Long day indeed.
I agree that this is another nail in the coffin… But Colonial management does not want to run races. They want to profit year round from wagering while investing as little as possible in live racing.
ODTHA is not new, it is a sham group that was started to counter the VHBPA. The track has to have an agreement with a horsemen’s group, so of course it would be nice for Colonial to have their own group. They sent letters out to all the VHBPA members a year + ago. I don’t think anyone took the bait. Look at their website – there are only two board members.
Believe me, a lot of people want racing in VA but no one is going to let Colonial keep all the wagering revenue without a real meet.
[QUOTE=JJ’sLuckyTrain;8406269]
I agree that this is another nail in the coffin… But Colonial management does not want to run races. They want to profit year round from wagering while investing as little as possible in live racing.
ODTHA is not new, it is a sham group that was started to counter the VHBPA. The track has to have an agreement with a horsemen’s group, so of course it would be nice for Colonial to have their own group. They sent letters out to all the VHBPA members a year + ago. I don’t think anyone took the bait. Look at their website – there are only two board members.
Believe me, a lot of people want racing in VA but no one is going to let Colonial keep all the wagering revenue without a real meet.[/QUOTE]
You are absolutely right. There are no winners and no innocent parties here. I have been watching horse racing for a long time and been saddened at the complete collapse of the VA TB industry beginning in the 70’s, but as the Roanoke Times reported the General Assembly will have the last word on this. Like PA and WV, they will have little appetite to continue funding or subsidizing a bankrupt industry. The difference for PA and WV is they have supportive breeding sectors. VA doesn’t. JMHO opinion but yesterday’s VRC decision is the obituary for horse racing and the VA TB & SB industries.
Very sad.
Racing horsemen, nationally, should take note of this PETA link.
[I]Support the End of Horse-Racing Cruelty at Colonial Downs Racetrack
An average of 24 horses experience fatal breakdowns at racetracks across the country every week, and hundreds more are shipped to foreign slaughterhouses. But with your support, we may be able to end racing abuses at one of these tracks.
Virginia’s Colonial Downs racetrack shut its doors in April, after failing to reach an agreement with horse owners. Now, track owners are deciding whether to continue using the track for racing or to renovate the area for nonracing activities.
The horse-racing industry is rife with drug abuse, injuries, and death. PETA’s investigation of trainer Steve Asmussen revealed that nearly every horse was given a variety of drugs and that horses were forced to race and train while injured.
With your help, we can end the suffering at one of these tracks. Join us in supporting Colonial Downs’ proposal to renovate the land for nonracing activities!
[/I]
https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=6223
The VA racing industry has been it’s own worst enemy but if it had not collapsed on its own, PETA was standing by to help. Other states should be aware.
Blah, blah blah.
[QUOTE=Laurierace;8407035]
Blah, blah blah.[/QUOTE]
Thanks for all the updates, Shammy. Seems Va bred is going away.
The VRC celebrates the holidays by suspending Twin Spires ADW. Twins Spires disputes the constitutionality of VA legislation. Shoot I don’t think the IRS is constitutional. Maybe I have a case. I’ll watch this very closely between trips to MD and WV tracks.
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/96662/vrc-suspends-twinspires-adw-license
As Winston Churchill is often quoted “this is the beginning of the end.”
http://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/96991/colonial-owner-to-sell-off-track-properties
It appears that Jeff Jacobs, owner of Colonial Downs, remains slightly optimistic about returning racing to his track. Here is a link to an open letter to VA horsemen from the ODTHA which was formed as an alternative to dealing with the VHBPA.
http://www.theracingbiz.com/2016/01/12/odtha-jacobs-not-to-blame-for-virginia-impasse/
The truth is that getting inside a VA horseman’s head by letter probably won’t work. Sucessful track operations thrive on personal involvement and a keen awareness of who horsemen are and what they expect. Although VA racing horsemen leadership has been appallingly bad historically, Colonial Downs executives were not noted for their equestrian or horse racing acumen either. To make matters more objectionable to VA horse racing the ODTHA leadership is based in NJ.
