Online betting handle on horse racing continues to surge in Virginia as handle figures through the first eight months of 2020 were announced. The overall handle through August was $91,903,837 compared with $62,223,376 in 2020, good for an astonishing 47.7% increase.

Top handle producer of the four Advance Deposit Wagering (ADW) companies licensed in Virginia was TVG, whose $48,818,924 handle represents a 62.8% gain over last year. In August alone, they accepted $7,790,255 in bets, the third most ever recorded in a single month by an ADW partner. For the year, TVG is averaging $200,077 in bets per day, the highest figure ever attained.

Twinspires was next with $26,591,715, a 22.65% increase over last year’s $21,681,171.  Xpressbet experienced a 46.80% percent boost while accepting $12,1467,624 in wagers so far this year compared with $8,275,182 in 2019. NYRABets, newest of the four online partners, showed a 90.53% increase with a handle of $4,345,574 versus $2,280,733 a year ago.

Separating the breeds, thoroughbred racing has experienced a 52.83% gain from ADW handle while harness racing, which was slower to rebound after the Covid-pandemic first hit in mid-March, is up 7.70%.

Looking ahead, September’s numbers could be strong. The Kentucky Derby was held early in the month and five more Grade I stakes are still on tap including a trio from Santa Anita on the 26th — the $300,000 American Pharoah, $300,000 Awesome Again and $300,000 Rodeo Drive Stakes. Top harness stakes include the $700,00 Little Brown Jug on September 24.

Looking farther ahead, the Preakness — -this year’s third leg of the Triple Crown — is slated for October 3. In addition to ten other stakes that Pimlico has scheduled on the Preakness under card, Keeneland has three Grade I’s the same afternoon and Belmont has two. The Shadwell Turf Mile, First Lady Stakes and Claiborne Breeders Futurity are in Kentucky and the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic and Belmont Derby Invitational are in New York.

In addition to the four online betting sites, racing fans can also wager in person at any Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Richmond, New Kent, Vinton and Hampton, and at any VA-Horseplay OTB in Henrico (Breakers Sports Grille), Chesapeake (Buckets Bar & Grill) and Collinsville (The Windmill OTB & Sports Grill).

Established in 1922, the Virginia Gold Cup race meet in May attracts about 50,000 spectators, making it Fauquier County’s largest event.

The following appeared in Fauquier Now September 13, 2020 and was written by Don Del Rosso.

I’m confident we’ll go back somewhat closer to the old Gold Cup — that racing will have the usual, wonderful people come who love to cheer the horses.— Virginia Gold Cup Association President Will Allison

Faced with severe revenue challenges because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Virginia Gold Cup Association took unprecedented steps to salvage this year’s spring and fall steeplechase meets at Great Meadow near The Plains.

In March, VGCA board shut its office at 90 Main St. in Warrenton and later decided it would leave the storefront space to help reduce overhead costs.

A month later, the cash-strapped nonprofit group laid off its four-member paid staff.

“The COVID-19 epidemic shattered the financial position of the Virginia Gold Cup for 2020,” VGCA President Will Allison explained. “We were not allowed to sell the things we usually do to raise money” — most importantly admission tickets but also sponsorships to help support the spring steeplechase meet at the 374-acre course in Northern Fauquier.

Though the state’s social distancing mandates prohibited spectators, the organization still conducted the Virginia Gold Cup race meet, which dates to 1922, on June 27 — eight weeks later than normal.

VGCA ultimately refunded about $1 million in ticket sales money because spectators couldn’t attend the event, said Dr. Allison, a Warrenton dentist.

But the “generosity” of the Virginia Equine Alliance and the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent & Protective Association allowed the VGCA to hold the June races, he said.

The two organizations combined gave the VGCA $302,000 to fund the June meet’s purses, operational expenses and rent of Great Meadow, according to board Vice President Al Griffin, a Warrenton orthodontist.

VEA and VHPA get their revenue from a percentage of Virginians’ online bets on horseracing. The Gold Cup purses help support the state’s struggling horse industry.

“We couldn’t have (conducted the June 27 meet) without them,” Dr. Allison said of the two groups.

The spring and fall races last year produced $2.3 million in revenue, with expenses of $2.4 million, according the organization’s 2019 audit. The VGCA closed that gap using donations.

