The following piece appeared in FaquierNow March 2, 2026 and was written by Leland Schwartz.
The U.S. Army wants to purchase the 150-acre Middleburg Training Center where some of Virginia’s top racehorses are trained on its nearly one-mile racetrack, something the region’s horsemen say will “cripple” the sport in the area.
The Army hopes to base its famous Caisson Detachment – the team of horses and military riders that provide funeral honors for fallen service members and high-ranking dignitaries – at the Middleburg site. The detachment is now located at the 40-acre NOVA Equestrian Center, or NEC, in Aldie.
Losing the Middleburg Training Center – at 35355 Training Center Lane in western Loudoun County – would have far-reaching consequences for Virginia’s Thoroughbred breeding and racing industry, area horsemen say. The training center provides the biggest hub for Virginia-based Thoroughbreds, which generated $86.2 million in economic impact and supported 825 full-time jobs in the state from 2017-2023, according to the Virginia Equine Alliance.
The alliance, the Piedmont Fox Hounds Conservation Fund and the Virginia Piedmont Heritage Area are hoping to stop the potential sale. A community meeting to address the sale has been set for March 4 at 5:30 p.m. in Buchanan Hall on Route 50 in Upperville.
“The bottom line is that it’s just the wrong place for the Caisson horses,” Sean Clancy of Riverdee Stable said. “Why destroy a viable agricultural business? Why displace hundreds of horses who contribute to the state’s economy? Why eliminate jobs from hard-working Virginians?”
A 2025 champion steeplechase owner, Clancy said there are other suitable places for the Caisson horses, and “everyone welcomes them in the area, just not this venue. The Middleburg Training Center is one of the great success stories in our state. Through a concerted effort, it has become a premier facility and an economic boon to the state. It’s something we need to protect, not pillage.”
The current Caisson herd, according to the detachment, consists of 43 horses comprising three squads. Individual squads consist of 11 horses each: six horses for the wagon, one section horse and one riderless horse. The other horses serve as alternates.
If the sale were to go through, the Army’s horses would permanently remove 240 stalls from the area, which provide stabling for horses to gain Virginia residency and to race at Colonial Downs in New Kent County.
There is no other public or private training facility in Loudoun, Fauquier or surrounding counties that possesses the scale, track design or infrastructure necessary to absorb the displaced horses and horsemen, opponents of the Army’s plan say.
The Army Corps of Engineers in November released its draft environmental assessment and draft finding of “No Significant Impact” for the proposed acquisition.
“The significant impact would be on Virginia’s racing industry and on St. Louis, an historic African American community, which relies heavily on the jobs at the training center,” Clancy said.
In its report, the Army Corps said the “property is being considered to support the well-being and training of the horses of the Caisson Detachment, part of the 3d U.S. Infantry Regiment (The Old Guard). The acquisition would provide ample space for the Detachment’s 100-horse herd, allowing for horse care, dedicated training facilities, and land improvements essential to their mission of providing dignified ceremonial funerary support.”
The facility is owned by Chuck Kuhn, who built and runs the largest independent moving company in the country, JK Moving Services. Kuhn is credited with saving the Training Center, which was constructed by philanthropist Paul Mellon in 1956, purchased by a group of local trainers, then purchased by businessman Randy Rouse, who bequeathed it to the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation. Unable to handle running a training center, the foundation sold it for $1.5 million to Kuhn in 2017.
Kuhn then invested in restoring and upgrading the facility, renovating the track, the 11 barns and all the stalls and paddocks. According to land records, Kuhn placed the property in a conservation easement.
Al Griffin, Virginia Gold Cup co-chairman and National Steeplechase Association president, put a fine point on the problem.
“It’s not just the horses in the barns at the training center that would be affected,” Griffin said. “Horses from all over the area come to work there and get their gate cards. The Training Center’s loss would cripple the horse racing business in this area.”
Opponents of the Army sale point to “substantial damage” to the Virginia-Certified Residency Program, which provides owner and breeder bonuses for horses that reside and train in Virginia for a minimum period and subsequently win races in the Mid-Atlantic region.
“The loss of these stalls would immediately reduce future participation in the Virginia-Certified Program and diminish the Commonwealth’s competitiveness in attracting out-of-state owners and trainers,” the groups opposing the sale said in announcing Wednesday’s meeting.
In 2023, the Caisson Platoon, then located in stables at Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., was temporarily deactivated because horses were dying from poor nutrition and a lack of access to adequate space for grazing and rest, leading to a year-long rehabilitation overhaul of the unit.
Since then the Army has been looking for a new permanent home for the detachment.
Legendary performers such as Kentucky Derby winner Spectacular Bid and champion Hoist the Flag trained at the Middleburg Training Center.