The VRC recently elected D G Van Clief, Jr as chairman. Same old same old. The structure and organization of the current VRC is anathema to the return of Colonial Downs to live racing or anything but countryside meets with no allure for high end stakes venturing connections.
Executive Secretary of the VRC resigns. National search for successor begins soon. If you are looking for a bottom level executive position that will take your career nowhere and push your emotional stability to the limit this might be the right fit.
Bernie Hettel indicates in his resignation letter that VA horseracing has future room for growth. Correct he is, right from scratch would be a more precise comment.
VA is the first state to legalize “fantasy sports.” The same Governor that allowed racing to be trashed in the Old Dominion signs legislation that says fantasy games are skill, not betting. A real skill would be determining how small Governor McAulliff’s brain really is.
The fantasy in VA is the disappearance of an entire equine sports industry. I suspect that when his term is up the current governor will be heading to Disneyland.
It appears that the VA Equine Alliance has a plan to bring racing back to the Old Dominion. As far as flat racing in 2016, racing will be near zero, but harness horsemen may have a few more opportunities.
For 2017, if Morven Park is up to the task with a single turf course and apparently no grandstand it looks like picnic baskets and tailgates are back in vogue as they were pre-Colonial Downs for charity event horse racing.
http://www.paulickreport.com/news/the-biz/virginia-equine-alliance/
Following the April meeting of the VRC on the Virginia’s for Horse Racing Intregrity facebook page, Tad Berman posted comments (April 6 at 3:39 ) titled THE VaHBPA $4 Million Slush Fund.
https://m.facebook.com/Virginians-For-Integrity-in-Horse-Racing-610602669036123/
It appears that even those once outspoken against Colonial Downs’ future, like Tad Berman, are wising up to the corrupt horsemen leadership in the Old Dominion. Mr. Berman ’ s comments are well worth reading.
I agree that there needs to be accountability with the money.
But, I don’t understand opposition to running stakes races for VA-breds in MD again this year. Supporting restricted races for
VA-breds is a good thing.
[QUOTE=JJ’sLuckyTrain;8615066]
I agree that there needs to be accountability with the money.
But, I don’t understand opposition to running stakes races for VA-breds in MD again this year. Supporting restricted races for
VA-breds is a good thing.[/QUOTE]
I tend to agree, because what other options are available for VA breds at this time?
VA mares bred in 2015 were 31. In 2014, the number was 29. Restricted stakes for VA breds is a moot issue, even if you account for VA owned mares bred out of state and returned to foal. There is no breeding industry in VA and has not been here for many decades. The issue maybe better stated as the current VRC and horsemen leadership is involved in “smoke and mirrors” collaboration just to keep their jobs.
Here is an informative article that might interest you. About the region, it does put the situation in perspective.
http://www.theracingbiz.com/2015/11/30/mares-bred-report-shows-shifts-decline-in-region/
But, if the incentives are there to keep (and hopefully increase) people breeding in VA, it has an economic impact. Of the many (many, many) thousands of dollars I spent on board, farrier, feed/hay (once horses were back at my farm in VA,) vet, etc., one third was spent in WV. The incentives are there to help grow the breeding industry here and it seems like a good use of the wagering revenue to me – I am a biased, of course.
[QUOTE=JJ’sLuckyTrain;8616807]
But, if the incentives are there to keep (and hopefully increase) people breeding in VA, it has an economic impact. Of the many (many, many) thousands of dollars I spent on board, farrier, feed/hay (once horses were back at my farm in VA,) vet, etc., one third was spent in WV. The incentives are there to help grow the breeding industry here and it seems like a good use of the wagering revenue to me – I am a biased, of course.[/QUOTE]
Your points are all well taken. Having spent a journeyman life around horses I fully understand. As pointed out in the “slush fund” commentary, the failure of horsemen leadership in VA throughout the decades has brought the VA TB industry to this point. I have kept this thread going because, though retired, I grieve the lost of horse racing also. Hopefully, current VA breeders and owners like yourself will seek new leaders who are honest and dedicated more to the industry than the security of their salaries. The current ones have failed at the expense of owners and breeders such as yourself, while reaping the rewards of slush fund expense accounts and connections.