About 50,000 people attend the Virginia Gold Cup meet each spring — Fauquier’s largest event. The International Gold Cup races, which will take place Saturday, Oct. 24, at Great Meadow, normally attracts about 30,000.

Because of the pandemic, no spectators will be permitted to attend the fall races, Dr. Allison said.

But the Gold Cup association expects VEA and VHPA ultimately to contribute $250,000 to cover the vast majority of the fall race’s costs, said Dr. Griffin, who also serves as president of the National Steeplechase Association, which represents seven states along the East Coast, including Virginia.

VGCA ordinarily pays Great Meadow $250,000 per year to rent the property for the spring and fall meets.

But because the pandemic effectively stopped VGCA from generating revenue, the Great Meadow Foundation this year agreed to charge the association $125,000, Dr. Allison said.

“They’ve been very understanding,” he said.

The Gold Cup Association staff had occupied the Main Street storefront since 1975, according Dr. Allison.

It pays $2,300 on a month-to-month basis, he said.

Meanwhile, Dr. Allison continues to look for less expensive quarters.

VGCA has “around” $20,000 in the bank, he said.

“Every year — and I’ve been here since 1985 — sometimes we have a little excess” cash after the fall races, he explained. “Most of the time, we’re short. So, we always have to borrow” to pay expenses related to the next year’s spring meet.

The association recently learned The Fauquier Bank will extend it a $100,000 line-of-credit for that purpose, Dr. Allison said. The association plans to repay the loan with spring 2021 race revenue.

The board president remains “confident” that next spring’s races will include spectators, which means ticket, sponsorship and other revenue will return.

“We think certainly, by the turn of the new year, we’ll have a (COVID-19) vaccine,” Dr. Allison said. “We’ll have different restrictions, but I don’t think (the state) will impose” a 1,000-person cap on attendance.

He added: “Gold Cup’s outside. It has natural distancing. So those are favorable things. I’m confident we’ll go back somewhat closer to the old Gold Cup — that racing will have the usual, wonderful people come who love to cheer the horses.”

The pandemic and other factors have caused VGCA’s board to re-evaluate its business model, Dr. Griffin explained.

“What this pandemic has done has forced us to change and modify our way of doing business,” he said. “This is not just Gold Cup. It’s every race meet in America.”

For example, he believes livestreaming meets, which VGCA did last year, shows great promise.

“I think it has the opportunity to create (advertising) revenue for the sport,” he said. “It also increases the sport’s presence.”

Underscoring the importance of making more “efficient” use of resources, Dr. Griffin noted that major sporting events predominantly rely on “electronic” rather than over-the-counter sale of tickets.

“Less than 3 percent of our ticket sales were walk-in,” he said. “And so, we no longer need that (office) space. We don’t do business the same way that we used to 20 years ago. So that expenditure could be placed much better in our budget.”

VGCA will re-staff the operation, but “it’s too soon” to say how that would work, Dr. Griffin said.

Of all the association’s budget-slashing moves, layoffs proved the hardest, according to the two board leaders.

“They were well aware of our situation,” Dr. Allison said of the staff. “They realized we had no money for salaries, and we encouraged them to apply for unemployment. If you’re not selling tickets and setting up tents and all the things of a regular Gold Cup, there’s nothing to do.”

But, “It’s just enough to make you cry. They’ve been wonderful friends and help mates.”

Dr. Griffin called VGCA’s prospects “very positive.”

“We have been one of the very few race meets in America that have been able to actually run,” he said. “We were one of two in the spring. The other race meets — for various reasons — be it health restrictions or financial restrictions — could not run.”

On September 9, the annual $22,500 Thoroughbred Yearling Futurity took place at the Warrenton Horse Show Grounds. Owners and breeders of Virginia-Bred and Virginia-Certified horses competed in three categories, and the top two in each advanced to a final round where Grand Champion and Reserve Champion honors are awarded.

The judge for this year’s Futurity was Rick Abbott, a former longtime Pennsylvania bloodstock agent who along with his wife Dixie, had a successful sales consignment business.

Though the Covid-pandemic limited some additonal activities that normally take place at the Futurity, the event saw a great turnout of horses. Here are some photos of the scene/vibe:

The following piece appeared on The Racing Biz September 4 and was written by Nick Hahn

In Kentucky, many thoroughbred farms are showplaces, making for wonderful equine scenic drives.

