The Mountaineer racecourse can be found close to the Ohio River in the town of Chester in the state of West Virginia and caters for thoroughbred racing enthusiasts throughout the year. It held its inaugural meeting on 19th May 1951 when known as Waterford Park. It makes use of 2 tracks, one of which is an 8 furlong dirt track, whilst the inside turf track is 7 furlongs round, although there are also separate chutes of 6½ furlongs and 9 furlongs, sharing a 276 metre home straight. The track now has ample seating in enclosed grandstands and a Clubhouse, the former holding 5,800, the latter 1,600, although in the early days these were open to the elements. Its principal races are the West Virginia Derby, the Panhandle Handicap and the West Virginia Governor's Handicap. The inaugural running of the West Virginia Derby was in 1923 at Tri-State Park; it moved to Wheeling Downs where it was held until 1961, moving to this track from 1963 onwards.

West Virginia Derby winners since 1963 when first contested at this track
1963 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Etimota
1964 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Peter Le Grand
1965 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Pantuity
1966 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Kerensa
1967 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Miracle Hill
1968 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Chargertown
1969 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Roman Partner
1970 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Two Joys
1971 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Trico OErin
1972 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was run in 2 heats and won by Bold Nobleman and Family Table
1973 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Blue Chip Dan
1974 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Park Guard
1975 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by At The Front
1976 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Wardlaw
1977 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Best Person
1978 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Beau Sham
1979 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Architect
1980 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Summer Advocate
1981 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was run in 2 divisions and won by Johnny Dance and Parks Policy
1982-87 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was not contested
1988 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Old Stories
1989 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Docs Leader
1990 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Challenge My Duty
1991-97 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was not contested
1998 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Da Devil
1999 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Stellar Brush

I am grateful to Darb Rolyat for the scan of the West Virginia Derby Trophy shown above which was presented to Mrs Horatio Luro, owner of the 1963 winner Etimota who won by a record breaking 12 lengths. It was trained by Darbs step father Patsy Santo. Amazingly Patsy won the next 3 Derbys with Peter Le Grand in 1964, Pantuity in 1965 and in 1966 it was with Etimotas sister Kerensa, which was also owned by Mrs Luro. Both Etimota and Kerensa were fillies beating the colts.

2000 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Mass Market trained by Benjamin Perkins and ridden by Rick Wilson
2001 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Western Pride trained by Richard Estvanko and ridden by Dana Whitney
2002 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Wisemans Ferry trained by Niall OCallaghan and ridden by Jorge Chavez
2003 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Soto trained by Michael Dickinson and ridden by Ramon Dominguez
2004 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Sir Shackleton trained by Nick Zito and ridden by Rafael Bejarano
2005 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Real Dandy trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Mark Guidry
2006 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Bright One trained by Dale Romans and ridden by Mark Guidry
2007 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Zanjero trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan
2008 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Ready Set trained by Michael Matz and ridden by Julien Leparoux
2009 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Soul Warrior trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Dale Beckner
2010 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Concord Point trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Martin Garcia
2011 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Prayer for Relief trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Rafael Bejarano
2012 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Macho Macho trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Corey Nakatani
2013 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Departing trained by Albert Stall and ridden by Robby Albarado
2014 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Tapiture trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Rosie Napravnik
2015 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Madefromlucky trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Joe Bravo
2016 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Cupid trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Rafael Bejarano
2017 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Colonelsdarktemper trained by William Fires and ridden by Jon Court
2018 The West Virginia Derby over 9 furlongs was won by Mr Freeze trained by Dale Romans and ridden by Robby Albarado