The Virginia Thoroughbred Alliance (VTA) announced the winners of its annual Championship Awards at the Virginia Gold Cup held over the weekend. The awards recognize the top Virginia-bred horses, trainers, and breeders for their achievements in racing over the past year.

The VTA presented the Virginia-bred Horse of the Year award to Green Up, a four-year-old filly by Upstart out of the mare Green Punch.… Continue reading →

Below is a list of Virginia-bred and certified horses entered in next weeks Fasig-Tipton Midlantic Two-Year-old sale:

Originally posted on Thoroughbreddailynews.com on 5/18/2023, Written by T.D. Thornton

This Saturday, May 20th, marks the running of the Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown. The race will take place at the Pimlico Racetrack in Baltimore, MD, and betting will be available in Virginia at six Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums located in New Kent, Richmond, Hampton, Dumfries, Collinsville, and Vinton. Additionally, VA-Horseplay OTBs inside Breakers Sports Grille in Henrico and Buckets Bar & Grill in Chesapeake will offer… Continue reading →

Originally posted on Nationalsteeplechase.com, on 5/11/2023, written by Tod Marks

As always a special thanks too Douglas Lees for all of the photographs used in this article.

For the first time in a while, weather wasn’t front and center for the weekend’s races, and beautiful conditions provided the perfect backdrop for a Saturday’s Virginia Gold Cup card in The Plains and… Continue reading →

Below are pictures of our winners.

Below are pictures from our event.

Pictures by Hannah Jones Photography.

Originally posted on Nationalsteeplechase.com, on 5/5/2023, Written by Tod Marks

After some rough patches of weather the past few weekends, it looks like the sun will come out for Saturday’s stakes-stacked Virginia Gold Cup Races.

The Gold Cup, first run in 1922, features seven races, four of which are stakes. Two of those stakes, the historic Virginia Gold Cup, at 4 miles over timber, and David Semmes Memorial (Grade 2) each carry a purse of $100,000. The Semmes gets a… Continue reading →

The biggest horse racing event of the year is this coming Saturday May 6 — and for the first time ever, there are 14 different places that Virginians can wager the Kentucky Derby! Fans can bet the “Run for the Roses” at any of the six Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums in New Kent, Richmond, Hampton, Dumfries, Collinsville & Vinton, at the VA-Horseplay OTBs inside Breakers Sports Grille in Henrico & Buckets Bar & Grill in Chesapeake, at the Virginia Gold Cup… Continue reading →

With the shuttering of Colonial Downs after the 2013 summer racing season, racing opportunities for Virginia horsemen reverted to their pre-live, out-of-state, racing days with the export of starts across state lines. Meanwhile, through account and off-track wagering, purse money was still being generated, intended for incentives to slow the erosion of Virginia’s once massive thoroughbred industry.

So what could be the vehicle to maintain and preserve Virginia’s thoroughbred industry?

With the Virginia Certified Residency Program still several years away,… Continue reading →

Virginia Thoroughbred Owner Marshall Dowell Passes Away at 77

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The Virginia horse industry sends deep condolences to family and friends of Marshall Dowell, 77, who departed this world Thursday, April 27, 2023.  He was preceded in death by his father, Claude Melvin Dowell; mother, Mary Elizabeth “Brown” Dowell; and brother, Claude “Melvin” Dowell, Jr.  

Marshall is survived by his daughter Kimberly Dowell; son, Marshall Dowell, Jr.; grandchildren, Jacob, Tanner, Fairan, and Georgia; sister-in-law, Madeline Dowell; long-time girlfriend, Cathy;… Continue reading →