A History of Staying Ahead of the Curve

West Virginia has a proven track record of successfully partnering with the gaming and racing industry to support the local economy, jobs, education, community initiatives and infrastructural improvements. Racing has a rich history in our state, with the earliest reports of pari-mutuel wagering taking place at the Charles Town Turf Club in 1933. Shortly thereafter, Wheeling Downs opened and, in 1951, Waterford Park (later renamed Mountaineer Park) opened and is still the only one-mile track in the state. Racing flourished over the course of 40 years and took a giant leap forward with the implementation of casino-style gaming in West Virginia near the end of the century.

In 1987, West Virginia allowed for Video Lottery Terminals to be placed at Mountaineer Park and, in 1994, the Racetrack Video Lottery Act passed, legalizing video lottery machines at West Virginia racetracks. The law stipulated that a percentage of each dollar in gaming revenue would be dedicated to racing purse funds and the impact has been substantial. In the 20 year period covering 1997 through 2016, nearly $1.2 billion was paid in the form of thoroughbred racing purses. Over the same span, more than $20 million in additional funding has been dedicated to the breeding development fund, which allowed the West Virginia foal crop to grow from 174 registered foals in 1996, to a high of 671 in 2007. And while purses used to be measured in the thousands prior to the authorization of Video Lottery Terminals, the state now plays host to two of racing’s most lucrative events in the Grade 2, $1,250,000 Charles Town Classic and Grade 3, $750,000 West Virginia Derby, while the West Virginia Breeders’ Classics has claimed the title of the country’s richest day of state-bred racing for several years.