Trio of Virginia-Bred Veterans Boost Their Six Digit Bankrolls
Rose Brier got to the winners circle in his first start since winning last fall’s $60,000 Bert Allen Stakes by capturing a $30,000 starter optional claiming race at Gulfstream late last week. The 7 year old Mizzen Mast gelding took on a modest field of five others and went gate to wire in the 1 1/16th miles test. Bred by William Backer, Rose Brier won by one-half length over Captain Dixie, crossed in 1:39.11 and… Continue reading
VEA Announces Immediate and Longer Term Plans For Thoroughbred and Standardbred Racing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 3/22/2016:
The Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) today announced immediate and longer term plans for thoroughbred and standardbred racing in the Commonwealth, and introduced a new website that will cater to all aspects of Virginia horse racing.
From an immediate thoroughbred standpoint, pari-mutuel flat races will be held in-state as part of both the annual May 7th Virginia Gold Cup and October 24th International Gold Cup race programs at Great… Continue reading
No Nail Biters In 4 Virginia-Bred Wins Over St. Patrick’s Day Weekend
A 4-pack of Virginia-bred horses collected wins over St. Patrick’s Day weekend, and all were respective first or second betting favorites that didn’t need to produce any nail biting finishes. As a matter of fact, the margin of victory in all four were between 3 1/4 and 8 lengths.
K D’s Cat Bird gets top billing for his dominant eight length triumph March 20th in a maiden claimer at Tampa Bay Downs. The 3 year old Courageous Cat colt was… Continue reading
Virginia Horse Festival & Secretariat Birthday Celebration Set for April 1-3
The Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA) is proud to support the upcoming Virginia Horse Festival and Secretariat’s annual birthday celebration at The Meadow in Doswell on April 1st – 3rd.
The upcoming Secretariat Birthday Celebration is slated for Saturday April 2nd.
In addition to competitions, clinics, demonstrations, seminars, and food/retail vendors, there will be special events including a paddock party on Friday April 1st from 6-8 PM featuring special equine guest, Groundshaker. The 5 year old bay… Continue reading
Pair of Virginia Breeders Have A Strong Week
The Morgan’s Ford Farm and Mr. & Mrs. Bertram Firestone, both well known breeders in the Commonwealth, each had a pair of their Virginia-bred horses reach the winners circle this past week. Super Bird and Congrats to Ken, bred by the former, won down south at Gulfstream and Tampa Bay Downs respectively while Special Envoy and Cinco, bred by the latter, scored at Tampa and Charles Town.
Super Bird, sent off at 6-1,… Continue reading
VEA Lends Assist To Ashland Track
VEA Track Superintendent John Dale Thomas, who recently completed a track “refreshening” project at the Middleburg Training Center, is nearing completion of a similar project at Donna and Karen Dennehy’s Eagle Point Farm in Ashland.
The two week stint involved peeling the cushion back to the base, replacing all the drain tiles, rebasing the track with a new layer of clay, and redistributing the cushion evenly. “It’s a clay based track,” said Thomas, “And we found a place to …… Continue reading
Virginia Betting Handle With Current ADW Providers Is On The Rise
Each of the three Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) companies that operate in Virginia experienced double digit increases in betting handle for January and February when compared to figures of a year ago. Residents of the Commonwealth wagered a total of $9,792,753 for the two month period via TVG, Twin Spires and XPressBet.
TVG was the top handle producer in both January and February with respective tallies of $2,781,844 and $2,479,775. The two month… Continue reading
Early March Madness Includes Trio of Virginia-Bred Scores/4-Pack of Runner-Ups
The first week in March saw a trio of Virginia-bred horses reach the winners circle and for the second time in a week, another quartet finished second on the very same day…again!
No Free Lunch started the month off with a four length win in a $10,700 claiming race at Ohio’s Mahoning Valley Racecourse. The 5 year old son of Successful Appeal was best in a field of… Continue reading
Valid Okay after Bad Stumble in Gulfstream Park Handicap
(courtesy of The Paulick Report) Other than some minor scrapes and cuts, Crossed Sabres Farm’s multiple graded-stakes winner Valid emerged from Saturday’s $500,000 Gulfstream Park Handicap (G2) in good order, trainer Marcus Vitali said Sunday.
Making his fourth start of the Championship Meet, the 6-year-old gelding went to his knees in mid-stretch after clipping heels with Anchor Down while making a bid for the lead. The son of Medaglia d’Oro was able to gather himself and get back to running… Continue reading
Virginia-Breds Have A Handful Of Close Calls
Last Sunday, Virginia-bred horses were well represented in a quartet of high quality allowance races and though none got to the winners circle, all four collected second place finishes in their events.
A pair of horses bred by the Corner Farm & John Behrendt collected their respective second place finishes at Parx and Santa Anita. Cat Fiftyfive, a 4 year old Tale of the Cat colt, collected his runner-up… Continue reading
