Virginia Fall Races 70th Anniversary Meet to Honor Longtime Race Director and Announcer with $50,000 Will O’Keefe Memorial Hurdle Stakes

MIDDLEBURG, Va., September 6, 2024— The Virginia Fall Races will honor longtime race meet director and voice of Virginia steeplechasing, Will O’Keefe, with the inaugural running of the Will O’Keefe Memorial, a $50,000 hurdle stakes for three-year-olds, at Glenwood Park on Oct. 12. The hurdle feature offers the first stakes opportunity for the three-year-old class during the fall season and combines with Shawan Downs and the Colonial Cup to bolster a three-race program for freshmen jumpers.

The only thing missing will be O’Keefe’s signature voice calling the race.

“In January, the Virginia Fall Race Committee met and decided to add a race to our fall card. After losing Will in December, we wanted to honor him and what better way than a race in his memory,” Virginia Fall Races race chairman Punkin Lee said. “We decided on a three-year-old race with a $50,000 purse. Our goal is for this race to not only be run in 2024 but will remain a signature race for years to come.”

A previous tradition at Virginia Fall, the three-year-old race provided the launching pad for future Eclipse Award winner Demonstrative in 2010.

“It was a great place to start Demonstrative. A good, fair course which suits younger horses,” Demonstrative’s trainer Richard Valentine said. “I’m excited that it has returned as a stakes. What a great idea and what a way to honor Will.”

The Will O’Keefe Memorial and the National Sporting Library & Museum Cup, a $50,000 timber stakes, highlight a stellar eight-race card. All divisions – from maiden hurdle horses to maiden timber horses, three-year-olds to seasoned handicappers to the ever-popular steeplethon are represented on the day. Purses have climbed to a record $275,000, the fourth highest of the fall season. O’Keefe played an integral role – doing everything from calling the races to cultivating sponsors to stapling stall cards – in revitalizing the Virginia Fall Races to one of the major destinations on the steeplechase circuit.

“Will was a guiding light for our race meet and for all of us on the race committee who worked alongside him,” Lee said. “His knowledge, his passion, his friendship and history of the sport were aspects that Will shared with the committee. We are proud of the accomplishments and improvements we’ve been able to make for the horses, horsemen and spectators at the Virginia Fall Races. And we thank all our generous sponsors and contributors.”

Zohar and Lisa Ben-Dov of Kinross Farm said it for everyone.

“The first time we heard him call a race, we fell in love with the sport, and we became great friends,” the Ben-Dovs said. “Every time he was calling a race, it played to our hearts. He wouldn’t drink during the races but after the races, we would have a few bourbons. And we’ll raise a glass again to a very kind, generous spirit who made a difference in all our lives and to Virginia steeplechasing.”

The Virginia Fall Races have been run at Glenwood Park in Middleburg since 1955.  All proceeds from the race weekend have benefitted the INOVA Loudoun Hospital Foundation in nearby Leesburg, Virginia. Virginia Fall Races has consistently contributed more money to the foundation than any other sporting event.

General Admission may be purchased via TicketLeap. Inquiries regarding Reserved Parking should be addressed to the Secretary at secretary@vafallraces.com.

More information is available on vafallraces.comas well as Facebook and Instagram.