Virginia Derby Moves to March

The Virginia Derby for 3-year-old thoroughbred horses is scheduled for Saturday at the Colonial Downs track in New Kent.

This year marks the first time the event will be run in March to serve as a qualifying race for the Kentucky Derby instead of being held as a late-summer stand-alone race. The winner of the one-turn, 1 1/8-mile race will automatically qualify for the May 3 race at Churchill Downs in Kentucky.

Kentucky Derby contenders such as Getaway Car, John Hancock, and Render Judgment are all scheduled to participate.

Saturday’s card will include a total of 10 races, including the Virginia Oaks for 3-year-old female horses, and will offer a number of parlay wagering options throughout the day.

Cuts Come to the Commonwealth

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond noted that Virginia is especially vulnerable to federal job cuts. “The average federal government employee in Virginia earns $119,277,” according to its calculations. “In comparison, the 2023 annual mean wage in Virginia was about $70,000.”

Current and former federal employees across the Commonwealth are reaching out for help as the Trump administration’s spending cuts take effect. “We have seen that uptick of those folks,” the head of the Hampton Roads Veterans Employment Center said.

The federal Department of Veterans Affairs may cut up to 80,000 positions, but state officials said they are ready to help. “Virginia’s Department of Veterans Services continues to work 24/7 across the Commonwealth of Virginia to serve our nearly 700,000 veterans and their families,” the commissioner of the state’s Department of Veterans Services said.

Washington also provides tens of millions of dollars in support to local governments, especially in the Southwest and Southside regions of Virginia, where some organizations are already facing job cuts.

Trump Taps State GOP Leader for Air Force

President Trump nominated Virginian Richard Anderson to be an Assistant Secretary of the Air Force. 

Anderson has been serving as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia since 2020, where he worked to help with the campaigns of Gov. Glenn Youngkin, Lt. Gov. Winsome Sears, and Attorney General Jason Miyares.

In 2009, he retired from the Air Force as a colonel after a 30-year career to enter state politics as a member of the House of Delegates. 

Anderson is one of several Virginians, including former U.S. Senate candidate Hung Cao, who Trump has nominated for federal service.

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➤ Punta Cana, Dominican Republic: The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office identified 24-year-old Joshua Riibe as a “person of interest” in connection with last week’s disappearance of college student Sudiksha Konanki. No charges have been filed in the case, which is being treated as a missing persons investigation. (Details)

➤ Statewide: New parents now have the option to file online for a birth certificate instead of having to fill out paper forms at a hospital. (More)

➤ Arlington: The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) stated that military helicopter routes near Reagan National Airport “pose an intolerable risk to aviation safety.” It called on the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to permanently ban nearby helicopter operations while civilian planes are using runways. (Details)

➤ Chesterfield: County officials inked a deal to bring Friday night car racing back to Southside Speedway for the first time since 2019. (More)

➤ Fairfax: The Board of Supervisors discussed imposing a tax on meals sold in restaurants. The county faces a $300 million shortfall and is expected to pass a budget that raises taxes and trims services. (Details)

➤ Statewide: The Commonwealth imports $2.7 billion worth of goods from Canada, almost $2.8 billion from Mexico, and $1.8 million from China, according to a report by LendingTree. It found Virginia ranked 36th among the states in its vulnerability to increases in federal tariffs. (More)

➤ The Washington Commanders signed defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw yesterday, as the NFL signing period officially opened. (Details)

➤ UVA ended its season at 15-17 after a 66-60 loss to Georgia Tech in the ACC men’s basketball tournament (Scores)

➤ Liberty women’s basketball team, seeded No. 1 in the Conference USA tournament, crushed Sam Houston 78-51 to move to the semifinals. The men’s team also advanced, winning 81-60 over UTEP. (Bracket)

➤ UVA baseball, ranked No. 23, visits Cal for a three-game series this weekend after beating former ACC foe Maryland to improve to 10-5. (Details)

➤ Yesterday’s results: NBA | NHL | NCAAM | NCAAW | NCAABB | NCAASB | Soccer

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➤ Virginians need to earn more than $141,516 per household to be considered “upper middle” class. The median household income in Virginia is $90,974. (Where We Rank)

➤ Spirit Airlines announced it will begin providing roundtrip service from Richmond to New York’s LaGuardia four days a week. (More)

➤ OmniSource, a scrap metal processor, donated land to the Roanoke chapter of the National Railway Historical Society, which will move its collection of rolling stock and display it on the site. (Details)

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➤ UVA swimmer Gretchen Walsh, who won four Olympic medals and a number of other races, was named Sportsperson of the Year by the Virginia Sports Hall of Fame. “You would be hard-pressed to find an athlete who had a better 2024 than Gretchen Walsh,” Chairman Marty Miller said. (Details)

➤ The U.S. Navy Band scheduled a free concert in Virginia Beach for April 1. The group is touring to celebrate the Navy’s 250th Anniversary. (More)

➤ Kala the Science Girl can dig again. The TikTok influencer had been excavating a tunnel beneath her Northern Virginia home but had to stop to obtain permits. (Details)

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Is your household “upper middle class?”

1. Yes
2. No
3. We used to be

Wednesday’s Results:

Do you have any unpaid traffic tickets from the District of Columbia? 

1. Yes: 25%
2. No: 50%
3. I’ll never tell: 25%

When was the first Virginia Derby held?

Show me the answer