Prominent international sire Red Ransom, who helped perpetuate the Roberto/Hail to Reason male line, was euthanized Nov. 14 because of complications following intestinal surgery.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
Colonial Downs will host a mixed breed card of horse racing Sept. 13 that includes eight harness races, two steeplechase races, and one Thoroughbred race.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Majesty's Prince, one of the top turf runners during the first half of the 1980s, was euthanized Aug. 24 because of complications from the infirmities of old age.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Grade I winner Mandy's Gold was euthanized July 20 because of complications from laminitis.
Tuesday, August 04, 2009
Opening day at Colonial Downs comes a week earlier this year when live racing returns June 5. The following day, Colonial Downs will be open for the first time ever on the same day as a Triple Crown race, the Belmont Stakes (gr. I).
Monday, June 01, 2009
Retired horseman Marvin M. Greene Sr. died May 22 of congestive heart failure at his Leesburg, Va., home.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
L. Clay Camp, who sold the highest-priced yearling ever at the Fasig-Tipton Saratoga sale, died May 4 at his home in Charlottesville, Va.
Monday, May 04, 2009
There's a saying that a Kentucky Derby (gr. I) winner can come from anywhere. But that saying has more to do with where a horse prepped for the Run for the Roses than with its birthplace.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Breeder/owner Henry Rathbun died March 19 in Cape Coral, Fla., from complications following a heart attack.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Colonial Downs will kick off its 13th annual Thoroughbred racing season June 12 and will continue an eight week, 40-day meet through Aug. 4.
Friday, February 27, 2009
After running the longest Thoroughbred meet in its 12-year history at 45 days, officials with Colonial Downs Dec. 17 proposed a 25-day meet in 2009.
Thursday, December 18, 2008
A statue of 1919 Triple Crown winner and Horse of the Year Sir Barton was unveiled in front of the Audley Farm stallion barn where the son of Star Shoot began his stud career in 1921.
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
Colonial Downs may be looking for a manager to operate its live Thoroughbred and harness meet after releasing general manager Iain Woolnough Nov. 10. It also closed one of its nine off-track betting parlors in Virginia.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
A, Ferris Allen III won two races on Colonial Downs' closing day program Aug. 6 to become the first trainer to win 200 races in Virginia. He also demolished his own single-season record for victories.
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Ten colts hope to make it to "first base" June 21 at Colonial Downs with the fourth running of the $600,000 Colonial Turf Cup (gr. IIIT). The 1 1/16-race is the first leg of the $5-million Jacobs Investments Grand Slam of Grass.
Monday, June 16, 2008
Colonial Downs in Virginia is prepared for a rather hot start to its 2008 meet, which gets under way the evening of June 9.
Monday, June 09, 2008
Victor Harrison has been selected to replace Stan Bowker as executive secretary of the Virginia Racing Commission.
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
The Virginia Racing Commission will offer free pre-race testing for anabolic and androgenic steroids in horses that race at Colonial Downs this year.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Just hours after horsemen and scientists questioned the model rule regulating anabolic steroids in racehorses and suggested a national roll-out of the rules later this year or early next year is more practical, regulators in the Mid-Atlantic region announced they are sticking with plans to implement the regulations as quickly as possible.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Colonial Downs in Virginia is on the market because of its inability to add other forms of gambling, track owner Jacobs Entertainment said in a Jan. 11 notice.
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Seeking overall growth in horse racing, the Virginia Racing Commission Dec. 19 extended Colonial Downs' request for 40 days of live Thoroughbred racing to 45 for 2008.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
The Charles Town Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association has hired racing industry veteran Lenny Hale as its new executive director, the organization announced Oct. 1.
Tuesday, October 02, 2007
Colonial Downs and Virginia horsemen have filed a lawsuit claiming Youbet.com is operating illegally without a license in the commonwealth, and want the advance deposit wagering company to pay back hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost source-market fees.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Officials tracking an unusually high number of horse deaths at Colonial Downs said an ongoing investigation hasn't indicated problems with the turf course or dirt track at the Virginia racetrack.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Horsemen are calling for an end to the stalemate over account wagering; and even though providers say they want it to end as well, there doesn't appear to be a resolution in sight.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Horsemen and chemists believe drug positives aren't cut and dried, but regulators suggest the interests of the public, members of which may not understand the science of drug testing, must be protected.
