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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 — 6/11/2026) —- The Virginia Harness Horse Association (VHHA) announced that a record $500,000 in bonus monies will be available annually to standardbred foals that participate in its lucrative Certified Residency Program beginning with the 2026 foal crop and beyond. The current $400,000 bonus level still applies to the 2025 foal crop, whose […]
(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. […]
(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 […]
Terang trainer landed a double at Melton on Saturday evening through his pair of Love Ya Brother (Love You) and All Blazing Guns (Sweet Lou) who caused a boilover against a strong harness racing field. Love Ya Brother was not highly fancied against an average trotters field which saw Dhoni Trouble take the lead with […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(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 — 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 […]
(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 […]
(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 […]
(NEW KENT, VA — 3/20/2026) —- Virginia-based harness horse owners Adam Ainspan and Anne McDonald have had their pictures taken in the Colonial Downs winners circle in past decades courtesy of standardbred champions that captured Virginia Breeder’s divisional titles. Ainspan’s Graham Grace Stables scored with Great George Two in 2004 while McDonald’s Always Quick Star […]
(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 — 3/2/2026) —- Due to a generous bequest by longtime Virginia harness horsewoman Jan Nofsinger, the Virginia Harness Horse Association (VHHA) has established a $1,000 scholarship for family members of the Virginia racing community. Guidelines and the application can be found on the scholarship tab on the VHHA.net website. Completed applications must be […]
(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 […]
Got The Chocolates (Art Major) once again turned the tables on arch rival Marketplace in today’s $30,000 Ashburton Three Year Old Showcase. Driver John Dunn didn’t have the lightning gate speed of Marketplace or Rubira but he mustered enough speed to get handy, albeit in the parked position. At the 600 metres Marketplace and Got […]
(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 — 10/20/2025) —-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 […]
(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 — 10/9/2025) —- It’s hard not to root for a guy that skipped his high school graduation in order to go to the racetrack. Meet 80-year-old harness racing owner, trainer and driver Gerry Longo, who is currently competing at Shenandoah Downs in Woodstock, Virginia and is fresh off a driving win Sunday — […]
(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 […]
