Virginia gets one day of turf racing at Great Meadow

The Virginia Equine Alliance, a partnership between the state’s horsemen and breeders, has scheduled six Thoroughbred turf races to be held at an equine facility in The Plains, Virginia, for Sept. 20, the group has announced.

The six races will take place at Great Meadow, which has facilities for steeplechasing, eventing, and other equine events. All of the races will be flat races, with distances ranging from 1 1/8 miles to 1 1/2 miles, the group said. Entries will be taken by the Maryland Jockey Club.

The day’s races are likely to be the first flat races held in Virginia since 2013. The state’s only Thoroughbred track, Colonial Downs, did not run any races last year after the state’s horsemen and the track could not agree on race dates.

The Virginia Equine Alliance is a partnership between the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association and the Virginia Thoroughbred Association, a breeders’ group, along with a harness group and the Virginia Gold Cup Association.

Though Colonial Downs surrendered its racing license last year, the track has filed an application to conduct one day of turf racing this year on Dec. 3. The track says it has an agreement to run the races with the Old Dominion Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association. Earlier this year, the Virginia Racing Commission, which will consider the application at a meeting on Sept. 9, officially recognized the Virginia HBPA as the representing body of the state’s horsemen.