Pair of Virginia-Breds Score Mild Upset Wins On Same Day at Laurel
Virginia-bred horses Joe Tess and Tough Weather scored their respective seventh and third lifetime wins last Friday (December 18) at Laurel, both at the six furlong distance and both as mild surprise upset victors.

Joe Tess collects his 7th career win and 3rd of 2015 in a sprint race at Laurel December 18th. Photo courtesy of Jim McCue.
Joe Tess, a 5 year old Macho Uno gelding bred by Edward Evans, competed against eight others in… Continue reading
Virginia-Breds Score 3-Pack of Wins at Laurel Dec. 11
Virginia-bred horses collected a three-pack of wins at Laurel Park on December 11, two via big come from behind efforts while the other came in coast-to-coast fashion.
Celtic Lord and Minor Crisis both made things interesting and challenging, trailing at the halfway point of their races by 14 1/2 and 11 1/2 lengths respectively. Both were sent off as the betting choice, both circled five wide in the final turn to… Continue reading
Pair of Virginia-Breds Score Mild Upset Wins at Penn National Last Week
True Cost and Simmstown, a pair of Virginia-breds, won sprint races at Penn National last week on back-to-back nights.
True Cost, a 5 year old Aisle mare bred by Anne Tucker, scored a 4 1/2 length gate to wire victory over six others in a 5 1/2 furlong, $29,000 allowance on December 2nd. Trained by Flint Stites for owner John Tucker, the winner… Continue reading
A Trio of Virginia-Breds Collect Their First Life Victories Last Weekend
A trio of Virginia-bred horses pocketed their first lifetime victories on back-to-back-to-back days this past weekend at different tracks on both coasts. Louise’s Legacy, Power Generation and Popsracer all prevailed in maiden company respectively at Laurel, Parx and Los Alamitos.
Louis’s Legacy scored a dominant 4 1/2 length win over Rose Essence in a $40,000 maiden special weight clash Sunday at Laurel Park. The 4 year old daughter of Medalist took control at the quarter mark and… Continue reading
Chas’s Legacy – A Horse For The Month, And Track
Handicappers have been known to lay a few dollars on a “horse for the course” but last weekend, Virginia-bred Chas’s Legacy solidified his position as not just a “horse for the course”, but a “horse for the month”. The 4 year old Bernardini gelding scored a big upset win in a $40,000 claiming race Sunday afternoon during his favorite month — November — and at his favorite track — … Continue reading
Virginia-Raised Tonalist Earns 4th Grade I Triumph in Saturday’s Cigar Mile
2014 Belmont Stakes winner Tonalist, bred by Lauren & Rene Woolcott and raised at their Woodslane Farm in The Plains, collected his 4th Grade I stakes victory this past Saturday in the $670,000 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct.

Tonalist holds off fast closing Red Vine in the 2015 Cigar Mile at Aqueduct. Photo by Joe Labozzetta.
The 4 year old son of Tapit, sent off as the second choice in a six horse field, beat stable mate Red Vine… Continue reading
Pair of Virginia-Breds Complete Long Holiday Weekend With Wins at Laurel On Sunday
Virginia-Breds Score a Hat Trick of Wins at Penn National Over 2-Day Period Last Week
A trio of Virginia-bred horses scored victories at Penn National this past week including a pair of five year olds — Anybodyreallyknow and Maid To Run —and a three year old — Turks and Chaos.
Anybodyreallyknow connected in a $21,900 six furlong claiming sprint on Saturday over seven other foes. The Holy Bull gelding sat off the pace for most of the way, stayed close to the rail on the turn and took control in the stretch.… Continue reading
Letter to Virginia Horsemen – Update from Equine Alliance Moving Forward
Dear Virginia Horsemen:
As most of you may know, the Virginia Racing Commission unanimously denied Colonial Downs’ request of 2016 race dates at their monthly meeting this past Tuesday. I’d like to address a question that’s been asked many times since the decision was rendered — What does this mean for the both the immediate and long term future of racing in the Commonwealth?
First, a brief history. At the 2014… Continue reading
Virginia-bred Horses Win at 5 Different Tracks from November 11-15
The Lael Stables’ Exaggerated got back on the winning track, and Virginia-bred horses scored wins at 5 different venues from November 11 – 17. Here’s the latest recap.
Exaggerated, who won the $60,000 Oakley Stakes at Laurel Park September 26 on Virginia-bred Stakes Day, made it three wins in four career starts by winning a 5 1/2 furlong, $42,000 allowance sprint race November 11 at Laurel. A 3 year old daughter of Blame who… Continue reading