WVTBA

Hometown Hero Runnin'toluvya Wins Charles Town Classic

The climb from a $35,000 stakes to a graded stakes worth $1 million may seem extraordinarily steep, but for Runnin'toluvya, there was one rather important constant in the two races. Both came at the racetrack where the 5-year-old gelding has become a hometown hero.

So when a West Virginia-bred finally captured the Charles Town Classic Stakes (G2) at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races, it was altogether fitting that Runnin'toluvya filled that role. In the 11th edition of the 1 1/8-mile stakes April 20, the home team prevailed as Runnin'toluvya registered a half-length victory over Diamond King for his ninth straight win, all at the Ranson, W.Va., racetrack. 

Though the field of 10 for Saturday's edition featured four horses with earnings of at least $1.4 million, including two past winners of the grade 2 stakes, the major share of the seven-figure purse was taken home by connections that visit Charles Town on a daily, rather than annual, basis.

Foremost among the "little guys" in this surprising tale is the gelding who ventured out of West Virginia-bred stakes and faced open stakes rivals for the first time March 29 when he opened his 2019 campaign with a 3 1/4-length victory in the $35,000 Russell Road Overnight Prep Stakes. He is a son of Fiber Sonde, a stallion who stands in West Virginia for a $1,000 fee.