The following piece appeared on www.richmond.com January 30th and was written by Graham Moomaw.

Proponents of casinos and sports betting may have to wait at least another year before Virginia lawmakers open the door to more gambling.

On Wednesday, a state Senate committee changed a major casino bill to require a state study and another vote in 2020 before any casino licenses would be granted. In its new form, the bill would prevent Bristol, Portsmouth and Danville from holding voter… Continue reading →

A total of $427,944 in owners bonus awards were distributed to 80 different owners of Virginia-bred or sired horses that won non-restricted races at tracks in the Mid-Atlantic region last year. The bonus dollar total was generated from 129 individual wins in 2018.

Topping the list of bonus money earners was Chester and Mary Broman, who accumulated $64,162 in bonuses from eight winners, seven of which were from Virginia-sired horses. Their Mr. Buff won four races and reached the award… Continue reading →

Congratulations to Mr. Buff, a Virginia sired 5-year-old Friend or Foe gelding who won his fourth consecutive race and second consecutive stakes this past weekend. Mr. Buff’s sire Friend or Foe stands at Smallwood Farm in Crozet, VA.  Owned and bred by Chester and Mary Broman, Mr. Buff has now bankrolled $540,786 from 26 career starts. He has 8 wins, 6 seconds and 3 thirds. The recent four race streak has all come at Aqueduct and has occurred in… Continue reading →

A total of 46 Virginia-Certified horses won combined bonus monies of $213,940 for their owners in 2018 as the first batch of new residency program graduates made starts as two-year-olds. Combined purse winnings of the 46 was $876,044, and it came from $1,498,600 in purse monies available.

The first horse to earn an award was Larry Johnson’s Questionoftheday, who prevailed in a $33,000 waiver maiden claiming race May 28th at Pimlico. His Maryland-bred filly went on to win a second… Continue reading →

A total of $650,000 in Breeders Fund award monies were distributed to the state’s breeders in 2018 courtesy of 209 wins and $3,197,080 purse monies won by their Virginia-bred and sired horses. $620,000 was dedicated to the breeders award and $30,000 to stallion awards. That figure is up $100,000 from $550,000 distributed in 2017.

Top award earning breeder was the William Backer Revocable Estate, whose $64,772 came courtesy of 19 wins. Both Paulita and Divine Interventio collected a trio of… Continue reading →

The following appeared in The Paulick Report January 23rd. Virginia-born Jonathan Thomas trained Catholic Boy, who won a pair of Grade I stakes in 2018 — -the Belmont Derby Invitational and Travers Stakes. He is the son of Virginia Equine Alliance Track Superintendent J.D. Thomas.  

Ralph and Lauren Evans’ Diversify will be trained by Jonathan Thomas in 2019, reports drf.com, succeeding the late Rick Violette. The two-time Grade 1 winner was most recently fifth in the Jockey Club Gold… Continue reading →

Colonial Downs Group (CDG) welcomes Jill Byrne home as she joins the team that will be returning Thoroughbred racing to the Commonwealth of Virginia through the resurgence of Colonial Downs. The Charlottesville native will be vice president of racing with the Colonial Downs Group.

Ms. Byrne joins Colonial Downs from Breeders’ Cup Limited where she served over the past two years as senior director of Industry Relations focusing on the promotion and coordination of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge series connecting… Continue reading →

Virginia-bred horses will be well represented on Oaklawn’s opening day card this Friday, January 25th. Both Forloveofcountry and Boldor will compete in the featured race — the $150,000 Smarty Jones Stakes — which is one of four key Derby preps they host in their prestigious winter/early spring meet. The former was bred by Lazy Lane Farm and is fresh off an allowance optional claiming win at Churchill. The latter, bred by Carlos Moore & Gillian Gordon-Moore, captured a maiden special… Continue reading →

The following appeared in www.dailypress.com January 9th and was written by Lisa Vernon Sparks.

A near 24-hour off-track betting facility is coming to Hampton as soon as late summer.

Hampton City Council Wednesday evening approved a use permit, plus an amendment for extended hours, to allow Colonial Downs Group to build a satellite wagering facility, dubbed Rosie’s Gaming Emporium.

The amusement center brings fresh entertainment to the city’s Power Plant of Hampton Roads shopping district and makes use of some… Continue reading →

The following appeared in The Paulick Report January 9th.

The Colonial Downs Group today announced that it will donate $500,000 over the first five years of its active operations in the city of Richmond to Miles Jones Elementary School. The school is located near the soon to open Rosie’s Gaming Emporium on Midlothian Turnpike. As a symbol of this new relationship, representatives of the Colonial Downs Group presented school leaders with a $20,000 contribution at a ceremony at the school… Continue reading →