Virginia Group Pursues Thoroughbred Home

With the Virginia Racing Commission recently denying Colonial Downs' efforts to host a limited Thoroughbred meet of 20 dates next year, the Virginia Equine Alliance updated its members Nov. 20 on its efforts to find a home for Thoroughbred racing in the state and other initiatives.

Colonial Downs has not offered live racing in 2014 or 2015, after the track and the Virginia Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association failed to reach agreements on race dates. Money generated for purses from advance-deposit wagering in the state has shifted to the VEA, which counts the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, Virginia HBPA, Virginia Harness Horsemen's Association, and Virginia Gold Cup as members.

This year the VEA used sites like Great Meadow to offer Thoroughbred flat racing in the state and offered eight key stakes races at Laurel Park in Maryland.

In an email to members on Friday, VEA executive director Jeb Hannum listed several points of emphasis, with finding a home for Thoroubhred racing at the top of that list. Hannum's list of goals, as outlined follow:

• Seeking a new "permanent" home for Thoroughbred races - Meetings are currently taking place with management of Morven Park in Leesburg about the prospects of running Thoroughbred races there on a regular basis in the future. Work will need to be done on the turf surface to ensure the safety of both horses and riders. Dates will need to be secured around many other events Morven hosts during the year. A number of additional issues will have to be addressed, so realistically, we'd be looking at 2017 dates there at the earliest, assuming we clear all hurdles. The alliance will investigate additional days at Great Meadow, as well as other racing opportunities out of state for the short term.

• Seeking long-term permanent track(s) for Standardbred races - The Oak Ridge Estate in Nelson County has already been established as a viable site to host harness races and possibly even add Thoroughbred races at some point in the future. Several annual non-betting harness racing events also currently take place at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds in Woodstock, Va., and meetings have already taken place with track officials there to discuss an upgrade to the track that could position it as another option for pari-mutuel races moving forward. 

• Opening off-track betting centers in the state - As far as off-track betting is concerned, we are in the process of talking to three national companies that specialize in OTB development and operation. Our hope is to get the first outlet up and operating in 2016. The VEA also wants to work with local ownership scenarios in smaller communities like Nelson County (where Oak Ridge is based), where connections and contacts have already been established through years of being part of that business community. The OTBs are critical to the long-term viability of racing in Virginia as they will generate additional purse and operational funds.

• Planning a schedule of both flat and Standardbred races in 2016 based on several different budget scenarios - The VEA is also working on several different scenarios for live racing events next year. Since we hosted seven different race days in 2015, we know the hard costs associated with conducting these events and now, it's a matter of plugging in the revenue numbers received from the account wagering services (TVG, TwinSpires, and XPressBet), and seeing how many live days we can afford. Right now, proceeds from online betting handle is the sole handle generator until we get another revenue stream from OTBs in the near future.

• Planning a new industry website and promotional strategies - Work is currently in progress to create a new all-encompassing website where the entire Virginia horse racing community can access information on upcoming events, get industry news, and learn how to make wagers on local and national races. The site will appeal to horsemen, bettors, and potential live race event attendees.

Colonial Downs is fighting in federal court the VRC's decision to deny it a license. While that outcome will play itself out, Hannum is confident the VEA can make important strides in 2016.

"There is a lot of work to be done to grow and sustain Virginia racing, but the biggest positive aspect right now is that everyone is on the same page, at last. We want to move forward quickly, but we will not be able to rebuild racing overnight. It will take time and we need to count on your patience," Hannum said. "The next racing commission meeting is Dec. 16 and we'll provide updates on these issues I've addressed here to the commissioners, who through their vote on Tuesday, reinforced a great desire to work with us and help Virginia racing get back on track and prosper."