 1 stakes.
“It will take some doing, but if we are able to get those three historically important stakes here on August 12th, our vision is to make that one of the biggest days in Virginia horse racing history with thousands of people on hand. There isn’t a Grade I stakes in this area after Preakness Day.”
Another key Saturday event will be the annual Virginia-Bred Stakes Day along with others in the planning stage. “We’re talking to a lot of people about promotions that can bring people in. Our goal is to make every Saturday a really big event day.”
Work has begun in earnest to make the 2023 meet under CDI’s leadership a success. “Folks think we’re crazy for taking on this schedule,” said Poliseno. “We could have hit the easy button and continued to run on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday like everyone told us to do. We just want to have one year to navigate this new schedule and see how it goes.”
Updates in the coming days will be available at virginiahorseracing.com and vabred.org. `
One thing will certainly be different. The new track owners will move forward without Jill Byrne, who served as Colonial’s Vice-President of Racing Operations from its 2019 reincarnation following a six-year stoppage. Under Byrne’s leadership, Colonial attracted a wide array of horses and horsemen, achieved record wagering handle figures, and maintained a strong safety record.
Byrne spent much of her professional career with Churchill Downs, first as an on-air signal host and later directing broadcast operations, helping to modernize the way racing, including the Kentucky Derby, is received.
So it might have seemed a logical fit for her to remain in her Colonial role for the new ownership. In fact, Byrne said she was encouraged to stay on at Colonial and had praise for both Churchill and the situation the company will inherit in Virginia.
“I appreciate the offer from Churchill Downs to stay on at Colonial Downs,” Byrne said. “Churchill is like horseracing family to me. I was there a long time and have some incredible friends and colleagues there. I have huge respect for management. They are extremely smart — very sharp at what they do. One thing I’ve shared with them is that the sky is the limit in Virginia for the horse industry. Churchill Downs has the team and resources to support the continued growth in Virginia and success that I’m proud to be a big part of the last four years.”
Colonial, which began racing in 1997, was shuttered following its 2013 meet amid acrimonious disputes between the state’s horsemen and then-track owner Jacobs Entertainment. When the state legislature approved “historical horse racing” machines, leading to the sale of Colonial, Byrne was approached by the new owners with “an opportunity just way too exciting and challenging for me to turn down.”
That allowed her not only to spearhead the return of racing to Colonial but to do so in her home state. Byrne grew up in Virginia, her father Peter Howe a trainer for Marion duPont Scott, who had horses at Belmont Park and at Montpelier, James Madison’s Virginia estate, which she owned.
From 2019, Jill Byrne at Colonial’s annual turf burn. Photo by Nick Hahn.
It was perhaps Byrne’s work ethic and success with Colonial’s quick rise that contributed among other factors in turning down the chance to circle back with Churchill Downs. Byrne, visibly and invisibly, managed Colonial’s return in 2019 from a five-week, 15-day meet to a record-breaking 27-day meet conducted over nine weeks in 2022.
The complexities and logistics of a growing seasonal meet in a state that doesn’t have year-round racing required demanding “minute-by-minute, boots-on-the-ground, A-to-Z operations,” Byrne said.
Average daily handle in 2022 reached nearly $2.9 million, a record for the facility. Each of the final two days of this year’s meet saw more than $6 million wagered on Colonial’s product – the two best days in the track’s history.
“It was four years of what we did to get to this point to make Colonial Downs and Virginia racing so valuable to Churchill Downs,” observed Byrne. “It was exhausting and rewarding at the same time when you’re the one person responsible for the entire racing part of it — the safety and everything that goes with it. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.”
As rewarding as it was, however, it’s important for Byrne not to have her decision confused.
“It’s my choice, my decision, my future which is very important to me. It was going to have to be change regardless,” explained Byrne. “I’ve seen what Churchill can do, and I think they are going to be a huge asset.”
Byrne, with Stall Superintendent Carlos Garcia.
Byrne was born and raised in Virginia, and most of her family lives nears Charlottesville. She graduated from the University of Virginia before moving to Kentucky. Byrne’s father passed away in September. The event may have changed her family dynamic, but don’t expect it to put her out to pasture. She’s resolved in her commitment towards racing’s future.
