This past spring, Shenandoah Downs gave eight lucky female racing fans a chance to "Own a Horse for a Day" and compete for a $5,000 USD purse on Mother's Day. With the fall racing season just around the corner, the track announced that eight male sports-oriented fans will get that same lucrative opportunity on Saturday, Sept. 27.

Billed as a "Sports Fans Own a Horse for a Day " promotion, all male fans that attend the harness card sporting their favourite team or athlete's jersey will receive an entry into the Virginia Harness Horse Association's (VHHA) popular promotion that afternoon -- where $5,000 USD is divided among eight contestants based on where their horse finishes.

From a logistics aspect, eight names will be drawn at random after the third race. Those jersey-sporting winners will then select a horse in the ninth race that day via random draw, and they will "own" that horse for the rest of the afternoon. The eight winners will enjoy a complimentary lunch for themself and a guest, then will meet their horse, driver and trainer in the paddock after the sixth race. Come race nine, with $5,000 USD in prize/purse money on the line, the contestants will watch the race together on Shenandoah's VIP trackside viewing deck and cheer their horses on.

Prize money is doled out in the same manner normal purse winnings are assigned — on a 50-25-12-8-5 percent basis. The winner will receive $2,500 while the runner-up gets $1,250 followed by $600, $400 and $250 for the third through fifth place finishers. The sixth, seventh and eighth place contestants will go home with $100 as a thank you gift for participating — and a memory.

The Shenandoah Downs fall pari-mutuel season, its tenth in Woodstock, will run from Sept. 13 - Oct. 26 with racing scheduled every Saturday and Sunday at 1:05 p.m. Horsemen racing applications are available at shenandoahdowns.com and are due back to the racing office by August 13. A four-day non-wagering meet will precede the fall campaign and take place during the Shenandoah County Fair on August 27-30 with a daily 12 p.m. first post time.

(Shenandoah Downs)