In 1973, when Secretariat, a stallion born and raised in Caroline County, Va., won the Triple Crown, the state was a regular contender in the nation’s highest-profile races. Virginia has been famous as a producer of great horses since before the Civil War. But this month, not one Virginia horse ran in the Kentucky Derby; in fact, no Virginia horse has raced in the Derby since 1996. Their absence is a sign of steady decline in an industry that was once a hallmark of the state.
In its heyday in the 1960s, Virginia produced 1,400 thoroughbred foals a year, the fourth-highest number in the country. Today, it produces about 350. In Northern Virginia, most large farms (those that bring forth more than 20 foals a year) have stopped producing at that rate – the number that do can be counted on one hand.
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