Shenandoah Downs recently completed the spring portion of its "10 Years of Racing in Woodstock" campaign for 2025, which featured a seven-week spring meet that ran from April 26 to June 8.

The season was highlighted by a slate of Virginia Breeders Fund three-year-old divisional championships for pacers and trotters of both sexes who competed for a combined $485,616 on closing weekend. Another slate of Mountain Series races for graduates of the Virginia Harness Horse Association's lucrative Certified Residency Program were contested. The Blue Ridge Pace and Alleghany Trot both helped celebrate mountain ranges the Shenandoah oval is nestled between.

Shenandoah Downs will continue its 2025 season with a seven-week fall meet that runs from Sept. 13 to Oct. 26. Racing applications for horsepeople will be available soon at the track's website at shenandoahdowns.com.

Below is a look back at some of the spring meet highlights "By the Numbers."        

#1 - Trainer Katie Herman scored her first win ever as a harness owner and trainer on June 7 with sophomore filly pacer Caughtupinthehoney. She bought the daughter of Capitol Power as a yearling and has trained her since. Herman is an equine dentist and has been involved in showing and riding horses for many years, but wanted something different and got into harness racing.

#2 - The number of track records that were established during the spring meet -- courtesy of Jane Dunavant's Kats Fancy and Dale Witcher's Flo Jo. The former won the Virginia Breeders Three-Year-Old Filly Trot championship in a lifetime-best 1:56.1 -- three seconds faster than her prior best on a half-mile track. The latter set a track record for aged pacing mares with a stellar 1:53 effort in Winners Over company on May 25. Driver Fern Paquet Jr. authored the mile, which was the Keystone Velocity mare's third straight win in Woodstock, Virginia.

#3 - The number of Shenandoah Downs drivers that made great use of a dark day during the meet and spoke to a class of fourth graders at the Growing Tree School in Woodstock. William Carter, Tim Deaton and Bryson Dunning -- all fresh off weekend wins in the sulky -- answered questions about the sport of harness racing from eager students for about 40 minutes.

#4 - Appomattox 4H Club members visited Shenandoah Downs on June 1 and got a behind the scenes tour of the backstretch, then enjoyed the afternoon harness races and even got a race named in their honour. Earlier in the meet, the Louisa FFA Equine Team enjoyed a similar afternoon that was both educational and enjoyable.

#6 - The number of wins iconic trainer Roger Hammer collected during the spring meet, including bookend wins on opening day. The 79-year-old Beford, Pennsylvania-based conditioner scored with Maker Dance in the first race April 26 and with Cirrus De Vie in the finale. Hammer has supported Virginia racing at both Colonial Downs and Shenandoah Downs over the years. 

#7 - The number of top three finishes Tracy Bradshaw's Joan Deer collected to earn Shenandoah Downs "Horse of the Meet" honours. The five-year-old Uncle Pete mare tallied three wins, three seconds and a third and improved throughout as she moved up in ranks over the seven weeks. Bradshaw, who is based in Bland, Virginia, piloted his state-bred mar to victory opening weekend in what turned out to be the 47-year-old owner/trainer's first ever pari-mutuel driving win. Christian Myers drove her in the other starts.

#13 - The number of driving wins brothers Christian Myers and Lucas Myers each recorded this spring as they competed against each other and tied for fourth in the overall driver standings. Six of Christian's wins came from a pair of driving triples -- his first ones ever. The 22-year-old ended up with $94,006 USD in purse earnings, $4,000 USD more than his younger brother. The younger brother though, 21-years of age, had 38 "in-the-money" finishes, three more than his older brother.  

#15 - The age of Kayla Pressel's Just Bettor, who became the first 15-year-old horse to ever win a race at Shenandoah Downs. Normally, Standardbreds face mandatory retirement on their 15th birthday; however, they can continue racing in amateur races and Shenandoah Downs carded several during the meet. Driver Kevin Altig led the son of Bettors Delight to an impressive wire-to-wire win in 1:56.4 in his 342nd lifetime start.

#18 - The number of pari-mutuel wins compiled this spring by three locally based "Own a Horse for a Day" promotional winners, who since winning the contest, have invested their own money in the sport of harness racing and are succeeding at Shenandoah Downs. Edinburg-based Steve Wetzel finished with 11 training wins -- third in the final standings -- in his best season since winning the popular contest as a fan in 2021. His talented pacer Sea of Life won three times while facing top competition on the grounds including a sizzling 1:52.1 mile on May 31, which was just two-fifths of a second off track record time. Mount Jackson-based horse owner Ivan Foltz struck gold with his horse purchases and amassed six wins as a new owner, including a trio with Bgoing Away. Finally, Woodstock-based owner/trainer Barry Shrum, who several years ago grew a 756-pound pumpkin which won first place in the Virginia State Fair competition, reached the winner's circle for the second straight year with his 13-year-old Art Major gelding Pacific Stride.  

#29 - The number of wins Chuck Perry's consistent 12-year-old gelding pacer Johns Dream has collected at Woodstock, making him the winningest horse in Shenandoah Downs' 10-year-history. He bagged Shenandoah win number 29 and career win number 50 in the Virginia Breeders Fund Aged Pace on the closing day card. Johns Dream leaves Woodstock with $408,683 in earnings. Perry, who lives in Suffolk, Virginai, said his prize athlete will be back in the fall season and hopes to race him as a 13 and 14-year-old.

#39 - The number of combined wins leading trainer Bryson Dunning and leading driver Fern Paquet Jr. collected this spring. Bryson won a hard-fought closing weekend battle for the top conditioner with Archie Buford and Steve Wetzel to finish with 15 wins for the meet. Paquet ended up with 24 wins in the sulky.

#100 - The career win which 25-year-old harness trainer Riley Asher-Stalbaum calls the most memorable -- after her 14-year-old pacer Itsonlyrocknroll A got to the winner's circle on June 8. Riley, whose family has been in harness racing for three generations, has trained since 2018 and this was her 100th triumph. "This win was a really big deal because my family was here with me and my baby brother [Winter Asher-Stalbaum] was driving," said Riley. "I won the Rising Star Award at the Buffalo/Batavia circuit when I was 18 years old and thought that was a career highlight. I think this win might have surpassed it though."  

#172 - The number of stalls that Shenandoah Downs' massive new $1.8 million USD barn will accommodate as it makes its debut at the upcoming fall season and ushers in a new era of racing in Woodstock. The major portion of the stabling area, which has been under tent canopies with temporary stalls for the last 10 years, was taken down for the final time last week. Sunset Valley Metalcraft has provided stalls and tents at Shenandoah since 2016 and helped make racing possible. 

(With files from Shenandoah Downs; photo of Kats Fancy after winning the Virginia Breeders Stakes Championship)