Festival of Racing Slated for August 1; Old Dominion Derby for September 7

 A robust schedule of 35 stakes races and handicaps worth more than $6.5 million, topped by the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing on Saturday, August 1, is on tap when the Virginia racetrack opens its doors for a 45-day summer season on Thursday, June 25.

The 2026 schedule will offer live racing every Thursday through Sunday, plus a special holiday card to bring down the curtain on the season on Labor Day, Monday, September 7. Overnight races will offer $70,000 purses for open maiden special weight contests ($87,500 for Virginia-restricted races), while allowance races will feature purses up to $80,000 for open runners and $90,000 for their Virginia-restricted counterparts.

The Colonial Downs Festival of Racing is highlighted by the Grade 1 Arlington Million, the Grade 2 $500,000 Beverly D. and the Grade 2 $500,000 Secretariat Stakes. The Million will be run at 1¼ miles, the Beverly D. will be contested at 1-3/16 miles and the Secretariat covers one mile. The renowned trio of races are slated to be run over Colonial’s acclaimed Secretariat Turf Course.

Five additional stakes races pepper the Festival Day program: the $150,000 Van Clief (Listed) for older runners at 5½ furlongs on the turf and its sister race the $150,000 Andy Guest; the $100,000 Petramalo Mile, a one-mile dirt race for 3-year-olds and its distaff counterpart , the $100,000 Tyson Gilpin at seven furlongs; and the $100,000 Reigh Count at seven furlongs on the dirt.

Colonial’s other graded stakes race, the Grade 3 $500,000 Old Dominion Derby, is slated for closing day on Labor Day. The Old Dominion Derby is a 1-1/8 miles turf race for 3-year-olds and headlines a sextet of turf stakes which also includes the $250,000 Old Dominion Oaks (Listed) for sophomore fillies at also 1-1/8 miles; the $150,000 Colonial Cup for 3-year-olds and up traveling 1½ miles; the $150,000 Da Hoss for older runners sprinting 5½ panels; and a pair of tests for the juvenile set – the the 1-1/16 mile $125,000 Kitten’s Joy and the 5½-furlong $125,000 Rosie’s Stakes.

Four new $100,000 stakes races were added for the expanded season – the Maggie Walker for fillies and mares at a mile on the dirt on Saturday, July 18; The Yorktown for older horses at nine furlongs on the main track on Saturday, July 25; plus the Colonial Turf Dash for 3-year-old turf sprinters and its female counterpart the Shenandoah Turf Dash both at six furlongs on Saturday, August 8.

There is one more open company stakes race on the 2026 docket, the $100,000 Love Sign on Saturday, July 25 for fillies and mares sprinting six furlongs on the dirt.

Virginia-bred, -sired, and/or -restricted runners get plenty of opportunities throughout the summer starting June 27, the first Saturday of the meet, with the $125,000 Edward P. Evans for older horses at 1-1/16 miles on turf its distaff counterpart the $125,000 Brookmeade.

Two weeks later turf sprinters are spotlighted in the $125,000 Punch Line and the $125,000 Glenn Petty, both at 5½ furlongs, the latter race restricted to females.

A pair of 2-year-old races for Virginia-restricted runners – the $100,000 Hickory Tree and its sister race the $100,000 Keswick – headline the Sunday, August 2 program. Each race offers $50,000 in additional money for Virginia-bred/sired horses and will be run over 5½ furlongs on the dirt.

Later in the meet older Va.-restricted horses are featured in the $100,000 Meadow Stable Handicap for older turf sprinters on Saturday, August 15 and the distaff version, the $100,000 Camptown Handicap two weeks later on Saturday, August 29. Each race offers the same Virginia-bred/sired bonus as above.

The final races restricted to Virginia runners – the $100,000 Bert Allen Handicap and the $100,000 Nellie Mae Cox Handicap – top the Saturday, September 5 card. The races, each of which offer $50,000 in additional purses for Virginia bred/sired participants, are 1-1/16 miles turf events with the latter restricted to fillies and mares.

With continued collaboration between Virginia and Maryland stakeholders, six stakes races restricted to Maryland- and Virginia-bred or sired horses begin on the second Saturday of the meet on Independence Day with the $125,000 Star De Naskra for 3-year-olds and $125,000 the Miss Disco for sophomore fillies with each race slated for seven furlongs on the dirt. Two more are slated for Saturday, August 15 – the $125,000 Find for older horses at 1-1/16 miles on the turf and its distaff counterpart, $125,000 All Brandy at the same distance. The remaining two are 5½-furlong turf races for 2-year-olds: the $125,000 Jamestown and its sister race, the $125,000 Dolley Madison scheduled for Saturday, August 29.

For the second straight year, Colonial Downs will host qualifying races for the Claiming Crown. The top two finishers in each race will automatically qualify for the Claiming Crown which will be held at Churchill Downs on Saturday, November 14.

