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(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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. […]
(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 […]
(WOODSTOCK, VA —- 2/10/2026) —- The Virginia Harness Horse Association (VHHA), which added a lucrative Sired Stakes initiative to their portfolio of incentive programs in 2022, announced that 15 stallions will be standing in the state for the 2026 breeding season. Ten trotting stallions and five pacing stallions, including seveal new ones, will stand at Virginia […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
Woodstock, Virginia, Sept. 21, 2025…The United States Harness Drivers Club and New York’s Southern Tier Amateur Club combined forces on Saturday afternoon, Sept. 20, to provide a memorable afternoon of harness racing at Shenandoah Downs. Not only was the Club competition at its peak in their two heats of battle, Shenandoah Down’s Dee Lineweaver made […]
(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 […]
(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, […]
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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(WOODSTOCK, VA —- 8/25/2025) —- Edinburg, Virginia native John Pence is an avid supporter and fan of the Shenandoah County Fair which kicked off its 106th edition Monday and continues at the grounds in Woodstock through Saturday August 30th. Pence is so avid in fact that he hasn’t missed a day at the Fair in […]
(WOODSTOCK, VA — 8/11/2025) —- Shenandoah Downs will continue celebrating its 10th year of pari-mutuel harness racing in Woodstock with a 7-week pari-mutuel meet this fall at the Woodstock oval, scheduled to run from September 13 – October 26. Racing will take place every Saturday and Sunday at 1:05 PM. Racing applications for the fall session […]
(WOODSTOCK, VA—-7/22/2025) —- This past spring, Shenandoah Downs gave eight lucky female racing fans a chance to “Own a Horse for a Day” and compete for a $5,000 purse on Mother’s Day. With the fall racing season just around the corner, the track announced that eight male sports-oriented fans will get that same lucrative opportunity […]
(WOODSTOCK, VA — 6/17/2025) — Shenandoah Downs recently completed the spring portion of its “Ten Years of Racing in Woodstock” campaign for 2025 which featured a seven-week spring meet that ran from April 26 – June 8. The season was highlighted by a slate of Virginia Breeder’s Fund 3-year-old divisional championships for pacers and trotters […]
WOODSTOCK, VA — 6/8/2025) —- Jane Dunavant’s Kat’s Fancy (Dusty Winner) got to the front in Saturday’s $89,600 Virginia Breeder’s 3-Year-Old Filly Trot field at Shenandoah Downs, held off challenges from stablemate Peggy’s Girl and betting choice Caviart Glory without ever relinquishing the lead, then surged to a one-half length harness racing win in 1:56 […]
