Hunt 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…

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Zabeel 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…

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Virginia 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…

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Uco 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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My Lady’s Manor headlines weekend doubleheader

©Tod Marks Eight races worth $190,000 are on tap for Saturday as steeplechasing makes its way to Maryland and Virginia. The historic Maryland Timber Triple gets underway in Monkton, about 30 miles north of Baltimore with the $50,000 My Lady’s Manor stakes, the centerpiece of the four-race, $105,000 card. The race, first contested in 1902,…

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Swore roars home a winner in Carolina Cup; plus the return of Tom Foley, and Virginia Korrell loses her bug

©Tod Marks Stone Farm and Upland Flats Racing’s Swore, the National Steeplechase Association’s leading 2025 novice, proved he’s more than ready for the big boys as he romped by 6 3/4 lengths over Leamington Racing’s Chortal in the 91st running of the $75,000 Carolina Cup at Springdale Race Course in Camden on Saturday. Trained by…

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‘America’s Aintree’: Fair Hill Turf Showcase Set For May 24 And 25

©Maggie Kimmitt The Maryland Jockey Club (TMJC), in partnership with the National Steeplechase Association (NSA), Cecil County, the Cecil County Breeders’ Fair, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Fair Hill Foundation, and the Maryland Racing Commission (MRC), is excited to host the “Fair Hill Turf Showcase” at historic and scenic Fair Hill in Elkton,…

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Message from NSA President, Dr. Al Griffin

Dear NSA Horsemen, Members and Supporters: It has been a challenging winter for many of us, with unusual snow events and bitterly cold weather periods, but we are only one week away from the start of the 2026 NSA season. Spring has finally sprung, and we are looking forward to racing again. Steeplechasing in America…

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