Next month’s International Gold Cup at Great Meadow in The Plains, Virginia, has been moved because of safety concerns for the horses that run and jump on the steeplechase course.
For almost 40 years, Gold Cup at Great Meadow has blended steeplechase racing with socializing, featuring next-level tailgating and fancy hats in Virginia’s horse country.
The National Steeplechase Association, the governing body for jump racing, has revoked the sanction for the running of the 2024 International Gold Cup at Great Meadow, scheduled for Oct. 26, deeming the course to be “in disrepair and unsafe.”
The Virginia Gold Cup Association, which rents Great Meadow, located in Fauquier County for its yearly Virginia Gold Cup in spring and International Gold Cup in fall, says next month’s event will be held on its scheduled date, at Glenwood Park, in Middleburg in Loudoun County.
“The safety of the horses and jockeys is the Virginia Gold Cup Association’s top priority as a race event,” said the VGCA, in a statement.
The Great Meadow Foundation, in a statement on its website, said the revocation of the sanction “comes as a shock and great disappointment,” and that “the Foundation does not agree with the NSA’s remarks that its course is in ‘disrepair and unsafe.'”
“The unprecedented drought over the summer provided a very difficult challenge,” but GMF said since August the course has been engaged in a “thorough plan of action” with a turf expert, to ensure Great Meadow was ready for International Gold Cup.
The Virginia Gold Cup Association says it will begin contacting ticket holders, sponsors, and participants on Monday, Sept. 26, “to discuss your plans for attending races at the Glenwood Park venue.”
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