Virginia

Peggy Augustus, a successful owner and breeder who bred Eclipse Award winners Stellar Wind (Curlin) and Johnny D. (Stage Door Johnny), passed away Sunday at her home on her Old Keswick Farm in Charlottesville, VA. She was 90. Her death was confirmed by one of her former trainers, Bill Hirsch Jr. "She was a great lady, just one of the best," Hirsch said. "The thing I remember most about her was that, unlike most owners, she knew how to win and she knew how to lose. A lot of them...

A little more than four years ago, horse racing returned to the Commonwealth of Virginia and Colonial Downs for the first time since 2014. Under the leadership of then track Vice President Jill Byrne--one of Virginia's own--the track staged racing three days a week for about a month and since then, the meet has expanded both in terms of length and in terms of popularity among the betting public. In August 2019, Ben Massam drew on his Virginian roots--Ben was a championship-caliber track and field athlete at the College of...

The 2023 racing dates at Colonial Downs will hold steady at the same 27-program level that the turf-focused track ran this year, but the full first season under the ownership of the gaming company Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), will see a shift to Thursday-through-Saturday racing instead of the Virginia track's traditional Monday-through-Wednesday slot. The number of racing dates had been a concern for mid-Atlantic horsemen who were leery about CDI bloating the racing schedule beyond what the region's horse population might be able to sustain. Those concerns were raised back...

Colonial Downs will offer a record of more than $600,000 in daily average purses and an expanded stakes schedule for the upcoming 2022 meet, starting July 11. The meet has six extra race days this year. The stakes schedule is highlighted by the $300,000 GIII Virginia Derby and $200,000 Virginia Oaks Sept. 6. Maiden special weight races during the meeting will carry a $60,000 purse. As a bonus, once again, all owners will be guaranteed $1,000 per start or their share of the purse money, and all trainers will receive...

Former Calumet Farm stallion Snapy Halo (Arg) (Southern Halo--Ensaola {Arg}, by Ringaro) will stand the 2022 breeding season at Covilar LLC Farm, the former Owl Hollow Morgan Farm. The nursery, located on 120 acres in Floyd, Virginia, was recently purchased by Josep Bassaganya-Riera, a entrepreneur and biotech pioneer. "I am pleased to announce that Covilar LLC initiated operations in the second half of 2021," Bassaganya-Riera said in a release. "We are proud to build on the legacy of success of the Owl Hollow Farm. The breeding barns are fully functional...

Dates for the 2021 Thoroughbred racing season at Colonial Downs were approved Wednesday by the Virginia Racing Commission at its quarterly meeting, which was held virtually. The seven-week campaign will run from July 19 to Sept. 1 with racing scheduled every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The meet will include a total of 21 race dates. The stable area and track will open for training July 5 and will close Sept. 8. "Purses are projected to average at least $500,000 per day absent any unforseen events like an increase of the...

The Foxfield Races, the first of three fall National Steeplechase Association to run in October, kicks off Sunday in Charlottesville, Va. The card, consisting of seven races--five over hurdles and two on the flat--carries purses totaling $55,000. Post time is 12:30 p.m. The Foxfield Races mark the first 2020 NSA event that will permit owners, with horse entered, to attend, albeit with restrictions. Owners will be required to remain in a designated area for the entire afternoon; no one may cross the course or go to the paddock or barn...

For many, the impending return of structured racing to Virginia at Colonial Downs in New Kent evokes stirring memories of a horse culture firmly embedded in the Commonwealth's history. On a personal level, I cannot help but harken back to my days as a track and field athlete at the College of William and Mary in the heart of Colonial Williamsburg, when I would routinely pair 18-mile training days with evening trips to a musty OTB down the road in Hampton to bet Penn National and Charles Town. I'd often...