VA: Colonial Downs out of the races in 2015

Tidewater Review

Colonial Downs is out of the horse races this year, said Stan Guidroz, president of the New Kent race track.

“I can probably say with a high level of confidence that there won’t be racing at the track this year. I think it’s just too late, and the season is too organized for anything to happen,” Guidroz said.

The decision comes after the Virginia Racing Commission on Thursday night denied approval of the track’s choice for majority thoroughbred horsemen’s group, the Old Dominion Thoroughbred Association.

Recognition as the majority horsemen’s group is important because it will receive 5 percent of the profits made by three advanced deposit wagering companies operating in Virginia.

Colonial Downs created the association last fall after it failed to sign a racing schedule with Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, which has about 1,300 members and been the majority horsemen’s group for the last 17 years, said Stephanie Nixon, vice president of the association.

“(Legitimacy) is the problem I had with the Old Dominion Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association,” said J. Sargeant Reynolds Jr., the racing commission chairman. He said the majority horsemen’s group needs to have active members who have participated in Virginia racing.

The racing commission also denied approval to the Old Dominion Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association last fall, which led to track owner Jeff Jacobs turning in his racing license, and the Nov. 1 closure of Colonial Downs.

With Colonial Downs out of the conversation, the racing commission has begun discussing criteria for choosing official majority horsemen’s groups to represent the thoroughbred and harness industries separately.

The commission will hold a hearing July 1 for any horsemen’s groups that want to provide burdens of proof for their selection as majority horsemen’s group. The commission has not officially decided on criteria for choosing the groups, but it will probably base its decision on number of horsemen in the group and their participation in Virginia racing events over the last three years, Reynolds said.