Three stakes – two over timber and a $50,000 obstacle event for 3-year-old jumpers – highlight Saturday’s National Steeplechase Association doubleheader in New York and Virginia – the only time two will meet sharing the same date on the fall calendar.
The Genesee Valley Hunt Races in Geneseo, NY, the only tower hunt in the Empire State outside of flat tracks, featured three races, all on poles and rails. Topping the day is the $25,000 Genesee Valley Hunt Cup, 2 miles away. The other races are $15,000 girl and $15,000 stipend, limited to amateur or student riders. Both events take place at 3 miles.
In the deployment position, six veterans are expected to compete against the starter. Upland Partners’ Shootist, who finished second to champion Andi’amu in the 2022 Genesee Valley Hunt Cup, returns to the state track for the first time in three years, while Armata Stables’ Goodoldtimes makes his fifth trip to the track where he previously finished third twice and finished a close second last year in the race to 2022 Maryland Hunt Cup star Withoutmoreado.
Potter Group USA, Gaskells Waste Services and Ashwell Stable’s Uco Valley broke his maiden career at Geneseo last year and is coming off a DNF in the recent Brown Advisory holdings at Shawan Downs. Greenlights’ The Butler Yates, who finished fourth in last year’s Hunt Cup, comes in a solid second behind Mr. Fine Threads in the Willowdale Steeplechase in the spring.
Hard Game’s eponymous Hard Game was the allowance winner at the Grand National Races in April and is making his second start in stakes company. Runnymoore Racing’s first winner Eternal Story makes its first trip to Geneseo; he had been removed from the board in his only previous stakes attempt, the Virginia Gold Cup in May.
The races are just part of the festivities in Genesee. There are many activities with dogs, pony races and a foxhound parade. There are also events for younger spectators, including horse racing and pony riding. For adults, there will be food and drink vendors, wine and craft beer tastings, shopping, music and more. The gates open at 9am
Click here for the full entries: https://nationalsteeplechase.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Genesee-overnight-Tuesday.pdf
And in Middelburg…
The Virginia Fall Races at Glenwood Park in Middleburg are being held for the 72nd time. Eight races worth $275,000 are on the line in a mix of timber and hurdle races, anchored by the $50,000 National Sporting Library & Museum Cup timber stakes at 3 ¼ miles and the second running of the $50,000 Will O’Keefe Memorial three-year hurdles at 2 ⅛ miles (the distance of all hurdle races at Glenwood).
The woodpile has drawn a field of five led by Dolly Fisher’s burgeoning star Keys Discount, who declared himself division leader two weeks ago with a third straight stakes score at Shawan Downs in the $25,000 Brown Advisory. He previously won the Middleburg Hunt Cup and the Virginia Gold Cup.
Keys Discount’s biggest threat may come from Michael Smith’s The Hero Next Door, a lightly raced multi-stakes hurdler who made a seamless transition to the Shawan Downs timber track with a dazzling 20-length girls romp. Motley Crew Racing’s Marcel Magic and Hyggelig Haven’s Druid’s Altar were both picked up in the Brown Advisory, but ran well before that. Merriebelle Stable’s Wagner hasn’t had much success since making his American debut in the spring of 2024, but he rode well in the Grand National stakes until the final stages of the race.
A field of seven is likely for the O’Keefe, six of whom will leave the same first race at Shawan Downs. Riverdee Stable’s Ethics won that race and was three lengths ahead of another jumper, Gill Johnston’s Scorpius. Parkland Thoroughbreds’ Moreperfectunion, another newcomer to the steep chase, finished fourth in the race after battling for the lead down the stretch. Betsy Mead’s Safe at Home weakened after a duel for the lead; Runnymoore Racing’s Beau Ciel was not a factor; and the middle ages of Peck’s Caprice tired of the same race. The only rider not to emerge from Shawan’s first race is Woodslane Racing’s Cooper, who makes his NSA bow after eight initial special weight attempts on the flat.
The remainder of the program includes an initial hurdle of $40,000; two $30,000 first/optional claiming events for horses started for a $25,000 tag; $35,000 handicap for horses rated 115 or less; $20,000 girl over wood; and a $20,000 tower over mixed obstacles.
Gates open at 10am and the first race after the race is 12:30pm. For full registrations, click here:
Click to access Virginia-Fall-Overnight-Tuesday.pdf
You can watch Saturday’s races via livestream via the link on the NSA homepage, www.nationalsteeplechase.com.
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