Once Famed for Horse Breeding, Virginia Losing Its Thoroughbred Operations

In 1973, when Secretariat, a stallion born and raised in Caroline County, Va., won the Triple Crown, the state was a regular contender in the nation's highest-profile races.

Virginia has been famous as a producer of great horses since before the Civil War. But this month, not one Virginia horse ran in the Kentucky Derby; in fact, no Virginia horse has raced in the Derby since 1996. Their absence is a sign of steady decline in an industry that was once a hallmark of the state.

In its heyday in the 1960s, Virginia produced 1,400 thoroughbred foals a year, the fourth-highest number in the country. Today, it produces about 350. (In 2007, Maryland farms produced about 800 foals.) And in Northern Virginia, most large farms, meaning those that bring forth more than 20 foals a year, have stopped producing at that rate; the number that do can be counted on one hand.

"It is disappointing to me," said Edward P. Evans, whose Spring Hill Farm in Fauquier County is one of the last large thoroughbred farms in the state. When he started there 40 years ago, he was one of many, he said. "They have just about disappeared in Virginia."

Virginia's hopes to break its dry spell were dashed last month when one of Evans's horses, Quality Road, hurt his foot and dropped out of the Kentucky Derby. On Facebook and Twitter, fans excited by the prospect of a home-state winner likened his participation in the race to having one's home team in the Super Bowl. The 3-year-old horse had recently scored an impressive win in the Florida Derby and was considered a favorite to win in Kentucky.

But Quality Road was unable to race at the Preakness, and he won't make the Belmont Stakes next month, although another of Evans's horses, Charitable Man, might race there.

Virginia has thriving fox-hunting clubs and is home to steeplechase events such as the Virginia Gold Cup. But many Virginia breeders have moved their operations elsewhere to avoid encroaching development and to benefit from higher "breeders funds" offered by states such as Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania and Florida.

The funds are a percentage of the state's intake from gaming. Breeders say the discrepancy stems from an aversion to gambling among many Virginia legislators.

A 1979 ballot measure to allow betting on horse races failed, prompting many breeders to join the exodus from Virginia. The measure eventually passed in 1988, and now one cent of every dollar wagered on horse racing in the state goes to breeders.

But betting in Virginia is still more restricted than in neighboring states, and breeders receive far less money here, said Glenn Petty, executive director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association. A horse in Maryland or West Virginia can "draw in" several times what a breeder in Virginia would get for the same horse, through each state's breeders fund, he noted.

Part of the problem is access. Virginia has nine betting venues. The closest for Northern Virginia residents are two sites in Richmond, prompting many fans to travel to off-track venues in Maryland or West Virginia.

Petty estimated that Northern Virginia loses $100 million a year over state lines in gambling revenue for breeders. "It's not a coincidence that we're not producing as many horses, and as many good horses," he said.