Virginia Equine Services

04/12/2025

https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/4206569886

Posted 4:46:43 PM. Racing Commission Veterinarian (Multiple Positions!)Who We AreThe Virginia Racing Commission (VRC)…See this and similar jobs on LinkedIn.

04/08/2025

Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a potentially fatal blood-borne infectious viral disease that produces a persistent infection among equids nearly worldwide.

03/22/2025

https://standardbredcanada.ca/news/3-21-25/industry-rallies-support-hunter-myers-family.html
Prayers

The harness racing industry has rallied on numerous fronts to support the family of horseman Hunter Myers, who passed away on Thursday, March 20 as a result of injuries suffered in an accident at The Meadows on Wednesday, March 19.

03/03/2025

Approved!

Happy legs, happy horse! 🐴⚡ PEMF therapy promotes recovery, reduces soreness, and keeps your horse moving at its best.

02/26/2025

02/20/2025

HISA Logo
Racing-Related Fatality Rate at HISA Racetracks Hits Historic Low in 2024

February 20, 2025 (Lexington, KY) - For the first time in the United States since data has been recorded, the racing-related fatality rate at racetracks subject to the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority’s (HISA) rules fell below 1.00 per 1,000 starts for a calendar year. In 2024, 99.91% of starts did not result in a fatality. From January 1 through December 31, 2024, 47 racetracks across 19 states operating under HISA’s rules recorded an aggregate racing-related fatality rate of 0.90 per 1,000 starts, an approximate 27% decrease from the 1.23 rate reported by HISA in 2023 and a 55% decrease from when The Jockey Club’s Equine Injury Database began reporting fatalities in 2009 at a rate of 2.00.

“It has never been clearer that Thoroughbred racing has become safer under HISA,” said HISA CEO Lisa Lazarus. “While we celebrate this progress, HISA remains committed to collaborating with industry stakeholders to further reduce fatalities and to enhance safety for horses, jockeys and all those who love and participate in the sport.”

HISA’s Racetrack Safety Program, implemented on July 1, 2022, and its Anti-Doping and Medication Control Program, implemented on May 22, 2023, have significantly strengthened safety measures nationwide by implementing uniform rules that embody best-practice standards. Key requirements include expanded veterinary protocols, pre-race inspections, laboratory harmonization, racetrack surface monitoring and uniform medication oversight. HISA also has rolled out new technologies in the last year to assist stakeholders with making informed decisions about equine athletes, including HISA Horse In-Sight, an innovative platform that combines a horse’s career and medical history to provide a unique and holistic view of its health and performance.

In March, HISA will release its 2024 Annual Report, which will detail racing-related fatalities over time by state and racetrack. Additionally, for the first time, the 2024 Annual Report will include full-year training-related fatality data on an aggregate, per-state and per-track basis. By implementing standardized tracking and reporting for training-related fatalities, HISA is providing unprecedented transparency and insight as part of ongoing efforts to prevent training- and racing-related fatalities across the country. This expanded dataset will enable a more comprehensive understanding of risk factors and inform targeted safety measures in both training and racing.

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About the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority
Subject to Federal Trade Commission oversight, the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority is charged with recommending and implementing uniform safety and integrity rules in Thoroughbred racing. HISA is implementing, for the first time, a national, uniform set of rules applicable to every Thoroughbred racing participant and racetrack facility. HISA is comprised of two programs: the Racetrack Safety Program, which went into effect on July 1, 2022, and the Anti-Doping and Medication Control (ADMC) Program, which went into effect on May 22, 2023.
The Racetrack Safety Program includes operational safety rules and national racetrack accreditation standards that seek to enhance equine welfare and minimize equine and jockey injury. The Program expands veterinary oversight, imposes surface maintenance and testing requirements, enhances jockey safety, regulates riding crop use and implements voided claim rules, among other important measures.
The ADMC Program includes a centralized testing and results management process and applies uniform penalties for violations efficiently and consistently across the United States. These rules and enforcement mechanisms are administered by an independent agency, the Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU), established by Drug Free Sport International (DFS). HIWU oversees testing, educates stakeholders on the Program, accredits laboratories, investigates potential ADMC violations and enforces the ADMC Program.
MEDIA CONTACT
Mandy Minger
[email protected]
917-846-8804

02/08/2025

You would not believe the time, effort and love that goes into maintaining an even, consistent track surface. Depth, water content, base and substrate mixture all have to be the same, especially in the racing lanes.

