News

Tickets on sale now for Foxfield Fall Races – A Day for Families on Sunday, October 6

Portion of proceeds will benefit Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville   Albemarle County’s signature steeplechase racing event, the Foxfield Races return with the second steeplechase race of the National Steeplechase Association’s 2024 series. The Fall Races are a tradition for friends and families, and will take place on Sunday, October 6. Tickets are on sale now at foxfieldraces.com. Foxfield […]

Deadline to Register Stallions for the Virginia Harness Horse Association’s Sired Stakes Program is December 1 

The Virginia Harness Horse Association (VHHA)’s deadline to register stallions for the Virginia Sired Stakes 2025 breeding season is December 1. Now three years old, the Sired Stake initiative complements the VHHA’s Breeder’s Fund Race program and Certified Residency program — in an effort to keep standardbred racing in the Commonwealth moving forward. Sired Stake […]

Montpelier Hunt Race’s Recap

*Originally Posted on November 8th on nationalsteeplechase.com, photos courtesy of Douglas Lees* The fourth and final fall steeplechase meet in the Commonwealth of Virginia took place on the lawn of President James Madison’s estate in Montpelier Station, northeast of Charlottesville, featuring an eight-race card worth $245,000. Headlining the event was the Grade 3 $75,000 Noel […]

First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin and Governor Glenn Youngkin Announce Fifth 2024 Spirit of Virginia Award Recipients 

*Press release distributed by the Office of the First Lady on November 1st, 2024, Photos by Shealah Craighead* Yesterday, Governor Glenn Youngkin and First Lady Suzanne S. Youngkin awarded the fifth 2024 Spirit of Virginia Awards to the Virginia Horse Center Foundation in recognition of its exceptional contributions to Virginia’s equestrian community and its impact […]

Brooksforreal Wins Ninth Race in a Row & Prevails in $90,975 Virginia Breeders 2-Year-Old Colt/Gelding Championship at Shenandoah Downs  

Kelsey Wagner’s Brooksforreal won his ninth straight race in wire-to-wire fashion and track record time Sunday in the $90,975 Virginia Breeder’s divisional championship for 2-Year-Old Colt & Gelding pacers at Shenandoah Downs. A total of eight Breeder’s titles for 2 and 3-year-olds were contested with $720,265 in purse money on the line.  Trainer John Wagner’s […]

Virginia Breeders’ $720,625 Championship Day Card Set for Sunday October 27 at Shenandoah Downs 

Fields for the 27th annual Virginia’s Breeders Championships are set for this Sunday October 27th at Shenandoah Downs and will help usher out the fall racing season in Woodstock. Eight divisional championships featuring 2 and 3-year-old pacers and trotters of both sexes will be carded on the front end of the 14-race card and run […]

Former Baseball Player/Coach Michael Dailey Wins First Pari-Mutuel Harness Race as a Driver at Shenandoah Downs  

Michael Dailey, fresh off a thirty-year career in baseball at the professional, college and high school levels — and just six months removed from finishing third in the Virginia Harness Horse Association’s (VHHA) “Own a Horse for a Day” promotion —completed a successful transition to harness racing professionally when he collected his first pari-mutuel driving […]

Lest We Forget: Majestic Prince Earned His Name, But Arts And Letters Earned Respect

Originally posted on Paulickreport.com on 10/22/2024, written by Elizabeth Martiniak Arts and Letters is among the many Virginia-Bred horses in the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame The first Kentucky Derby I remember watching was 1969, won by the drop-dead gorgeous Majestic Prince. My first Preakness came next, and once again, Majestic Prince won, […]

Brooksforreal Rewrites Record Book for Second Straight Week at Shenandoah Downs; $720,625 Virginia Breeder’s Championship Day Set for this Sunday 

 Kelsey Wagner’s Brooksforreal shattered the track record for 2-year-old gelding pacers — for the second straight week — when he captured an $8,000 Virginia Breeders elimination division Sunday at Shenandoah Downs. The son of Rusty’s For Real tripped the timer in his wire-to-wire performance in 1:54 1/5, nearly two seconds better than his 1:56.0 effort […]

Virginia Fall Races Recap

Originally posted on 10/17/2024 on nationalsteeplechase.com At Glenwood Park in Middleburg… Mystic Strike prevails in battle of the ages Two grand old men of timber racing, with a combined 21 stakes victories, battled it out in the $50,000 National Sporting Library & Museum Cup at the Virginia Fall Races, and when the dust cleared it […]

Cathy Rutherford Memorial Race – in Memory of Shenandoah Downs’ Beloved Paddock Judge

OBITUARY: Catherine A Rutherford, age 58 of Martinsville, Illinois died Saturday, September 28, 2024, at 3:40 p.m. at her home following her valiant battle against breast cancer.  Cathy was born February 18,1966 in Manistee, MI the daughter of Kenneth & Elizabeth Rutherford.  She graduated from Decatur (MI) High School with the Class of 1984 and had […]