Middleburg Training Center (VA) donated to TB Retirement Foundation

[Glimmerglass]

The Middleburg Training Center was acquired by businessman/point to point rider/ex MFH Randy Rouse - who turned 100 last Friday - a decade ago for approx $4M. It has been on the market for years and ringing up losses. Unpaid bills and costly upkeep for the Paul Mellon built 149-acre facility in St Louis area “next to” Middleburg VA has been a drain for Rouse.

So rather than develop the property he decided to donate the property:

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/middleburg-training-center-donated-to-trf/

It was under contract this fall, but that deal fell through and it went back on the market for $3.5M. Supposedly it was considered in recent years for a NoVa venue for Virginia thoroughbred racing replacing the shuttered Colonial Downs. Although there is no permanent Pari-mutual wagering license in Fauquier or Loudoun Counties. Great Meadow has a one-day license for the spring and fall with the Gold Cup and Int’l Gold Cup steeplechase races.

Rouse was announced as the 26th recipient of the exceedingly prestigious F. Ambrose Clark Award from the National Steeplechase Assoc.

http://www.thoroughbreddailynews.com/randy-rouse-honored-with-nsas-f-ambrose-clark-award/

[Shammy_Davis]

How wonderful. One can only appreciate not only the financial investment Randy put into the track but his good intentions throughout. VA has been blessed with many great horsemen and women and he stands among them.

[rascalpony]

:applause: :encouragement:

This was just nice to read today. How are they planning to move it towards being self-sufficient? I’d be curious to know.

[Glimmerglass]

[QUOTE=rascalpony;8995682]
How are they planning to move it towards being self-sufficient? I’d be curious to know.[/QUOTE]

Few details on that point, although this article has some more info on next steps: http://www.fauquier.com/news/iconic-middleburg-training-center-donated-to-thoroughbred-retirement-foundation/article_c377cbb6-cea4-11e6-b8e5-b7b4fb184194.html

Lenny Hale, TRF president and chief operating officer, said that the center will continue its current operations, where 80 horses are now stabled. He indicated the TRF also plans to renovate the barns, continue to improve the track itself and add more fencing around currently unused fields to handle what he expects to be as many as 90 retired thoroughbreds on the property.

[Shammy_Davis]

Didn’t stay off the market long.

http://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/report-middleburg-training-center-sale-according-trf/

[Glimmerglass]

Yep - as our own Betsy Burke Parker had written last month it was being discussed (resale of the gift for needed funding) by some TRF board members from the very start:

http://www.virginiahorseracing.com/2…aining-center/

And today the property was formally listed for sale with a big cut in price for quick sale (or hopefully quicker) at $2,250,000. It seems exceedingly unlikely for any racing outfit to step up and buy it - although Centennial Farms [Wicked Strong, etc] does train some horses there:

https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3…82571291_zpid/

[Hunter_s_Rest]

Word on the street here is that ‘there are several interested buyers,’ who sound to my ears like private entities (like Centennial, though I would not think it would be them.)
Virginia Equine Alliance, who hold Virginia’s only pari-mutuel license, are ‘interested,’ according to my continuing interviews.

[Hunter_s_Rest]

(P.S. ---- It’s Burke, not Burked … )

[Shammy_Davis]

The last time I visited the MTC was right before it’s manager, trainer Paul Fout, died. That was some years ago and the facilities were showing the demands of time and disrepair then. It is only a 7/8 single dirt track.

The area is quite rural and access via typical country roads. The location in Northern VA looks appealing but I can see why Randy Rouse couldn’t sell it. Would not be surprised to learn that neighbors would be or currently now opposed to any expanded use of training center.

If the VEA has $2.3 plus the millions in upgrade costs to purchase this property, it definitely has some explaining to do to the VA taxpayer about how the state’s racing got to this low point.

[Hunter_s_Rest]

VEA didn’t drive Va. racing into the ground.

[Shammy_Davis]

@Hunter's Rest

VEA didn’t drive Va. racing into the ground.