In Virginia, on the other hand, the tendency is for thoroughbred farms to be located at the end of rustic gravel roads, tucked away in hidden hollows, off the beaten path.

But seclusion doesn’t make these farms less ideal, especially for Kentucky Derby hopeful, Ny Traffic, who spent much of his time as a yearling in a nook of the Piedmont’s Southwest Range at Spencer Young’s Sunny Dell Farm.

“It’s paradise valley to us,” commented Young. “It’s the water and the grass that makes a difference. I’ve always had that feeling about this place.”

With a visit to Young’s farm in Barboursville, Virginia, it’s easy to understand how he may know more about horses than people. Located near the end of gravel road, Sunny Dell breathes peace to the young horses that reside in the barns and fields at the toe of a wooded Blue Ridge backdrop. Make sure to use your GPS to get there.

Removed from Thoroughbreds 16 years, Young returned to raising them in 2018 as a participant in the Virginia Certified Residency Program, an incentive program that rewards Thoroughbred owners for bringing their horses to Virginia. Horses must be in Virginia for a period of six months prior to the end of their two-year-old year, and those that are certified earn their owners a 25% bonus whenever they win throughout the Mid-Atlantic.

The program was created to bring business to Thoroughbred farms that were on the decline. For Young, it brought his operation back from the dead. He’d removed paddock fences and was grazing cattle on the farm.

“I was with horses all my life, then I got out and got back in. It’s a pretty nice thing,” Young said. “This will be great. I get to play with Thoroughbreds again. The first year we had a small crop of horses that came in. We put up all new fencing.”

Young took in about a dozen thoroughbreds that first year. One of them was Ny Traffic. Real New York City traffic couldn’t have been farther away.

“Ny Traffic was one of the ones that came in. He was a nice horse. At first, he was a pretty immature horse. He wasn’t any trouble, but a nice-looking horse and he kept growing into himself. He was really balanced and correct,” recalled Young. “(Owner John Fanelli) kept him here until December before sending him to the trainer, which was nice. It gave him time to grow and run around here. He ran up and down hills. It helps a horse to develop when they get to run up and down hills.”

Ny Traffic’s stay at Sunny Dell was extended longer than the residency program requirement. Young believes the extra time assisted in the young thoroughbred’s mental development as well as his physical development.

“Every horse has a different personality and you get to know the horse and understand what works best for them,” he explained. “As much as you can get them out on the grass and running the hills, the healthier it is for them. This is their last hurrah, cause after they leave here, they go in training and stay in training for quite a while after that. Then they go racing. No more just having fun playing in the paddocks and the fields.”

Fanelli bought Ny Traffic for privately after he was an RNA in the Fasig-Tipton Midlantic two-year-old sale in 2019. He is a NY-bred by Cross Traffic out of the winning Graeme Hall mare Mamie Rellly.

Ny Traffic broke his maiden in his second start at Parx Racetrack last October.

“He wasn’t bred where he’d be in the Derby. He was a $27,000 RNA,” noted Young.  “They sent him to Florida in December, and the next thing I know, he’s winning races. It’s exciting to have a horse from here that’s going to the Derby…a lot of fun to have something like that.”

A six-length win at Gulfstream Park in his first attempt going over a mile for trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. captured moderate attention and his steady improvement in graded stakes company kept him on many watch lists.

Though he hasn’t won since, he has been second or third in four consecutive graded stakes. In his last start in the Haskell (G1), Ny Traffic and jockey Paco Lopez rallied to within a nose of Authentic to finish second, and the Derby is a furlong farther.

Shortly after this year’s Covid-rescheduled Kentucky Derby, Young will start seeing a seasonal influx of young horses to his “paradise valley,” once seemingly implausible now a ritual. They arrive as weanlings and yearlings and leave ready to begin their jobs as racehorses.

“You have to handle them a lot — bringing them in and out — so they get all the experience,” Young said. “So they don’t have any problems later on, if they have issues, get it straight early on and take it out of them, so they’re well-behaved on top of being free and running around the fields.”

When it comes to working with thoroughbreds, it’s never too young to start.