“I look forward to continue to make a positive impact in the horse racing industry that has literally been my life from the day I was born and that my dad made sure that I took on every challenge and got me where I am today,” she said.
The Virginia Thoroughbred Association is pleased to welcome long-time thoroughbred breeder Patricia Ramey to its Board of Directors. She will be replacing Jim Fitzgerald, who had to resign his seat due to out-of-state work obligations.
Patricia has been involved in Virginia horse racing since 1991. Her Hunt Ridge Stables are based at the Blue Ridge Farm in Upperville — a venue that has served as a horse breeding farm since 1903. The property includes three broodmare stables, two stallion stables, training stables and an implement shed. The property was purchased by Rear Admiral Cary Travers Grayson in 1928 and it is still owned today by members of the Grayson family.
Patricia has been quite active since that initial mare purchase in ’91. She acquired more mares shortly after and even purchased a stallion from Edward Evans’s farm.
Fast forward to 2022 where she has foaled 34 mares, many of which were from out of state — 12 from West Virginia with others from South Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and of course, Virginia.
She partners with Susan Cooney in equine ventures as well. Patricia foals Susan’s mares and raises the babies, then when Patricia has a horse to race, Susan serves as trainer. This year, Patricia took 7 yearlings — of hers and Cooney’s — to the VTA’s annual Yearling Futurity at the Warrenton Horse Show Grounds. One of those won Reserve Champion honors — Pretty Jimmy, who is owned by Quest Realty and was bred by Dan Wukich.
Congratulations to Patricia and we all look forward to her further contributions to Virginia racing and breeding as a VTA Board member.
The 21st annual Virginia Breeders Fund Yearling Futurity was held September 13 at the Warrenton Horse Show Grounds which again saw solid participation from twenty different breeders who were competing for $40,000 in awards.
Prize money of $7,500 was distributed that day in each of four classes — VA-Bred/Sired yearling colts/geldings, VA-Bred/Sired yearling fillies, VA-Certified colts/geldings and VA-Certified fillies. Grooms were recognized as well with awards in each division and in the championship class.
A total of $5,000 in bonus monies will also be split between top earning Virginia-Bred/Sired participants at the end of their three-year-old seasons — based on earnings at that time. An identical prize pool and deciding factors will apply to Virginia-Certified Yearling participants as well.
2022 Yearling Futurity Grand Champion is an Un-named bay by Cooper Bullet, shown with owner Sara Miller of Timbercreek Farm, the VEA’s Jeb Hannum and event judge Frank Shipp.
Event judge was Frank Shipp, who compared each entrant’s conformation, quality, substance and suitability to become racehorses. The top two finishers in each of the four classes returned to compete for Futurity Grand Champion and Champion Reserve honors.
The Grand Champion, winner of the Virginia Certified Fillies class, was a 2021 Un-named bay by Cooper Bullet out of Worth The Risk by Bodemeister. She is owned by Timbercreek Farm’s Sara Miller. Reserve Champion honors went to the winner of the Virginia-Bred/Sired Colt/Gelding category, Pretty Jimmy. The chestnut by Jimmy Cred is owned by Quest Realty and was bred by Dan Wukich.
Finishing second in the Certified Fillies category was an Un-named bay by Good Magic (Timbercreek Farm) followed by an Un-named by Street Boss (David Ross). Rounding out the class was Made Birdie (Charles Clement & Brandon Mackey), an Un-named by Bourbon Courage (Eagle Point Farm), an Un-named by Frank Conversation (Alfred Smithwick), and a pair of Un-nameds owned/bred by Joni Fontana/Sugarland LLC and Equine Etiquette. They were by Unified and Outwork respectively.
The balance of the Virginia-Bred/Sired class included second place finisher Aonbharr (Susan Cooney), an Un-named by Limehouse (Darlene Bowlin), Nancy Made My Day (Quest/Wukich), Mister Rockefeller (Phyllis Jones), Cousin Giorgos (Quest/Wukich), Free Costs To Much (DMC Racing/Didier Plasencia), Lucky Pauper (Quest/Wukich) and Lord Rockingham (Tim Hulings & Analie Laressi).
