Four Republican members and one Independent member (who has consistently voted against every piece of horse racing legislation placed before him) of the House of Delegates General Laws’ Subcommittee on ABC/Gaming voted to “lay on the table” Senate Bill 513. The proposed legislation would have allowed Colonial Downs to conduct “historical horse racing” at is facilities.

Republican Subcommittee chairman Del. Tom Gear and Democrat Del. William Barlow supported the legislation opposing the move to table.

The measure effectively killed the… Continue reading →

Nick Skias of Virginia Beach posted this thoughtful comment earlier in the week, and we thought it worthy of its own post.

It seems that the Senate is always the easier hurdle. You would think with Virginia’s transportation in dire need of funding that more elected officials would get on board with this.

Now (a few days ago) is the time for everyone to get off their butts and start making calls to the members of this committee and hopefully,… Continue reading →

Anne Poulson’s filly by Majestic Warrior, out of Express Chick by Hennesy was one of the sire’s first foals.

The following Virginia-bred two-year-olds have been entered at Fasig-Tipton Calder and the Ocala Two-Year-Old Sales:

Fasig-Tipton on March 2nd is offering the following va-bred horses:
Hip# 2
Hip # 79
Hip # 153
Hip # 225
Hip # 229

To view the catalog pages, click here.

OBS on March 16-17 is offering the following va-bred horses:
Hip# 136
Hip # 260

To view the catalog pages, click here.

Please check with the sale company for any scratches.

David Longinotti, assistant general manager at Oaklawn Park, right, and Kim Baron, the Hot Springs, Ark., thoroughbred race track’s marketing director, examine a printing run of trading cards showing Rachel Alexandra and Zenyatta at Arkansas Graphics in Little Rock, Ark., Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010.

Argent Affair (f, 3yo), Black Tie Affair (IRE) – Caty’s Quest by Norquestor. B – James M Hackman. Charles Town, 2 /20/2010, alwc, $16,200, 6.5 f, 1:21.74. ($20,000, yrlg, 2008, ftmoct)

Elusive Gift (c, 5yo), Elusive Quality – Christmas Gift by Green Desert. B – Evans Edward P. Aqueduct, 2 /17/2010, alwc, $26,400, 6 f, 1:09.49.

Gran Tenor (g, 6yo), Dixieland Band – Panama Canal by Gulch. B – Edward P. Evans.Sunland, 2 /16/2010, clmg, $10,200, 6 f, 1:09.31. ($25,000,… Continue reading →

Wayne Chatfield-Taylor (pictured center with Pennsylvania horseman and breeder Rick Abbott) of Front Royal was elected the new president of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association at the Board of Directors meeting yesterday in Warrenton. Chatfield-Taylor and his wife, Susan Thomas Chatfield-Taylor, have been building and expanding Morgan’s Ford Farm for 30 years.

Their single goal of producing first-class racehorses has made their farm known on the racetrack and in the commercial marketplace. Together, they run a hands-on… Continue reading →

Last Friday, the Virginia Senate passed Senate Bill 513 which would allow “historical horseracing,” or Instant Racing as it is known at Oaklawn Park, at Colonial Downs and its OTBs by a 24-15 vote.

The bill is a bipartisan compromise of two bills previously submitted by Senator Tommy Norment and Senator Mark Herring. A similar bill has passed the Senate on two other occasions, but has been failed to reach the floor of the House of Delegates.

The bill would… Continue reading →

The VTA’s Virginia Breeders Fund Committee will meet on Friday, February 26 at noon at the VTA office in Warrenton.

Establishing the Breeders Fund payouts annually involves the following process. The VTA’s Breeders Fund Committee meets and establishes recommendations for the program. The VTA committee passes those recommendations upstream to the VRC’s Breeders Fund Advisory Committee who then forwards their version to the full Virginia Racing Commission (VRC) for approval.

The deadline for the… Continue reading →

The Associated Press has released their top ten Kentucky Derby contenders. Bob Baffert and Todd Pletcher are training six of the top 10 horses in the AP’s latest Run to the Roses list of Kentucky Derby contenders.