Virginia Racing

In conjunction with BES Studios, the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) was awarded a Telly Award in recognition of a sixty second TV commercial titled "Virginia Wins With Horses" that was submitted in the annual competition which honors excellence in video and television across all screens. The BES Studios and the VEA  received a "Silver" in the Travel & Tourism Regional TV category--the highest achievement awarded by the Telly awards judging panel, a body of over 200 executives from television networks, production companies, global agencies, immersive content studios, and streaming platforms....

The Virginia-Certified Residency Program generated an estimated economic impact of $86.2 million between 2017 and 2023, according to a study commissioned by the Virginia Equine Alliance. "This is a significant total, especially taking into consideration that the program is still relatively new," said Debbie Easter, president of the Virginia Equine Alliance. "The program didn't begin until 2017, yet already is demonstrating its value." The program requires horses to reside at least six consecutive months at a Virginia farm during his or her first two years to receive a certification as...

Virginia's Colonial Downs has cancelled its Friday's card due to an excessive heat forecast. The National Weather Service is predicting heat indices for Friday ranging from 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit, numbers that examine the combined effects of temperature, wind speed, and humidity. Thursday's nine-card will still be run as scheduled with a first post of 1:30 p.m. ET. Friday's card will be brought back as drawn on Wednesday, Aug. 2. Post time will be 1:30 p.m. Officials at Colonial Downs came to the decision jointly with the Virginia Horsemen's Benevolent and...

By 2026, the gaming corporation that owns Colonial Downs is aiming to nearly double the amount of racing at the turf-centric Virginia track, potentially expanding the current boutique-styled summer race meet from 27 to 50 dates. That news was revealed Thursday morning by Bill Carstanjen, the chief executive officer of Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), who briefly mentioned the dates increase during a public quarterly earnings conference call with investment bankers. The reason has everything to do with CDI's gaming revenue and apparently very little do with the overall scope of...