Here is a series of photos from opening night festivities at Colonial Downs from Tuesday July 28. The “spectator-free” meet was delayed by one day when Monday’s originally scheduled card was postponed due to extreme heat advisories. Photos supplied by Coady Photography and the Virginia Equine Alliance.
Colonial Downs races on opening night — and throughout the 2020 season — will be held without spectators.Skies of different colors were evident trackside as neighboring thunderstorms avoided the track itself .… Continue reading →
Guillaume rallied on the outside and overtook Merchant of Hope in the final strides of the $40,000 Hansel Stakes for Virginia Certified 2-year-olds on the Tuesday night opening night card at Colonial Downs. The son of Hard Spun is owned by DARRS Inc., trained by Mike Stidham and was ridden by Trevor McCarthy, the same owner-trainer-jockey combination who were leaders at the 2019 Colonial meeting.
The victory was third of four on the night for McCarthy and second for… Continue reading →
UPDATE AS OF TUESDAY 7/28 AT 9 AM — Post time for Tuesday’s opening day card is now 6:30 instead of 5:30 PM. Safety First as Due to Heat Conditions
(NEW KENT, Va.) – July 27, 2020 – In an abundance of caution, Colonial Downs Group is postponing today’s opening card at the Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent County. With heat index forecasts over 100 degrees, the change is to safeguard the health of people working, transportation of… Continue reading →
River Deep, winner of the 2019 Edward P. Evans Stakes, will try to defend his title Wednesday (July 29) at Colonial Downs against six other Virginia-bred/sired horses including Todd Pletcher trainee Largent and 2019 Jamestown Stakes winner Embolden. The $60,000 one-mile turf stakes has been carded as the eighth race.
Morgan Ford Farms’ River Deep won last year’s Evans courtesy of a disqualification when initial first place finisher Speed Gracer was tagged for interference and placed fourth. Forest Boyce will… Continue reading →
UPDATE AS OF MONDAY JULY 27 AT 1o:30 AM. The Opening day card at Colonial Downs has been cancelled due to extreme heat expected. The card has been rescheduled for Sunday August 2. Horsemen will need to re-enter horses —they will be taken Tuesday July 27. Three non-betting steeplechase races will precede Sunday’s pari-mutuel card beginning at 3:30 PM.
One hundred and eight horses were entered for opening night’s originally scheduled (Monday) card with $316,000 in purse money… Continue reading →
When handicappers seek out a horse to wager in hopes of generating a return on their investment, most rely on past performance statistics to help make their decision.
Available data includes charted lines from its most recent races, jockey and trainer stats, comparative speed figures along with other variables. At the very end of each horse’s body of work is a listing of recent workout times which can also aid bettors in that selection process.
(NEW KENT, Va.) – July 21, 2020 — In light of the unprecedented pandemic impacting all walks of life and industries, Colonial Downs Group, a subsidiary of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, announced today that it will alter course from hosting limited spectators to a “spectator-free” racing program for the 2020 race meet, which opens Monday, July 27.
The following was announced by Colonial Downs on July 17.
Jockeys: Must provide a negative Covid-19 test before arriving on Colonial Downs grounds for the first time. The test must have been taken since last riding elsewhere. Jockeys who leave Colonial Downs to ride elsewhere or enter another racetrack jockeys’ quarters will not be permitted to return to Colonial Downs unless they self-quarantine for 14 days and obtain and provide a negative Covid-19 test. Face Masks are required.… Continue reading →
Virginia-bred, -sired and/or -certified horses will be spotlighted in the first three evenings of racing at Colonial Downs – Monday, July 27 through Wednesday, July 29 – with six stakes races. Three of the events are for registered Virginia bred/sired runners and three for Virginia-restricted Thoroughbreds.
The opening night’s program will be highlighted by the $40,000 Van Clief Handicap for fillies and mares at one mile over Colonial’s renowned Secretariat turf course. Most prominent among the 30 nominees for the… Continue reading →
On line betting handle in the state of Virginia continues to surge as ADW partner providers experienced large business gains in the first half of 2020.
In all, $61,803,279 was wagered in the first six months this year compared with $46,663,434 in 2019. TVG handled the most with $33,332,419, a 46% increase over $22,701,313 during the same time period last year. Bettors wagered $17,677,691 via Twin Spires, 9% more than 2019’s tally of $16,180,618. Xpressbet was next with $8,138,608 in… Continue reading →
