Charles Town is a racetrack and casino facility which lies in Charles Town, West Virginia. It is around 60 miles from Baltimore and roughly 10 miles from the historic Harpers Ferry.

It is presently owned by Gaming and Leisure Properties, and the daily operations are supervised by the Penn National Gaming. They bought the center back in 1997.

Charles Town is home to one of the tiniest racetracks in the US, with a six-furlong oval track frequently resulting in races held over the four-and-a-half and five furlongs. It is explained as standard dirt, and there are presently no strategies to construct a grass course.

The primary track has a width of 60 feet and has a four-and-a-half furlong chute, which permits route races to be held at CharlesTown.

The track possesses a cutting edge casino, which was the first to be constructed in West Virginia. Sports betting has actually been readily available at this location because August 2018.

There is also a 153-room hotel on-site. The track likewise has a yard confined grandstand and clubhouse, with the previous having the ability to seat approximately 3,500 viewers.

Racing takes location all-year-round at Charles Town with live race-days typically taking location Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The track takes a short break around the holiday season before recommencing in mid-January. It was the very first East Coast track to hold live racing during the winter season.

Charles Town just hosts Thoroughbred racing at the track. There are currently no plans to present Quarter Horse contests.

The track holds a number of important stakes races throughout the season, with the West Virginia Breeders Classic being the standout contest. This occasion pays over $500,000 to the winning connections, while the general bag for the day has just recently risen above the million-dollar mark.

Charles Town Racetrack History

Charles Town opened in 1933 and ended up being the first gaming house wagering track in West Virginia. The very first live race-day was staged on December 2 and was organized by Albert Boyle of the Shenandoah Valley Jockey Club.

The owners invested $160,000 in order to get the venue up to scratch and to make sure that the West Virginia venue was fit to stage winter season racing. Despite a variety of naysayers suggesting that Charles Town would have a hard time to get visitors through the door, the track saw numbers increase over the first years despite the perilously cold conditions.

Hall of fame jockey Bill Hartack was a routine at the track during the early days, and he set a number of performance history - much of which still stand today. He when rode 24 winners throughout Charles Town's 24-day winter season fulfill.

John F. Kennedy and his other half checked out the track in 1960 as part of their presidential campaign.

In 1969, Barbara Jo Ruben became the first female jockey to win a pari-mutuel race in the US, with the 19-year-old guidingCohesion home by half-a-length. She went on to have an amazing career and was welcomed back to the track in 2019 to mark the anniversary of the event.

The track closed for 2 weeks in 1979 with all horsemen asked to abandon the premises, although racing quickly recommenced, with Sunday being added to the calendar right after the re-opening.

The very first running of the West Virginia Breeders' Classic was held at the track and was organized by NFL Hall of Famer Sam Huff.The inaugural prize purse included $100,000 and was won by local raider Onion Juice.

The track was purchased by Penn National Gaming in 1997, and they conducted a $175,000,000 upgrade of the facilities.They developed new barns and opened a multi-million dollar simulcast center.

The Charles Town Classic was held for the very first time in 2009, with inaugural race open up to older horses running over a mile and one eighth. Researcher won the first two renewals of this contest.With a prize handbag of over $1 million, the race continues to bring in a premium field and is among the richest contests in the US.

Charles Town Track Configuration and Bias

When the track trips quickly (which takes place throughout the bulk of the summertime), this often hinders closers. The quick dirt at Charles Town tends to allow frontrunners to get enough utilize to win wire-to-wire, and this is a key facet of summer racing in West Virginia.

Frontrunners frequently struggle when the rain has actually boiled down, and the track is riding sloppy.

There has actually been plenty of racing at CharlesTown in 2019, and the statistics suggest that there is a relatively even split when it concerns post positions. In sprint races, the within positions have the edge, with stalls one and 2 producing 15.8 and 15.9 percent of the winners, respectively.

Stalls three and seven were likewise fairly efficient, with 14.4 and 14.6 percent of horses starting here entering the winner's enclosure, respectively.

Stall nine was the poorest starting position, with simply 11 of the 169 runners being attracted this slot managing to protect triumph (6.5 percent).

In route races, the inside stalls also produced the greatest number of winners. Stall two had 18.6 percent of the winners, while the inside position yielded 17.6 percent of all winning thoroughbreds. Stall 5 revealed a fairly poor return of simply over 10 percent, while only one of the 12 runners beginning in stall nine entered the winner's enclosure.

Neither of the 2 horses who started in stall 10 were first to pass the post.

Charles Town Racing Season

Charles Town is one of a handful of tracks in the US to host year-round racing. The West Virginia place takes a little break for the holiday before racing returns at the beginning of the calendar year. Racing generally takes location Thursday-Sunday although they often stage additional cards on Thanksgiving and Labor Day.

There are a number of stakes races held at the track and these command decent-size bags. The standout races consist of the Charles Town Mile and the West Virginia Breeders' Classic.