Horse Racing as an Economic Flywheel: Driving Business Activity in Virginia

When Thoroughbred filly Ivy Garden crossed the finish line first at 11 to 1 odds to win a $55,000 Maiden race at Colonial Downs last September, the victory did more than celebrate a longshot win—it launched a student-led Thoroughbred racing partnership that is now expanding Virginia’s equine economy.

Darden School of Business students IV Hendrix and Xavier Vecchio, both members of the Class of 2026, founded XXVI Racing after Ivy Garden’s win, pooling funds with fellow students and local horse lovers to purchase two additional yearlings at the Keeneland September Yearling Sale. The fillies were named Rivanna and Huntington Honey after beloved Charlottesville landmarks.

“That evening was one of the most incredible experiences I can remember,” Hendrix said. “From there, XXVI Racing was off, and running.” The partnership operates on a simple model: professional management of Thoroughbreds while lowering the barrier to entry for ownership through shared funding, with any winnings distributed among partners.

Rivanna and Huntington Honey spent their early training at Eagle Point Farm outside Charlottesville. Hendrix described Rivanna as “a two-year-old light bay filly who is kind of like a ‘big lap dog’—a sweetheart whose competitive spirit lights up on the racetrack.”

The venture reflects broader momentum in Virginia’s equine industry, which continues to demonstrate significant economic impact. A 2021 study commissioned by the Virginia Equine Alliance found that the horse racing and breeding industry generated an estimated $542.1 million in economic impact for the state in 2019, supporting more than 5,000 jobs and generating $26.5 million in state tax revenue that year.

Additional data underscores the industry’s reach: Virginia horsemen spent an estimated $239.44 million on horse-related expenditures in 2019, while event-related spending and visitor spending contributed $68.7 million to the state’s economy. The average annual cost to care for, train, and board a race horse in Virginia was estimated at $14,663 per horse.

Horse racing-related gaming operations alone generated $224.6 million in 2019, according to industry analyses. Virginia’s Equine Alliance also notes that horse owners across the Commonwealth invest an average of $2,969 per horse annually, totaling approximately $505 million in direct expenditures statewide.

As XXVI Racing prepares Rivanna and Huntington Honey for their two-year-old racing seasons, the partnership exemplifies how student-led initiatives are contributing to the revitalization of Virginia’s horse racing sector—a sector that state officials and industry leaders continue to identify as a growing economic driver.