2022 Yearling Futurity Reserve Champion is Pretty Jimmy, owned by Quest Realty and bred by Dan Wukich (in orange shirt).
Friend Fuhr Real, a chestnut by Friend or Foe, won the Virginia-Bred/Sired Fillies class. Owned and bred by Katherine Martin, the champ is out of the Fiber Sonde mare, I Am Furh Real. Runner-up was Foe What Its Worth — also by Friend or Foe — and is owned by Williams Howland Jr. and co-bred by Howland, Allison Consentino and Timothy Stephan. Am Un-named by Golden Lad was third (Patricia Ramey). The rest in order were an Un-named bay by Great Notion (Morgan’s Ford Farm), a 2021 Un-named by Street Boss (MFF/Sally Thomas) and Buzzaway (Carlos Moore/Gillian Gordon-Moore).
In the Virginia-Certified Colt/Gelding class, a 2021 Un-named dark bay/brown by Great Notion prevailed over six others. Owned by Fontana and bred by Sugarland/Equine Etiquette, the ribbon earner is out of Lemon Schnapps by Flatter. Runner-up was an Un-named bay by Great Notion owned/bred by Eagle Point Farm. Thankmyluckymoons was third (Quest/Wukich) followed by Big Happy Notion (Fontana/Sugarland/Equine Etiquette), No Cents Non Cents (Eagle Point Farm), Orienteer (Kathleen Hamlin) and a ’21 Un-named by Unified (Fontana/Sugarland/Equine Etiquette).
After a youth spent around horses, Amy Moore took a three-decade long sabbatical from the sport to focus on a career in law, but she is making up for lost time with the launch of her South Gate Farm in Millwood, Virginia. The fledgling operation has a star-in-the-making in ‘TDN Rising Star’ Forte (Violence), who goes postward in Monday’s GI Hopeful S. at Saratoga, and will follow up the following Monday when that colt’s half-brother by Uncle Mo (hip 11) goes through the sales ring during the first session of the Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
“I rode as a child and teenager and showed hunters that belonged to other people,” Moore said of her first introduction to horses while growing up in Raleigh, North Carolina. “The people I was with got into racehorses and I helped them at a few sales. Then I galloped horses one summer at the track for Del Carroll, Sr.”
Eventually, Moore had to take a step back from her interest in racing.
“I had to earn a living, so for 30 years I worked as a lawyer in Washington, D.C.,” she said. “But when I retired, I bought a farm and bought a couple of horses.”
Moore bought South Gate Farm in 2015 and moved to the 126-acre property in January of 2016.
A year before purchasing the farm, she made her first equine purchases at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. Her very first purchase was Queen Caroline (Blame), who she acquired for $170,000. Trained by Michael Matz, the dark bay went on to win four stakes races in Moore’s colors in 2016 and 2017 and earned over $400,000 before helping to kick start the South Gate broodmare band.
Forte, Queen Caroline’s first foal, sold for $80,000 as a weanling at the 2020 Keeneland November sale and was purchased by Mike Repole and Vinnie Viola for $110,000 at Keeneland September the following year.
“I thought he was a gorgeous foal,” Moore recalled. “I was really happy with him. I had had weanlings by Violence that I had pinhooked–I bought weanlings and sold yearlings–and I liked them, but they didn’t really resemble the sire at all. So I was pleased to get a foal in Forte that looks a lot like Violence. He’s a good blend of his sire and his dam.”
The prohibitive 1-5 favorite, Forte romped to a 7 3/4-length debut victory (video) May 27 at Belmont Park.
“When he won big in his first race, of course, that was a joy to see,” Moore said. “That was what I was trying to achieve when I bred the mare to Violence. I hoped to get a foal that had a little more speed and was a little more precocious than she was, but had her athleticism and racing temperament. It worked out just as I had hoped. Another case, I am sure, where it won’t always work out like that. But Queen Caroline has been very good to me, both as a racehorse and as a broodmare. If they were all like her, it would be easy.”
Forte comes into the Hopeful off a fourth-place effort in the six-furlong GIII Sanford S. July 16 and will get an extra furlong to work with Monday at Saratoga.
