Woodstock, VA — Virginia harness racing is poised to take another step forward this fall when Shenandoah Downs ushers in its seventh season of pari-mutuel harness racing beginning Sept. 16 and continuing through Nov. 6, an increase of three weeks from prior meets held at the Woodstock oval from 2016-2021. The dates are pending approval of the Virginia Racing Commission.

The track will host pacers and trotters every Friday at 3 p.m. and Saturday at 1 p.m. through Oct. 15, then switch to a Saturday and Sunday format the final three weeks with a 1 p.m. post both days.

The 25th running of the Virginia Breeders Championships will be held closing day Sunday (Nov. 6). A series of $80,000 pacing and trotting finals for 2- and 3-year-olds of both sexes will take place that afternoon in a “Day of Champions.” Prep races for 3-year-olds will be held the weekend of Oct. 21-22, and 2-year-old preps will be contested the following weekend, Oct. 28-29.

Parking and admission are free to the fall races and the action is family friendly.

The Virginia Harness Horse Association (VHHA) is complementing the additional live racing opportunities with a new breeding initiative — a Sired Stakes program that rewards both the stallion owner and mare owner and creates eight $60,000 stakes races for program participants in their 2- and 3-year-old seasons. Since the announcement of the Sired Stakes program, 16 stallions have committed to stand in Virginia, up from three last year.

The VHHA has an existing Virginia-Certified program that rewards owners of young horses that are raised in Virginia for a minimum of six months before they turn two years of age.

Details on both lucrative initiatives are at vhha.net.