Posts by National Steeplechase Association
Remembering Roddy MacKenzie
©Tod Marks As many know by now, former National Steeplechase Association jockey Roderick “Roddy” MacKenzie, who competed on the circuit for nine years from 2006 to 2014, passed away suddenly on Wednesday in Delaware at the young age of 45. While arrangements are pending, the funeral home that made the announcement said that the family…
Read MoreMaryland timber racing losses a stalwart
©Tod Marks Perry Bolton, who co-owned Armata Stable with Ben Griswold and campaigned Maryland Hunt Cup winners Welter Weight and Vintage Vinnie passed away Tuesday at his home in Florida at age 94. A Maryland fixture, Bolton, who resided in Lutherville, formed the Armata partnership with his lifelong friend in the early 1990s and the…
Read MoreCharles Wayne (Skip) Achuff Jr. – Annual Memorial Stalwart of Steeplechase Award
$1000 award given to a jockey, race official, race meet director, or others who support the growth of Steeplechase Qualifications of the award recipient: Potential recipients are nominated by their peers for performance in 2024 (previous year). Petitioners for nominees must complete an application and submit by 28 February. The Achuff family will select from…
Read More2024 NSA season Wrap Up
Dear NSA supporters, The book is closed on the 2024 season, and the trip home from Aiken gave time for reflection on the spectacular accomplishments we have experienced this year. For the first time in our history, we reached the 7-million-dollar mark for purses distributed to our horsemen, with a growth of over 1 million…
Read MoreTitles on the line as Aiken rings out 2024 NSA season
Aiken Fall Races 2023 © Tod Marks Jump racing returns to where the National Steeplechase Association season began last spring, in horsey Aiken, S.C., with an enhanced seven-race $220,000, featuring the $50,000 Holiday Cup four-year-old hurdle stakes. Following the final race, the Aiken Steeplechase Association will host the NSA’s Annual Awards gala in which the…
Read MoreSnap Decision gets his curtain call in return of Colonial Cup
Colonial Cup 2016 © Tod Marks The $332,000 six-race card gets underway Sunday at 1 p.m. and will be live streamed via the NSA’s website, www.nationalsteeplechase.com. The heralded Colonial Cup, the first hundred-thousand-dollar steeplechase in the U.S., returns to the fall calendar at Springdale Race Course in Camden, S.C., after an eight-year hiatus, giving the…
Read MoreWesterland, Noah and the Ark star in busy weekend Three stakes on tap in weekend doubleheader
Westerland winning at Callaway © Tod Marks Plenty of major moments after last Saturday’s 14-race doubleheader, including Graham Watters’ 100th NSA victory, and three-win days for both Jamie Bargary and Gerard Galligan. Trainer Leslie Young, too, was prolific, and her combined four wins at both venues put her in a tie at 27 with Jack…
Read MoreAudrey Riker
Audrey Riker visiting multiple grade stake winner Irish Strait at Fair Hill,Maryland in 2017 (Credit: Isobel Ellis) Former thoroughbred owner and stakes winning trainer Audrey Riker died October 30th at her home in White Hall, Maryland. Riker trained horses over fences and on the flat for five decades, beginning in the late 1950’s until her…
Read MoreThree stakes on tap in weekend doubleheader
Going Country at Far Hills © Tod Marks The jumpers land in Georgia and Virginia on Saturday as the 2024 National Steeplechase Association season heads toward the finish line at Aiken, S.C., on Nov. 23. At the Montpelier Hunt Races, run on the front lawn of President James Madison’s historic home in Montpelier Station, Va.,…
Read MoreMystic Strike, Carloun sparkle at reimagined Gold Cup Races
Gerard Galligan and Todd McKenna © Tod Marks On a picture-perfect autumn afternoon, the National Steeplechase Association returned to Glenwood Park in Middleburg on Sunday, just two weeks after the Virginia Fall Races, the traditional October fixture at the site. The running of back-to-back meets at the same venue is highly unusual, and came about…
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