VA Alliance Announces Horse Racing Plans

The Virginia Equine Alliance March 22 announced immediate and longer term plans for horse racing in the state and introduced a new website focused on all aspects of Virginia racing.

 

Members of the VEA include the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, Virginia Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, and Virginia Gold Cup Association.

 

The group said pari-mutuel flat races will be held in-state as part of both the annual May 7 Virginia Gold Cup and Oct. 24 International Gold Cup race programs at Great Meadow in The Plains. 

 

At least three flat races will be carded in addition to five traditional steeplechase races. At the 91st spring running of the Gold Cup races, the Secretariat Stakes at 1 1/2 miles will carry a $50,000 purse while the maiden flat race at one mile will feature a $30,000 purse. Both races carry a "Virginia preferred" condition. A Virginia-bred or sired flat event at 1 1/4 miles rounds out the action and has a $35,000 purse.

 

Virginia-bred horses will get two different opportunities to compete in neighboring Maryland this year as well. "Mid Atlantic Day", a new event slated for June 25 at Pimlico Racecourse, will feature a trio of $60,000 Virginia-bred stakes, including the inaugural running of the Nellie Cox Stakes, along with a Virginia-bred overnight race. Maryland-bred horses will compete in an identical slate that afternoon to round out the debut initiative. A "Virginia-Bred Day" at Laurel will be held for the third straight year Sept. 24. Five $60,000 stakes will be contested: the Brookmeade, Bert Allen, Jamestown, Punch Line, and Oakley.

 

In 2017, pari-mutuel Thoroughbred racing in Virginia will move to a new home at Morven Park in Leesburg, where plans are currently moving forward to renovate an existing, undulating steeplechase track and transform it into a first class, one mile turf course for Thoroughbreds. 

 

The racing project is part of a new Horse Park initiative at that facility, and VEA officials said they have signed an initial five year lease with Morven management. Once completed, the course will have both an inner and outer rail, a starting gate, along with a chute that will allow for seven-furlong, one-turn races. Vehicle tailgating will be offered along the stretch and in areas adjacent to the outside turn. A parking lot is also being built to accommodate projected crowds of between 3,000-5,000 spectators. Excavation work on the course itself is expected to begin in late spring or early summer. A race meet of up to 14 days will debut in the latter half of 2017, in order to give ample time for the grass course to mature. 

 

In another initiative, the VEA has introduced a new industry website at virginiahorseracing.com.