The Virginia Equine Alliance will open its second Off Track Betting Center in Virginia this Monday, January 16th in the Shockoe Bottom neighborhood of downtown Richmond. The OTB is in a new restaurant/bar called Ponies & Pints, and simulcast signals from up to 20 horse racetracks around the country will be available to watch and wager daily. A grand opening celebration is slated for January 28th to coincide with the simulcast of the $12 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park.
Ponies & Pints will feature full service dining and have 60 beers on tap.
The Ponies & Pints complex is 5500 square feet and has 35 flat screen televisions which show a combination of horse races and sports throughout the facility. There is a horse racing only room where signals from as many as ten different tracks can be displayed at the same time. There are two manned betting stations and eight self betting terminals. The restaurant has over 50 beers on tap and a full service menu that emphasizes a Midwest style of open face sandwiches. Ponies & Pints is non-smoking but has an outdoor fenced patio area, complete with a bar and tables, where smokers can go.
Ponies & Pints features a horse players exclusive room with 4 self betting terminals, 2 manned teller stations and 13 flat screen TVs
The VEA’s first OTB opened November 2nd in the west end area of Richmond inside Breakers Sports Grille. Monday is a federal holiday and many of the major tracks in the country are racing including Aqueduct, Gulfstream, Laurel, Oaklawn and Santa Anita. Three stakes races will be contested that afternoon including a Derby prep race — the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes at Oaklawn. Area horseplayers can still wager at the Breakers Sports Grille OTB at 9127 West Broad Street in the TJ Maxx Shopping Center. The VEA’s betting sites are open seven days a week from 12 Noon – 11 PM. As 2017 continues, the VEA will seek an OTB partner restaurant/bar in both the Chesapeake and Hampton areas to expand the network of off track sites.