Personal Injury Lawyer and Loudoun resident Peter C. Burnett was recently re-elected to lead the state appointed, five member Virginia Racing Commission (VRC) through 2010. This regulatory agency is tasked with ensuring the integrity and benefits of horse racing for its participants and all members of the Commonwealth. "Our immediate goal is to regulate and promote Virginia's racing program to help it succeed in the current economic downturn and to help it grow and compete nationally over the long term", notes Mr. Burnett.

Loudoun County is home to the largest race horse population in Virginia and hosts one of the nation's premier equine hospitals. "Loudoun County has a vested interest in the economic success of horse racing", continues Mr. Burnett who has long supported the VRC's contribution of several hundred thousand dollars to the VA Tech Marion DuPont Scott Equine Medical Center in Leesburg.

In fiscal year 2009 the VRC contributed nearly $1,000,000 to Virginia's general fund. It is one of a handful of state agencies that has income greater than expenses, thus generating net income for the taxpayers of Virginia. The Commission is charged with oversight of industry practices and enforces all statutes and regulations related to pari-mutual wagering in Virginia.

Mr. Burnett was appointed to the VRC in 2003 by Gov. Mark Warner by virtue of his legal background and his many years in horse racing and breeding. Although his firm, Burnett & Williams, limits its practice to personal injury law, he has developed expertise in equine and regulatory law as a result of his decades of involvement with pari-mutual wagering and horse racing. "As with our legal system, integrity is critical to the success of racing. My most important task is to retain public confidence by protecting racing from any practice that would undermine the fairness of the game", says Mr. Burnett.