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Darrell Wood

USA

Harness racing returns for Shenandoah Fall Season

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 9/15/2026) —- Shenandoah Downs kicks off its eleventh fall season of pari-mutuel harness racing this Saturday, September 19 and continues a seven-week campaign thru November 1 with cards every Saturday & Sunday at 1:05 PM. The track hosted a seven-week meet back in spring and most recently played host to a four-day […]

USA

Caviart Daisy captures $107,800 championship

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 5/24/2026) —- Frank Chick’s Caviart Daisy put a stamp on her three-leg Virginia Breeders Fund series, capturing a $107,800 championship in the sophomore filly/mare pacing division Saturday at Shenandoah Downs. The Sweet Lou filly crossed in 1:53 1/5 over a sloppy track, equaling the divisional record mark she set two weeks ago. […]

USA

Mills transitions nicely from sulky to grader  

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 5/22/2026) — Gary Mills did not grow up in a harness racing family per se, but he has carved out a six-decade career in the business as a driver, trainer and most recently, as a track superintendent. After becoming the youngest driver to reach 500 wins early in his career, Mills transitioned […]

USA

Shenandoah Downs to Host Virginia Breeders Fund "Day of Champions" Card

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 5/20/2026) —- After two weeks of elimination races, fields for the Virginia Breeders Fund Three-Year-Old Championships are set and will take place this Saturday May 23 at Shenandoah Downs. The four title bouts each feature a full harness racing field of eight with combined purse money of $439,900. They are scheduled as […]

USA

Dunavant, Woogen to be recognized Saturday at Shenandoah Downs

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 5/8/2026) –— Congratulations to Dr. Charlie Dunavant and Dr. Scott Woogen, who will receive lifetime achievement recognition in the sport of harness racing Saturday during the first ever Shenandoah Downs “Wall of Colors” ceremony. The pair have been prominent leaders in Virginia harness racing and will be heralded for their invaluable contributions to this […]

USA

Seminole Breeze edges favored Kalispel in Virginia Sire Stake action

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK. VA — 4/26/2026) —- Lisa Martin and Kathy Schoeffel’s Seminole Breeze captured Saturday’s $100,000 Virginia Sire Stake three-year-old colt trot at Shenandoah Downs and turned the tables on 2025’s two-year-old champ Kalispel — as the pair reversed finishing order as sophomores. Corey Braden drove the son of Shibboleth Hanver to a one-half length victory […]

USA

Lou’s Starr sets new aged mark at Shenandoah

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 4/19/2026) —- Dan Chansky’s Lou’s Starr won the Open Handicap division at Shenandoah Downs for the second straight week — and set another track record in doing so — as the Woodstock oval completed weekend number two of action. The seven-week spring season continues every Saturday and Sunday afternoon through May 24. […]

USA

Trainer Scott Warnick scores natural hat trick

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 4/12/2026) — Trainer Scott Warnick kicked off the Shenandoah Downs spring harness meet in Woodstock by scoring a natural hat trick mid-card Saturday with wins in three consecutive races. He connected with Debbie Warnick’s Baltimore Jack N, Scott Woogen’s K J The Thirteenth and Dan Chansky’s Lou’s Starr. Baltimore Jack N wired […]

USA

Virginia's Shenandoah Downs kicks off its Spring season

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 4/9/2026) —- Shenandoah Downs will open its 11th season of pari-mutuel harness racing this Saturday April 11 with an 11-race program beginning at 1:05 PM. The opener will celebrate driver/trainer Roger Hammer’s distinguished career, his impact in Virginia racing over two-plus decades and his 80th birthday as well — with a commemorative t-shirt giveaway […]

USA

Iconic driver/trainer Roger Hammer to be honored on opening day

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 4/2/2026) —- Shenandoah Downs kicks off its 11th year of pari-mutuel harness racing in Woodstock April 11 and continues a 7-week spring season with cards every Saturday & Sunday at 1:05 PM thru May 24. A 7-week fall meet will follow from September 19 – November 1, preceded by a 4-day non-wagering session […]

USA

Virginia Stakes Finals purses boosted to $100,000

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA —- 3/6/2026) —- Virginia’s harness racing industry took another step forward this week when the Virginia Harness Horse Association (VHHA) announced that final leg purses for Virginia Breeder’s Stakes will increase to $100,000 — from $80,000 — and final leg purses for Virginia Sire Stakes races will also increase to $100,000 — from […]

USA

2026 harness meets confirmed at Shenandoah Downs

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 1/26/2026) —- Shenandoah Downs will usher in its 11th year of pari-mutuel harness racing April 11 and continue a 7-week spring meet thru May 24 with programs every Saturday & Sunday at 1:05 PM. A 7-week fall meet will follow and extend from September 19 – November 1. Dates for both campaigns were […]

