Certifying & Foaling in Virginia
Virginia certification requires a horse to spend 6 months in Virginia prior to December 31 of its 2-year-old year. The benefits are significant – up to a 25% win bonus during the 3 month Colonial meet in open races and the same bonus for wins elsewhere in the Midatlantic (MD, DE, NJ, NY) for the rest of the year when Colonial is dark. Virginia- certified horses also qualify for restricted stakes races at Colonial Virginia-breds enjoy an even greater bounty. Virginia-breds require that the mare be in residence by September 1 and subsequently foal in Virginia, at which point mare and foal are free to leave Virginia. The breeders of Virginia-breds enjoy up to a $25,000 bonus for first, second or third place finishes anywhere in the country 12 months a year. Developers of a Virginia-bred (meaning whoever owned the horse during its first start) receive up to a 25% win bonus as do Owners.
Reasons to Certify Horses & Board Broodmares at Big Lick Virginia
- Horses residing at Big Lick get premier care. At our 95 acre farm just west of Charlottesville, we have 3 full time staff year-round (and more during the summer). That includes a farm manager who’s been with Big Lick for 30 years, a stable manager who resides on property and oversees care for all the horses on property, and an assistant who’s been with Big Lick for ten years, first in Florida and now in Virginia.
- Big Lick Virginia has 15 lush grassy paddocks of varying sizes from ¼ acre to 20 acres, all with 3 or 4-board fencing, automatic waterers and run-in sheds in every paddock.
- Mares foaling at Big Lick Virginia are sent to Tommy Doyle at Willow Hill Farm in Orange, Virginia to foal, 50 minutes from our farm. Tommy foals more Thoroughbred mares than any other farm in Virginia.
- All horses are fed and checked twice a day and brought in at least once a week to spend time in stall while being groomed, inspected and handled. All stalls have cameras trained on them, owners and trainers can view their horses on days they’re brought inside.
Cost to Board at Big Lick Virginia
- For horses being certified, we charge $38/day. We do vaccinations and routine medications ourselves and charge only the cost of the supplies. Farrier and veterinarian expenses are billed at cost.
- For mares in residence, we charge $35 per day, $45 when the mare has a foal by its side and $35 each when the mare and foal are separated. We charge a nominal shipping fee to send mares to Tommy Doyle to foal.
Rental Inquiries
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