02/01/2025

https://www.bloodhorse.com/horse-racing/articles/282448/colonial-downs-readies-for-three-days-of-march-racing

Known for its summer turf racing, Colonial Downs will shift its racing focus to dirt over three days from March 13-15 as part of its expanded, 44-day 2025 racing schedule.

11/26/2024

Whoop!

MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!! MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!! MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT!!!

THE HUMANE SOCIETY OF AMHERST COUNTY WILL BE ACQUIRING THE MONELISON CLINIC!!!

We’ve actually talked about starting a clinic for years but when Dr. Budzyn of Monelison Animal Clinic announced his retirement we knew we had to do something. The outcry we heard from the community was deafening. Monelison and Dr. Budzyn have been providing low cost high quality animal health care to Amherst County for many years. Many folks have come to depend on it. Add to that the Blue Ridge Animal League is also closing leaving the entire area with no truly affordable pet care. We knew we had to act for the sake of the pet owning community. We felt strongly that hundreds of pets would go without any veterinary care at all if we didn’t do something.

A catalyst to finally accomplishing our goal was the availability of the Monelison Clinic itself. A beautiful clinic, fully equipped and ready for business. Taking over a veterinary practice is a massive undertaking. With a capital M! There were many moments where I honestly didn’t think it was going to happen. With perseverance, a little luck and perhaps some divine providence we were able to succeed.
It is a very slow process to do this and it has been dragging on. Out of concern for his clients Dr. Budzyn will reopen the clinic himself on Dec 30th.

We will take over the clinic the following week on January 6th. Once the transition is complete the clinic will be owned and operated by the Humane Society of Amherst County. I will be the Practice Manager. It will remain The Monelison Clinic but the name could possibly change sometime in the future. The new head veterinarian will start on January 6th.
The new veterinarian in charge will be Dr. Morgan Eggleston formerly of Lovingston Veterinary Hospital. She is an excellent vet and a wonderful person and will take fantastic care of your animals. We consider ourselves very lucky to have found her and brought her on board. All of us at the HSAC are very glad and very excited to have her join our family! Your pets will love her!

Our goal is to have two vets on duty every day. We’re not quite there yet but for two days each week along with Dr. Eggleston we will have none other than Dr. Budzyn himself! He will probably be working more days in the beginning weeks. After thirty years of practice he has earned a well deserved retirement. The reality is though that he doesn’t want to give it up entirely. He would just like to enjoy treating your pets without all of the pressures of running an entire clinic. He is committed to us getting a solid start and will guide us to make sure we are able to run the clinic as well as he did. Lucky for us to have all of his experience to benefit from!

In addition to serving the public, the clinic will provide low cost spay/neuter services to local rescues. With the closure of Blue Ridge we see this as a necessity for our rescue and shelter friends. Of course the general public will have access to that as well. We will have an additional number of very experienced veterinarians working separately on our spay neuter program.

Speaking of affordable we will be starting the clinic with the same price list as the Monelison Clinic. For those of you who use them now, you know they have by far the lowest prices in the area. Even though costs are rising if there is any way possible we will lower the prices if we can! We just need to see how things go over time. We are not in this to make money. We are in it to service the community of pet owners and the shelter and rescue animals. The prices will be low but you will absolutely be receiving the very best pet healthcare in the area.

The clinic hours will remain the same as before.

And lastly a huge bid of thanks to Dr. Budzyn and his wife Heth. From the first day we contacted them about acquiring the practice their main concern was for their clients. They knew many of them couldn’t afford the cost of pet healthcare that has risen so dramatically over the last few years. Their cooperation and patience in making this work was truly remarkable. They also made a number of concessions in the interest of the community to help us make this acquisition. The HSAC and the community owes them a huge debt of gratitude.

If you have any questions feel free to ask in the comments.

If you are with a rescue in need of spay/neuter services, please message this page.

Tony Cerqua President Humane Society of Amherst County

10/09/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBXoBu6AxZ8

THIS SUCKS Dead people, dead horses.

📝Disclaimer:This video is not personalized advice for the viewer.🚨DISGUSTING! They are STEALING Homes from North Carolinans by ...

10/08/2024

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKf_IWdRkug

Mountain Mule Packer Ranch has dispatched close to a dozen mules to the Black Mountain community, where they’ve used to navigate muddy trails and cracked roa...

09/19/2024

09/11/2024

Remember!

08/28/2024

07/19/2024

http://sbc.edu/veterinarian-joins-riding-center-team

This year, Sweet Briar College will welcome a new position to its Harriet Howell Rogers Riding Center staff: an equine veterinarian. Alyson Ainsworth, D.V.M. comes to the College from her private practice, Afton Mountain Equine.