Posts by National Steeplechase Association
Study Aims to Identify Hidden Injuries in Steeplechase Racehorses with Support from Virginia Horse Industry Board
[Middleburg, Virginia] — [April 16, 2026] — Since 1995, the Virginia Steeplechase Association (VSA), in collaboration with veterinarians conducting pre-race examinations, has collected data on injuries and fatalities in steeplechase races in Virginia. This initiative later expanded to include races across seven states within the steeplechase circuit sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association (NSA). In…
Read MoreSuper Saturday on tap for $705,000 Iroquois
©Tod Marks Many of the top horses in training head to Nashville for the stakes-studded 85th Iroquois Races, while timber and hurdle runners at various levels of competition, and apprentice riders compete for $115,000 in purses at the Willowdale Steeplechase in Kennett Square, Pa. Percy Warner Park in Nashville hosts a spectacular day of racing…
Read MoreLittle Trilby, Keys Discount sparkle in major stakes
©Tod Marks The competition on Saturday in The Plains was top class, as the Virginia Gold Cup began its second century with the 101st running of the second richest meet of the spring. Seven races were on tap at Great Meadow Race Course including three stakes highlighted by the season’s first Grade 1, the $150,000…
Read MoreStars flock to Virginia for major stakes
©Tod Marks Saturday’s Virginia Gold Cup Races at Great Meadow Race Course features the first of eight Grade 1 National Steeplechase Association hurdle stakes. The first weekend of May will host the 101st Virginia Gold Cup Races, the second richest event of the spring with seven races, three stakes, and $405,000 in purses. Highlighting the…
Read MoreMaryland Hunt Cup, Foxfield recap
Third times’ a charm for Mr. Fine Threads Under rainy skies, Armata Stables’ Mr. Fine Threads began inching his way up at the 16th of 22 fences, moved into second at the next jump, and after a scintillating duel with Upland Partner’s late-charging Shootist, managed to pull clear late by six lengths to capture America’s…
Read MoreHunt Cup, Foxfield make for super Saturday
©Tod Marks Maryland and Virginia take center stage for this weekend’s National Steeplechase Association stops. In Glyndon, 10 horses are expected to face the starter for the 129th Maryland Hunt Cup, America’s oldest, longest, and most challenging timber race. Meanwhile hurdlers will be spotlighted at Foxfield in Charlottesville, where $240,000 in purses are on the…
Read MoreZabeel Champion, Keys Discount, Mr. Fine Threads shine on busy weekend
©Tod Marks The National Steeplechase Association passed the mid-Spring mark last weekend with 15 races spread across three meets in three states worth $460,000. There was action at all levels of the sport, from claimers to stakes, over hurdles and timber, with multiple opportunities for veterans and newbies. Three stakes highlighted the schedule. At Glenwood…
Read MoreVirginia Gold Cup will Run on Great Meadow Racecourse with Improved Irrigation System on May 2
©Great Meadow Foundation WARRENTON, Va., April 23, 2026—When the 101st Virginia Gold Cup races get underway on Saturday, May 2, horses will be running on an improved racecourse, thanks to the Great Meadow Foundation. A year ago, Great Meadow Foundation set out to improve the capacity of their irrigation system for the racecourse and drilled…
Read MoreGwathmey headlines tripleheader in Virginia, Maryland
©Tod Marks Glenwood Park hosts stars and stakes action at the Middleburg Spring Races on Saturday with an eight-race $300,000 card, anchored by the talent-laden $100,000 Temple Gwathmey stakes and $30,000 Middleburg Hunt Cup, marking the return of timber champion Keys Discount. The Grade 2 Gwathmey handicap hurdle, at 2 ½ miles, is shaping up…
Read MoreUco Valley gets first stakes win; Morris and Young double; and eight different riders take Saturday’s eight races
©Tod Marks For the second straight year, Harvey Goolsby. Achsah O’Donovan, and Daniel Colhoun’s Bogey’s Image finished first in the $50,000 My Lady’s Manor timber stakes in Monkton, Md. But after a lengthy steward’s inquiry, Bogey’s Image — the 6 3/4-length winner — was disqualified and placed last because his jockey, Teddy Davies, weighed under…
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