West Virginia Governor's Stakes


The West Virginia Governor's Stakes is a race for Thoroughbred horses run annually since 1997 at Mountaineer Racetrack in Chester, West Virginia. The $200,000 race is open to horses age three and older and is run at a distance of 1 1/16 miles on dirt. The race has grown in stature over the years and for 2018 the race has been given Grade 3 status.
Joan & Ron Winchell, who race as Winchell Thoroughbreds LLC, won this race in 2012 with Tapizar and went on to win the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile in the fall.
In 2015, the race saw a major upset when longshot Looks To Spare won under jockey Deshawn Parker. A perennial Mountaineer Racetrack champion and its all-time winningest jockey, when Parker rides it is near automatic that the fans will heavily back him. However, Looks To Spare was considered such an unlikely winner that he was allowed to go off at odds of 74-1. He paid $150.60 to win on a $2 ticket.
Although open to horses of either sex age three and older, through 2017 no filly nor any three-year-old has ever won the race in its twenty-one-year history.

Records

Speed record:
Most wins:
Most wins by a jockey:
Most wins by a trainer:
Most wins by an owner: