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Virginians have seensteeplechasing grow by leaps and bounds, from small country events to large well-attended social gatherings. For instance, the attendance at sanctioned meets has shown a steady rise in numbers, with 297,000 spectators in 1987. More than 400,000 are projected to attend this year’s spring NSHA meets.
In sanctioned racing, more corporations are sponsoring races offering larger purses, hence attracting more and more top-notch horses.
According to Peter D. McGivney, NSHA assistant racing secretary, purses offered during spring NSHA meets in 1987 topped $1.24 million while in 1990 more $2.22 million was handed out.
In 1992, the purses will crest at more than $ 1.66 million, which is still an increase although the Dueling Grounds race meet is not on the calendar, deleting its hefty $750,000 purse.
With the stakes so high, it seems that the Sport of Kings is not only entertainment, but a thriving livelihood for Virginia’s esteemed horsemen.
The ’92 ’chasing season in the Old Dominion holds promise of chills, thrills and a few spills, but a wise horseplayer once joked with much accuracy that “.. .no one ever committed suicide with a fast (3-year-old] in the bam.... ”
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