The VEA participating organizations with their same leadership, including the current VEA President, are the responsible parties for the collapse of VA racing, Same old recipe, just a different mixing bowl.

[gothedistance]

**The area is quite rural and access via typical country roads. **

While the area is “wealthy rural” (Middleburg Hunt area), the track is located exactly 1 3/4 miles from a major Virginia East-West highway (Rt. 50) via a primary paved high speed road (Rt. 611). Neither of these roads are even remotely “country” roads. They are both well paved, and wide with a good amount of traffic. Just fine for racing horse vans, etc. The private access road into the training center is wide, paved, and just 3/10 of a mile before one hits the training track, and another 4/10 of a mile around the track to the barns.

The only “country” road (one road which is gravel) near the training track is to the side and back of the training center property. A secondary road not needed for access to the training track, but used a lot by the riding community to hack along, or to access the two vet clinics located there.

Just clearing up any misconception 'cuz I ride this area.

[Glimmerglass]

Access to the immediate area where the center is located in (“St Louis”) is fairly simple off Mosby Highway/Rt 50. However I think any plan would have a lot of logistical problems if they envisioned using it as another type of Great Meadow with a big event day.

Separately, Snake Hill Road (the gravel road cited, just north of the property) couldn’t accommodate much constant traffic - I generally have to pull over to allow another to pass - then again Foxcroft to Snake Hill isn’t exactly optimal for traffic either. Beautiful to go on for a Sunday casual drive though!

While much cheaper than say Hickory Tree Farm (for sale just under $10M) as a working racing stable/training facility there just isn’t interest in the area for such a complex like MTC. Those already involved in racing like Kinross already have their own place and new money for racing isn’t coming in.

HITS bought a former race track & stable (Balmoral) south of Chicago because it was a bargain for the stables and land plus it offered a new geographical market. However they already have Culpeper so this would just be largely redundant. I don’t see any other Hunter-Jumper outfit akin to HITS having the deep pockets to make it happen plus the area is pretty well covered with different shows in place so not exactly virgin territory.

That means the good chance for a developer to buy the property and convert the lands to homes - there are already developers building smaller cottages nearby - maybe keep a barn for common stabling with pleasure riding but effectively end the facility’s purpose.

[Hunter_s_Rest]

Ooooh! I KNOW who has those pockets, and now has interest in Middleburg.
Bellisimo!!!

[Glimmerglass]

If the plan for putting a flat race track at Morven Park now dead, see below, wouldn’t this give support for looking at MTC again as a potential permanent race site? The TRF could theoretically work out a deal whereby they still retain part of the property (for stabling) but get a cash infusion for selling off the track itself, some land, buildings and maybe get future cut of any proceeds from racing. That way the racing folks don’t have to come up with the $2.25M from day one and also the tax bill on the property will reduced as it will be smaller.

http://www.theracingbiz.com/2017/03/16/effort-build-track-morven-park-virginia-racing-interests-regroup/

[Shammy_Davis]

@Glimmerglass

If the plan for putting a flat race track at Morven Park now dead, see below, wouldn’t this give support for looking at MTC again as a potential permanent race site? . . . That way the racing folks don’t have to come up with the $2.25M from day one and also the tax bill on the property will reduced as it will be smaller.

Potential? Only if you believe horse racing is still viable in VA and the local and state taxpayers are willing to foot the bill for the highway upgrades to MTC, etc. Didn’t I read earlier in a post of yours about problems with logistics?

What happened to all the talk of locating to The Plains and Great Meadow? And OTB expansion? Two now in Richmond. Zero for the rest of the state including a big market in NVA… Something is amiss and the VEA and VRC are apparently keeping secrets.
.
It is time to show the VEA the exit. Had to laugh, Debbie Easter suggests in the article that horse racing needs to find its niche in VA. Too late for that, as Colonial Downs is likely to become a PGA class golf course. My suggestion to Debbie is if she wants to see a quality built racetrack in person again in VA maybe she should take up golf. That is if Jeff Jacobs will allow her on the course.

