IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: “MILLIONS OF DOLLARS IN INCENTIVES REVITALIZING VIRGINIA RACEHORSE INDUSTRY”
Posted on August 21st, 2024
~ “7-year-old thoroughbred certification program has contributed $86.2M to the state economy” ~
Virginia thoroughbred racing is enjoying a time of rebirth and growth thanks to the dedication of individuals and organizations throughout the equine and racing industries, including Colonial Downs Racetrack, which hosts special races just for Virginia-based or bred horses.
The Daily Progress recently wrote about the impact the Virginia-Certified Residency Program is having on the racing industry at Colonial Downs Racetrack and in communities around Virginia. The program is delivering millions in economic impact around Virginia and helping Virginia reclaim its place as a major player in the thoroughbred horse racing industry.
Millions of dollars in incentives revitalizing Virginia racehorse industry
7-year-old thoroughbred certification program has contributed $86.2M to the state economy
By Joana Suleiman, Charlottesville Daily Progress | Saturday, August 10, 2024
Long before Caroline County’s Secretariat won the Triple Crown and Misty of Chincoteague was made famous by the eponymous novel, Virginia was already the birthplace and proving ground for some of the most legendary horses in the world.
“We’ve raised and bred some of the best racehorses in history,” Sara Miller, who owns and operates Timbercreek Farm in Albemarle County northwest of Charlottesville with her husband Zach, told The Daily Progress.
But the number and caliber of those horses started to decline 20 years ago. Since then, the industry has responded with a solution that has proven not only effective but lucrative.
The Millers’ operation is part of the Virginia-Certified Residency Program for thoroughbred horses, an initiative that is credited with revitalizing Virginia’s equine industry. According to a recent study, the program contributed a total of $86.2 million to the state’s economy and $1.8 million in tax revenue since its creation in 2016 — a reasonable return on investment compared to the $54.5 million the program has cost and the $14.6 million it has doled out in incentives over the same time.
Sara Miller, owner of Timbercreek Farm outside Charlottesville, walks out of the stables July 25. [CAL CARY, THE DAILY PROGRESS]
The program awards the developer of a Virginia-certified horse — that is, the person who owned the horse at the time of its first career start — whenever it wins a race in the mid-Atlantic, which in the industry covers a greater geography than is typically implied, spanning New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia and Virginia.
Developers of Virginia-certified horses earn up to a 25% bonus for runners in open races in those states placing first through fourth. A larger bonus of 50% is offered to the owners of Virginia-bred and Virginia-sired horses. That’s an impressive sum when one accounts for the size of the purses in some Virginia-restricted races — races in which the runners must be Virginia-bred, -sired or certified. Colonial Downs in New Kent County is boasting purse money totaling $2.5 million over seven stakes at its Festival of Racing Sunday, delayed a day to avoid Tropical Storm Debby.
Johnny Johnson leads a yearling thoroughbred out of the stables July 25 at Timbercreek Farm outside Charlottesville. [CAL CARY photos, THE DAILY PROGRESS]
Debbie Easter, executive director of the Charlottesville-based Virginia Thoroughbred Association, told The Daily Progress that Virginia’s thoroughbred foal crops “had been in decline since the mid-’90s, and our thoroughbred breeder’s incentive program was underfunded compared to the surrounding states we compete with that have year-round racing programs. We were not going to be able to compete trying to lure breeders to Virginia when we had less incentive money. So we decided if we couldn’t be a top destination for breeding horses, why not incentivize folks to send them to Virginia to be raised? So, we came up with the thoroughbred program.”