USA

Caviart Daisy shatters record in $91,025 Virginia Breeder’s Filly Pace

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA —10/26/2025) —- Frank Chick’s Caviart Daisy thundered past front stepping Caviart Amore Mio coming out of turn two, passed the half four lengths the  best in :55 2/5 and cruised the rest of the way to a Virginia Breeder’s harness racing victory in the $91,025 2-Year-Old Filly Pace finale — in record time […]

USA

Young driver earns coveted ‘A’ License promotion

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 10/20/2025) —-To most people, the letters Q, F, P and A are simply four letters out of the 26-letter alphabet. To a harness horseman seeking a career driving pacers and trotters, these letters are paramount in that pursuit. Meet 19-year-old Jesse Barnard, an up & coming harness driver who competes at Shenandoah […]

USA

Caviart Daisey dazzles in VB's 2-Year-Old Pace Elimin

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 10/19/2025) —-Frank Chick’s dazzling 2-year-old harness racing filly Caviart Daisy (Sweet Lou) continued an impressive freshman campaign Sunday with a dominating nine length win in a $8,000 Virginia Breeders’ elimination pace at Shenandoah Downs. The daughter of Sweet Lou, fresh off a wire-to-wire performance one week ago in the first round of […]

USA

Captain Crunch gelding tops Virginia Breeders elims

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 10/12/2025) —- Four divisions of Virginia Breeder’s Fund first round pacing eliminations for harness racing freshmen took place Sunday at Shenandoah Downs and Janet Davis’s Caviart Trenton authored the fastest mile of the quartet, tripping the timer in 1:57.0 in a colt pace. Tim Deaton led the winning effort which came in […]

USA

Fern Paquet Jr. gets 3,500th career win

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 10/5/2025) — Dan Chansky’s Lou’s Starr (Sweet Lou), fresh off a harness racing appearance in the $500,000 Little Brown Jug final September 18, scored an impressive wire-to-wire win Sunday — in track record time for 3-year-old pacers — in the $9,000 winners over pacing feature at Shenandoah Downs. The Scott Warnick trainee […]

USA

Annual Wiener Dog Derby coming to Shenandoah Downs

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 9/22/2025) — Shenandoah Downs will host its biggest harness racing  promotional weekend of the fall season this coming Saturday September 27 — with a special $5,000 Sports Fans “Own a Horse for a Day” event — and Sunday September 28 — with the annual Wiener Dog Derby. The Virginia Harness Horse Association’s […]

USA

Kalispel dominates VSS division by 6 lengths

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 9/21/2025) —- Bob McKim’s Kalispel and Clifton Green’s KNL Neely Girl captured respective colt and filly trotting harness racing divisions in the first ever Virginia Sire Stakes races ever held at Shenandoah Downs this weekend. McKim’s trotter wired the eight-horse field in 2:02 2/5 and crossed six lengths the best in 2:02 […]

USA

Shenandoah Downs to host 2-Year-Old Sire Stake preps

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 9/19/2025) —- Shenandoah Downs, which enters weekend number two of its seven-week fall harness racing season in Woodstock, will host a round of Virginia Sire Stake races for the first time ever — for two-year-olds — on both Saturday and Sunday. Trotters will battle in a pair of $6,000 prep divisions Saturday […]

USA

Carter, Davis author four-win afternoons

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA — 9/14/2025) —- Drivers William Carter & Eric Davis kicked off opening weekend of the Shenandoah Downs fall meet in style with four-win afternoons on Saturday. Carter, who scored his first harness racing driving win ever at the Woodstock oval four years ago, connected with three of Bryson Dunning’s experienced pacers — Onlythetuffsurvive, […]

USA

Shenandoah Downs fall season opener kicks off on Saturday

By Darrell Wood ·

Shenandoah Downs kicks off the fall portion of its “10 Years of Racing in Woodstock” harness racing campaign this weekend with cards Saturday and Sunday (September 13 & 14) at the Shenandoah County Fairgrounds beginning at 1:05 PM. The 7-week season continues thru October 26. Parking and admission are always free and the action is […]

USA

Virginia Equine Alliance unveils $2 million multiuse barn

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA – Sept. 5, 2025) – The Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) celebrated the opening of its new $2 million multiuse barn on Friday, Sept. 5 with a ribbon-cutting at Shenandoah Downs. The 165-stall facility represents the latest chapter in Virginia’s harness racing story, one marked by resilience, investment and community spirit. More than 100 […]

USA

Woodstock legend John’s Dream now 51 from149

By Darrell Wood ·

(WOODSTOCK, VA —- 8/28/2025) —- Twelve-year-old gelding pacer John’s Dream (Dream Away), the winningest harness horse ever in Woodstock, Virginia, got his 30th local win during Thursday’s Shenandoah County Fair race card. Perry led his prize horse to a 1:56 4/5 mile, finishing the wire-to-wire effort three lengths the best. Overall, John’s Dream has 51 […]

Darrell Wood | Harnesslink