No one really believes TB horse racing is going to return. Bless VA harness racing. They have kept themselves together with an assemblage of motivation, persistence, and effort. Good for them.

[Glimmerglass]

An update on the property:

http://www.fauquier.com/news/middleburg-training-track-now-under-contract/article_e0e53d16-27da-11e7-9e80-ff800e55bc10.html

Purcellville businessman Chuck Kuhn, who plans to settle on the 150-acre property in mid-May and immediately put the land in conservation easement.

Kuhn confirmed that he will purchase the property for about $1.5 million and said he’s already exploring the possibility of revamping the barns, race track and other facilities and keeping it primarily as a horse training venue.

Kuhn, the founder, owner and CEO of Sterling-based JK Moving Services who has large farms in Purcellville, Winchester and Fauquier County: “We’re going to put it in conservation easement and hopefully keep it as a (horse) boarding operation and a training track.”

We’ll see if that all holds true and comes to fruition. As for the potential for it to be a limited use race track, eh still the eternal conversation …

[Kuhn] had preliminary conversations with representatives of the Virginia Equine Alliance, the Loudoun Equine Alliance and “several other people in the community” to discuss the future of the property.

The would-be owner is not without prior issues of ruffling feathers as his use of helicopter (he’s a licensed pilot) from Egypt Farm in Purcellville was met with some angst a couple years ago:

http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/breaking_ground/2014/07/theres-noisy-opposition-to-chuck-kuhns-proposed.html

[Hunter_s_Rest]

Shammy Davis –
One cannot just ‘put’ an OTB in Virginia without a referendum. That’s why OTB expansion has been limited to jurisdictions that already had referenda in place.
There was never any ‘talk’ of ‘relocating’ to Great Meadow or The Plains. That is a busy events center that happens to host 2 days of jump racing; 2 of 14 allowable in a county without pari-mutuel legislation in place by way of a referendum (see above.) Fauquier County does not allow pari-mutuel, except under the oddball code that allows up to 14 days of PM racing if operated at a 501c3 property by a 501c3 operator. (The same way Shenandoah Downs was able to run without legislation.)
But you knew all of that already.

[ASB_Stars]

@Hunter's Rest

Shammy Davis –
One cannot just ‘put’ an OTB in Virginia without a referendum. That’s why OTB expansion has been limited to jurisdictions that already had referenda in place.
There was never any ‘talk’ of ‘relocating’ to Great Meadow or The Plains. That is a busy events center that happens to host 2 days of jump racing; 2 of 14 allowable in a county without pari-mutuel legislation in place by way of a referendum (see above.) Fauquier County does not allow pari-mutuel, except under the oddball code that allows up to 14 days of PM racing if operated at a 501c3 property by a 501c3 operator. (The same way Shenandoah Downs was able to run without legislation.)
But you knew all of that already.

Just :winkgrin: That is all. Carry on. :yes:

[Glimmerglass]

An update with the new owner and heavy financial investment planned …

http://www.loudountimes.com/news/article/middleburg_training_track_to_be_restored_to_former_glory_in_3.5_million_pro

The Middleburg Training Track, a long sought-after facility in the Loudoun equine community, is being fully revamped in a multi-million dollar overhaul.

The property’s new owner, Chuck Kuhn, the founder and CEO of JK Movers, recently purchased the 150-acre property for $1.5 million from the Thoroughbred Retirement Foundation.

The facility had fallen into disrepair in recent years.

“It was once a real icon of the community. It was a sought-after track,” Kuhn said in an interview with the Times-Mirror. “It’s a big undertaking – the acquisition is costly and it’s time-consuming.”

But Kuhn is dedicated to the project and says his team is already making progress on the refurbishing. Work on restoring the racing track is slated to be completed by the end of this week.

“The track is back to being safe and healthy. Next we will be replacing the rail with the best in class and one that is safe for riders,” Kuhn said.

Next up will be barn renovations, with plans to expand the facilities and acquire additional property near by.

Kuhn estimated he will spend an additional $2 million dollars on the facility over the next year.