Chris Gracie is as much a product of the Mid-Atlantic as the Liberty Bell and the blue crabs lining Chesapeake Bay.“I grew up in these regional markets. I grew up in Pennsylvania, I grew up in Maryland,” said Gracie–breeder, seller, bloodstock agent, former jockey, you name it–who, under his Gracie Bloodstock LLC banner, now operates out of Locust Hill Farm in Middleburg, Virginia.“I think the biggest thing is that historically Virginia has been a really, really, really good place for raising horses,” he added. “Just go back over the last 100 years, the owners that used to be here and the farms that used to be here and the horses that have been raised here. I mean, Secretariat himself came from Virginia.”Don't think, however, Virginia's halcyon days are a thing of the past.“It's finally getting back to that place where people want to send horses here again to be bred and to race,” said Gracie. “It's starting to really catch more momentum.”And what's prompting this Virginian renaissance? Lots of things, but the state certification and the state-bred incentive programs especially.“To me, they're one of the only programs that can really be competitive with the [Kentucky Thoroughbred Breeders' Incentives Fund] KBIF,” Gracie said.“I mean, you're seeing people that are trying to buy Kentucky-breds that are Virginia certified. And you're seeing Virginia-breds that are bringing real money,” Gracie added. “There are Virginia-breds that have been sold for a lot of money in the last couple years, so people are starting to catch on to it.”Jill Byrne, executive director of the Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA), agrees.“It's been a very big economic boost to the state of Virginia with the jobs that it creates,” said Byrne, about the Virginia Certified program in particular.The state certified program was designed to lure business the way of the Old Dominion. Instituted about ten years ago, it has driven well over $86 million to the state (and that's a statistic already a few years old).Byrne pointed to several Virginia farms the program has helped buttress economically, including Eagle Point Farm in Ashland, owned and operated by mother-daughter team Donna and Karen Dennehy. “I think they would be in pretty bad shape if we didn't have this program,” said Byrne. Nowadays, Eagle Point receives more than 100 Virginia certified horses through its doors annually, she said, giving them the funds necessary to rebuild and renovate the farm's facilities.“I think it's just been a huge, huge boost to Virginia horsemen,” said Byrne.To participate in this program, a horse must be conceived and foaled outside of Virginia, but it has to reside in the Commonwealth for at least six consecutive months prior to December 31st of its two-year-old year.“We see so many horses ship from the Timonium yearling sale [in late October] to a facility in Virginia to start their breaking and training–that's the beauty of them still being able to get [certified] into their 2-year-old year,” said Paget Bennett, director of sales for Fasig-Tipton Midlantic.“Developers” of Virginia certified horses–in other words, the person or entity who owns the horse on its first lifetime start–can earn up to a 25% bonus for wins in open races in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.These same “developers” can also earn a 10% bonus for wins in state-bred restricted races in those same states (except Virginia).“Obviously you're never going compete with Kentucky, but you can compete regionally and work with these great regional programs,” said Byrne. “This one's going to keep growing exponentially.”The Virginia-bred program is much more your archetypal incentive-based program with significant rewards for owners, breeders and “developers.”Owners of all registered Virginia-bred foals earn a 50% bonus if their horse finishes in the first four in an open race at Colonial Downs, while breeders can earn bonuses if their registered Virginia-bred finishes in the first three in any North America open race.Colonial Downs | HorsephotosFurthermore, the “developers” of registered Virginia-Bred foals of 2021 and after–in other words, the person or entity who owns those Virginia-breds on their first lifetime start–are eligible for up to a 25% bonus if they win a non-Virginia-restricted race at any racetrack in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland or Virginia.“We breed horses commercially to be able to sell a horse. And not have to worry about whether it ends up in Pennsylvania or ends up in Maryland or ends up in New York is a great, great thing for us,” Gracie said, about the way the program benefits his business.“We can sell a horse, hopefully be profitable, they can land anywhere in the Mid-Atlantic and we're getting breeders awards anytime they hit the board. It makes a lot of sense. So that's why we really dove into the Virginia-bred program,” he said. “I mean, there's really nowhere else that's as competitive as here.”Virginia's also home to a mare residency program where, if you buy a mare at public auction, she can qualify for the Virginia-bred program if you bring her to Virginia within 15 days.“What's really good about that program, too, is we don't have a breed-back rule,” said Byrne.Despite the lucrative incentives available to the breeders and owners of Virginia-bred and certified horses, some remain unaware of what's on offer.“We're getting back up to the days of past, but it's something that's just going to take some time. We do need to keep promoting it,” Byrne said.According to Gracie, “the biggest thing is just educating buyers” about these programs. “I mean, sometimes you have to explain the difference between the certified program and the Virginia-bred program. Or even what the Virginia certified program is,” he added.Central to this whole breeding ecosystem are Fasig-Tipton's two regional sales in the area, the Midlantic May 2-Year-Olds In Training Sale and the company's Eastern Fall Yearling Sale.At this year's fall market, Fasig-Tipton will portion off the sale into sections specific to each state-bred regional program.“What that means is, there'll be a New York-bred section, there'll be a New Jersey-bred section, a Virginia-bred section and so on,” said Frank Alosa, who helps spearhead Fasig-Tipton's recruitment efforts in the Midlantic region.“And we've been working with the state-bred associations to come up with creative ways to tell the story of what it means to own, breed and race in these states,” he added.“You have these good horses, you have these good horsemen and women, and by creating all these little sales inside of the bigger sales, it's giving us not only an opportunity to showcase these programs and the incentives for owners and for breeders in these states, but it's also giving these horsemen and women who have raised these horses a good place to market them,” Alosa said.Furthermore, with Colonial Downs' near two-month summer meet poised to begin, supporters of the region are once again extolling the reciprocal program between Maryland and Virginia, which allows both Maryland-bred or -sired and Virginia-bred or -sired horses to compete in a series of stake races at Laurel Park and Colonial Downs.These kinds of reciprocal programs are another way to reinforce the foundation stones of these regional markets, said Byrne.“I won't say we can't survive without the other, but it's a whole lot better working together than not,” said Byrne.“Virginia was it back in the day. But with no pari-mutuel racing, the breeding programs really fell by the wayside back in the '70s and '80s,” said Byrne.“But now it's all just rebuilding thanks to Colonial Downs racing being back and expanding and [Historic Horse Racing] HHR, obviously,” she said. “Virginia's one of the really good positive stories in racing right now.”The post Virginia Breeding In Focus: “One Of The Really Good Positive Stories” appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.