Jim Colvin

Mountaineer Park's premier stakes, the GIII West Virginia Derby, will shift to the first Sunday in August with a later post time this year in an effort to make the $500,000, nine-furlong race for 3-year-olds better stand out against national simulcast competition. The West Virginia Derby, plus the supporting GIII $200,000 West Virginia Governor's S. at 1 1/16 miles for 3-year-olds and up, will now be carded Sunday, Aug. 6, after the track received unanimous permission for that change at Tuesday's West Virginia Racing Commission (WVRC)  meeting. The purses for...

A representative of the Horse Racing Integrity Act's (HISA) Racetrack Safety Team has been on the grounds at Mountaineer Park in West Virginia this past week--at a time when the track is experiencing an ongoing chronic shortage of attending, association and regulatory veterinarians, according to observers. According to Jami Poole, president of the Mountaineer Horseman's Benevolent and Protective Association (MHBPA), there is often no veterinarian on the facility's grounds during training hours. "I'm not pleased about the vet situation here in the morning time," said Poole, who estimated that training...