“I would be ecstatic if that happened,” Moore said of a possible Hopeful win. “But I think, win or lose the Hopeful, he looks like he’s going to be a good racehorse. So I am looking down the road, as I am sure his connections are, and hoping for good things for him. I think he will do better as the races get longer. So I think the extra furlong in the Hopeful will help and I hope he goes on from there.”
Queen Caroline next visited Uncle Mo and produced a colt by the Coolmore stallion last spring.
“It is a cross that I really liked, both physically and in the pedigree,” Moore said. “The mare is a nice, big athletic mare and Uncle Mo is obviously a nice, big athletic stallion with a similar build. But it also has some intriguing pedigree aspects to it. Nyquist (Uncle Mo) is out of a Forestry mare and Queen Caroline is out of a Forestry mare. And the good filly by Uncle Mo, Bast, is out of an Arch mare and Queen Caroline is by Blame who is by Arch. So you have a lot of good pedigree connections to some very successful runners, as well as having a good physical match.”
The yearling will be Moore’s first homebred Book 1 offering at Keeneland September when he goes through the ring as part of the Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services consignment next Monday.
“He is a lovely colt,” she said of the yearling. “I am prejudiced, of course, but he is a really, really nice colt. He has his dam’s mind, which is good, he has a good racing temperament. He is tall and big-bodied and strong and athletic. I think he is what everyone wants–he’s what I want.”
Well. The colt wasn’t exactly what Moore wanted.
“I was, to be honest, hoping to get a filly,” she said with a laugh. “I would have kept and raced her and hoped to retire her to the broodmare band one day. But I got a very nice colt.”
The colt conundrum is nothing new to Moore, who currently has four broodmares housed at her Virginia farm.
“I have bought nothing but fillies,” she said. “I sell the colts that I breed. I would keep fillies, if I ever had a filly. I am 0-for-7, seven colts and no fillies.”
Moore takes stock of market conditions when determining when to sell her foals.
“I just sort of fly by the seat of pants,” Moore explained. “If the stallion is doing very well, as Violence was when I sold Forte–I think Violence had three Grade I winners that year–I might sell the foal as a weanling. But if it’s a nice physical that I think would be one to send to the Saratoga select sale or one of the first two books at Keeneland, then I would keep it and sell it as a yearling. It just depends on how the stallion is doing and how the foal develops. And what the finances are like.”
As for Queen Caroline, after not producing a foal in 2022, she is now in foal to Not This Time.
“She was in foal to Authentic, and lost that one, which was very disappointing, but I am really excited that she is in foal to Not This Time,” Moore said. “I think that’s going to be a great match and who knows, I might get a filly this time. She is an easy mare to mate because she is doesn’t have any faults you want to breed away from. She is a very nice well-conformed mare that had a lot of success on the track. So you are trying to add a little speed and a little precociousness to the offspring, but you don’t really have faults that you want to breed away from. Which is helpful.”
Queen Caroline’s first two foals are both Kentucky-breds, but future foals are expected to be born at South Gate Farm.
“In the case of Forte and his brother, those I sent the mare back to Kentucky to foal,” Moore said. “I am now starting to foal in Virginia, so that I will have Virginia-bred foals.”
In addition to her four-horse broodmare band, Moore also has borders at South Gate taking advantage of the Virginia-certified program which allows horses conceived and foaled outside of the state to become eligible for incentives at Mid-Atlantic racetracks if they maintain residency in Virginia for at least a six-month consecutive period prior to Dec. 31 of their 2-year-old year.
“I have lot of yearlings, a lot of boarders, that are here for the Virginia-certified program,” Moore said. “And I do some sales preparation for the boarders.”
Reflecting on her seven years as a farm owner, Moore said, “I enjoy living on a farm. It’s very nice to have a reason to have a farm–you can’t have 126 acres and not have any animals. So that’s been a lot of fun. The racing has been highs and lows, as it is for everybody. When it’s good, it’s spectacular. When it’s bad, it’s pretty depressing. But you get through the bad and hope for more of the good. And on balance, I have enjoyed it quite a bit.”
The Keeneland September sale opens with two Book 1 sessions next Monday and Tuesday beginning at 1 p.m. Book 2 sessions Wednesday and Thursday begin at 11 a.m. and, following a dark day Friday, the auction continues through Sept. 24 with sessions beginning daily at 10 a.m.
