National Steeplechase Association

Due to heavy, sustained precipitation, Sunday's flat meet at Fair Hill, part of the two-day "Fair Hill Turf Showcase" over Memorial Day weekend, has been canceled, the National Steeplechase Association said via a release on Saturday. After several days of rain in the region, racing officials and horsemen scrutinized the turf course on Saturday morning and, out of an abundance of caution, decided to abandon the event. Tickets purchased for Sunday will be refunded. Live racing will resume on Memorial Day Monday at 1:00 p.m. ET with a nine-race card....

While injuries and fatalities in steeplechase races are recorded at or immediately following each race, the Safety Committee of the National Steeplechase Association has undertaken a study to investigate the occurrence of 'latent' injuries associated with steeplechase racing. "We know some injuries that occur during a race don't become apparent until days afterward," said Dr. Reynolds Cowles, NSA Equine Medical Director and Chair of the Safety Committee. "Until we understand the full extent of these delayed injuries, we cannot accurately determine their total number or how best to prevent them."...

The $150,000 G1 Beverly R. Steinman S., a 2 3/8-mile steeplechase event for older horses, will be held June 9 as part of the Belmont Stakes Racing Festival at Saratoga Race Course. The race is named for Beverly R. "Peggy" Steinman, who has successfully balanced decades of ownership in both the steeplechase and flat racing worlds with stars such as Dark  Equation, who captured the 2008 G1 New York Turf Writers Cup, and Colstar, a multiple graded stakes-winning filly who won more than $1 million on the flat. "The New...

The Far Hills Race Meeting Association has increased the purse of the American Grand National by $100,000, giving it a bump from $150,000 to $250,000 for the 2022 edition, which will be held Saturday, Oct. 15. The increase will make the race, which will be contested for the 101st time, the richest on this year's National Steeplechase Association (NSA) schedule. "This will really put an exclamation point on steeplechasing's biggest day and the overall season," said Far Hills Race Meeting chairman Guy Torsilieri. "On Oct. 15, all eyes will be...

Leslie White Carpenter, Jill Abbott and Molly Oakman have been added to the board of directors of the National Steeplechase Association. Carpenter, race director for the Willowdale Steeplechase in Kennett Square, Pa., for the past eight years and the former director of the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup in Unionville for two, brings a background in development, public relations, and corporate marketing along with a lifelong love of horse sports to the 15-member board. During her leadership tenure at Willowdale, the meet has tripled in attendance, sponsorship, revenue, and reserves. A longtime...

A total of 94 horses have been entered for the nine races that comprise Saturday's Virginia Fall Races at Glenwood Park in Middleburg. Owing to COVID-19 restrictions, there will be no fans in attendance, but a live stream may be accessed here. The live stream is sponsored by Brown Advisory, Charleston's The Post and Courier, Bruton Street-US, and the Virginia Equine Alliance. With purse money totaling $115,000, the program is anchored by the fourth race on the program, the National Sporting Library and Museum Cup which will be run as...

The Foxfield Races, the first of three fall National Steeplechase Association to run in October, kicks off Sunday in Charlottesville, Va. The card, consisting of seven races--five over hurdles and two on the flat--carries purses totaling $55,000. Post time is 12:30 p.m. The Foxfield Races mark the first 2020 NSA event that will permit owners, with horse entered, to attend, albeit with restrictions. Owners will be required to remain in a designated area for the entire afternoon; no one may cross the course or go to the paddock or barn...

The National Steeplechase Association (NSA) announced Tuesday that the fall season's first sanctioned race meet, The Foxfield Fall Races, will take place Sunday, Oct. 4 in Charlottesville, VA. While the races will run without spectators and under strict health and safety protocols, the NSA will livestream the races, feature commentary from the industry's experts and strong competition by steeplechasing's top horsemen. In making the announcement, NSA President Al Griffin said, "This year has provided plenty of challenges for our sport, yet we continue to persevere. Despite the onerous regulations and...

The National Steeplechase Association has released its fall calendar consisting of an abbreviated schedule of seven sanctioned race meets to be contested between Sept. 26 and Nov. 15. The modified schedule is due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. The schedule kicks off at Shawan Downs Sept. 26, followed by Foxfield Fall Races Oct. 4, Virginia Fall Races Oct. 10, the International Gold Cup Oct. 24, the Pennsylvania Hunt Cup Nov. 1, the Steeplechase at Callaway Nov. 7 and the Steeplechase of Charleston Nov. 15. Each race meet will...

In any other year, the spring steeplechasing season would have concluded last week with the races at Fair Hill, Maryland, the latest hunt meet to draw a large and energetic crowd, there for the party as much as the races. Instead, the jump racing community is trying to figure out how it can salvage what has so far been a lost year. No slice of Thoroughbred racing has been hurt more by the coronavirus than steeplechase racing. With 14 of the 16 spring meets having been cancelled due to the...

Dr. Alfred C. Griffin Jr., the co-chair of the Virginia Gold Cup who played a key role in keeping pari-mutuel racing alive in his home state during Colonial Downs's closure, was elected president of the National Steeplechase Association at Friday's NSA Board of Directors meeting. The Warrenton, Va. orthodontist succeeds Guy J. Torsilieri, who was elected as the NSA's chairman. Torsilieri, who served as the NSA's president for 11 years before declining to seek another term, was elected as the NSA's chairman. He succeeds Beverly R. Steinman, who retired from...