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Summer Doldrums will have more than a rubber match with Strike a Deal when the two meet in the $1-million Virginia Derby (gr. IIT) July 21 at Colonial Downs. Not only will Summer Doldrums' trainer Rick Violette see his archrival, he will see the faces of past race victors.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The National Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association will address distribution of racing content, equine drug testing, and health insurance during workshop discussions at its summer convention scheduled for July 19-22 in Williamsburg, Va.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Jockey Joe Judice, injured June 18 in a three-horse spill at Colonial Downs, has suffered a broken vertebra in his neck and will be sidelined for several months, according to a press release from the Virginia race track.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Colonial Downs has an agreement in place with CBS to nationally televise the 10th running of the $1-million Virginia Derby (gr. IIT). The one-hour broadcast begins at 5 p.m. (EST) July 21st with post time for the Virginia Derby set for 5:44 p.m.
Friday, June 01, 2007
Members of the Virginia Racing Commission acted on a wide range of issues at their monthly meeting May 16, including the implementation of testing for race day steroid levels and the reversion of an apprentice jockey license.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
An application by twinspires.com, the new Churchill Downs Inc.-owned account wagering service, was approved by the Virginia Racing Commission.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Audley Farm's Night Fax, dam of 2006 Virginia champion Miss Goodnight, died April 7 from complications from internal bleeding.
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
A confirmed case of neurologic equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) at an equine hospital in Leesburg, Va., has resulted in numerous hold orders at farms in Maryland and Virginia as horses released from the hospital after being exposed to the sick horse are tracked back to their home farms.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
Penn National and Charles Town racetracks have imposed restrictions on horses shipping to their tracks as a result of suspected cases of equine herpesvirus in the Mid Atlantic region.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Instant Racing bill rejected by Virginia House. Conference committee could take up but session ends Feb. 24.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Officials in Maryland and Virginia are taking action after a horse had possible indirect exposure to neurologic equine herpesvirus-1.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
A bill that would allow Instant Racing as a means of funding for transportation and purses in Virginia is on the also-eligible's list hoping to make the field. Members of the Virginia House Committee on General Laws tabled the bill by voice vote Feb. 15. The bill could be brought back up in committee prior to Feb. 20. Virginia's General Assembly session ends Feb 24.
Friday, February 16, 2007
After gaining approval 23-14 by the Virginia Senate, an Instant Racing bill returns to the Virginia House where a similar bill failed to get out of committee several weeks ago.
Thursday, February 08, 2007
A Virginia Senate committee has approved legislation that would authorize Instant Racing machines at Colonial Downs and off-track betting parlors.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
A Virginia House of Delegates committee is scheduled to tackle legislation to authorize Instant Racing at a Jan. 30 hearing.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Old races may provide new funds to maintain Virginia roads should lawmakers pass a bill that has been re-introduced in the General Assembly. A similar bill that had been submitted during the General Assembly's special transportation session last September was passed over.
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Bowl Game, the champion turf male of 1979 who was believed to be the oldest living Eclipse Award winner, was euthanized due to the infirmities of old age Nov. 10 at the age of 32. Under the care of the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation since 1998, he had been living at the Paeonian Springs, Va., farm of TRF President Johnathan Miller.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Uncle Rocco will be standing his first season to the public in 2007 at Shining Rock Farm near Kenbridge, Va., to approved mares.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
A proposed bill on "Instant Racing" could make an instant impact on purse account and potholes in Virginia.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
In a collaborative initiative to expand advance deposit account wagering, Colonial Downs has teamed up with Chevy's Restaurant and Night Club in Chesapeake, Va., to promote new wagering technology that could be the horse racing's equivalent to video poker and bar trivia.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Though on-track numbers were down at Colonial Downs, the Virginia racetrack reported gains in off-track business for its 41-day meet that ended Aug. 12.
Monday, August 14, 2006
Although the winner of the $1 million Colonial Turf Cup isn't "showing up" for Saturday's $1 million Virginia Derby (gr. IIT) at Colonial Downs, the field includes plenty in its 12-horse field including two Triple Crown starters and four Turf Cup returnees.
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
While preparations are being made for the 2007 celebration commemorating the 400th anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, Colonial Downs officials are looking forward to experiencing their own "new world" this summer when the Virginia racetrack opens for live racing June 16.
Thursday, June 15, 2006
The Virginia location of Dinwiddie Farm has closed its doors, but the operation will continue to breed and race Thoroughrbeds, said farm manager Bud Paul.
Thursday, May 04, 2006
