West Virginia Racing

Both Charles Town Races and Mountaineer Park got approval Wednesday from the West Virginia Racing Commission (WVRC) to reduce live racing dates in 2024 compared to recent seasons. The Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association (HBPA) chapters at both tracks supported the diminished schedules based on available purse funds and projected horse populations. Right now the placeholders are 158 dates for Charles Town and 121 for Mountaineer. But the exact number of programs will ultimately be contingent on the outcome of several overlapping federal lawsuits that have to do with the...

With the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit set to hear oral arguments Dec. 7 in a case that seeks to reverse a lower court's decision to dismiss a constitutional challenge of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), the two opposing sides have filed new documentation pertaining to a separate but related Nov. 18 decision by the Fifth Circuit that did, in fact, declare HISA unconstitutional. Although it's tough at this stage to get a consensus on what might happen with HISA over the next six...

"Sam Huff saved the Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry in West Virginia." That declaration was made by Ken Lowe, the chairman of the West Virginia Racing Commission, as approximately 150 friends and business acquaintances gathered Monday afternoon at the Middleburg Community Center in Middleburg, Va. to pay tribute to Robert Lee "Sam" Huff. The Pro Football Hall of Fame football player and Thoroughbred owner and breeder died Nov. 13 from complications of dementia in Winchester, Va. Lowe was one of several speakers at the service, which was held just a...