Eight races under Starter Handicap conditions will be run on Saturday, August 22: the $50,000 Iron Horse Qualifier (1-1/16m dirt); $50,000 Ready Rocket Express Qualifier (6f dirt); $50,000 Glass Slipper Qualifier (1m dirt); $62,500 Rapid Transit Qualifier (7f dirt); $75,000 Canterbury Qualifier (5½f turf); $75,000 Tiara Qualifier (1-1/16m turf); $87,500 Emerald Qualifier (1-1/16m turf); and the $100,000 Jewel (1-1/8m dirt).

Condition books and stall applications are available online at www.colonialdowns.com under the horsemen’s tab as well as at Equibase.com.

~ Virginia Derby runners Incredibolt and Ocelli to follow-up strong showings at Kentucky Derby in this weekend’s Preakness Stakes~

After strong showings in the 152^nd Kentucky Derby, 2026 Virginia Derby alums Incredibolt and Occelli will race in the second leg of the Triple Crown at Saturday’s Preakness Stakes at Laurel Park in Maryland.

After winning the 2026 Virginia Derby, Incredibolt finished sixth in the Kentucky Derby. Ocelli, who finished sixth in the Virginia Derby, ran a stunning race to finish third in the sport’s biggest event.

“Having two horses go from the Virginia Derby to multiple starts in Triple Crown races just shows the strength of Virginia’s racing program and the high-quality horses, jockeys, trainers, and teams we are attracting to Colonial Downs,” said Frank Hopf, Senior Director of Racing at Colonial Downs. “We are excited for Saturday’s race and hope to see one of our Virginia Derby runners write their name in the history books.”

Just three of the fourteen Preakness Stakes starters will be Kentucky Derby runners, and two of them are also Virginia Derby entrants.

Incredibolt will start from Gate 12 and will again by ridden by Jaime Torres, as he was for the Virginia Derby and Kentucky Derby. Morning line odds show Incredibolt as one of the race’s favorites with 5-1 odds.

Ocelli will start from Gate 2 and again be piloted by jockey Tyler Gaffalione, just as he was for his thrilling third place finish in the Kentucky Derby. Gaffalione won the 2019 Preakness Stakes aboard War of Will. Ocelli is also a top contender in the morning line odds at 6-1.

Race fans are invited to watch and wager on the Preakness at Colonial Downs Racetrack, any Rosie’s Gaming Emporium in Richmond, Hampton, Emporia, Vinton, and Collinsville, The Rose Gaming Resort in Dumfries, or Roseshire in Henrico.

Colonial Downs’ record setting summer season is right around the corner and tickets are now on sale at www.ColonialDowns.com. Building on the momentum of an incredible three-day spring meet that featured a record crowd of 9,700+ fans for the sold out 2026 Virginia Derby, Colonial Downs will host another 45 days of live racing each Thursday through Sunday from June 25 through a special day of racing on Labor Day, Monday, September 7. This will be the most days of live racing in the nearly thirty-year history of Colonial Downs Racetrack.

Eagle Point Farm in Ashland is an iconic equine property in Central Virginia that has been in Donna Dennehy’s family for 79 years. Her father, Ed Gilman, purchased the property in 1947 and while Donna represents the second generation to operate the 200-acre farm and training center, her daughter Karen — the third generation —  now trains and oversees most aspects of the business.

Racing enthusiasts will soon get a chance to learn more about Eagle Point’s history via a 200-page hardcopy book titled “Donna Dennehy, Eagle Point Farm, Legacy of Grit and Grace” that will be released May 9 at a fundraising event for the Ashland Museum. Writing and preparing the book for publishing has been a 14-year project.

“It’s been on my to-do list for a long time,” said Dennehy. “I’d start it, put it aside and get busy with other things in my life then go back to it. It’s a conglomeration of stories from over the years. I got a little emotional looking back and thinking about my parents and events that occurred here, but we’re getting it done.” 

“The project actually started 18 years ago when my grandson lived with me. At night he’d want to hear a story about the farm and often times he’d say you ought to write a book. Then I’d have people come out to the farm and I’d tell them a story and they would say the same thing — that you should write a book. Our life here has been interesting for sure but I don’t think I’ll be rich and famous from the book.”

Dennehy’s parents bought the farm initially and the first chapter fittingly, is about them.

“They adopted me in 1949 when I was six months old,” she said. “I was never that horse crazy girl that wanted a pony, but I always had something to ride. I showed, fox hunted and even had a donkey to ride when I was a year old. As a child I rode every day of my life. I went to college with plans to be a math major and a teacher. That changed though. I ended up coming home to run the farm.”

Dennehy still has a very active role with Eagle Point’s operations and she assists Karen daily.

“Right now, I’m exhausted from completing this project and also helping out at the farm,” she said. “When I get the book in my hand, it will be very gratifying. I’m also going to be relieved. It’s something I wanted to do. There’s a lot of pride here. My husband Steve ran Eagle Point after my father, then I went back to running it, and now it’s Karen. It’s been a roller coaster ride whether we were going to make or if we weren’t going to make it. This is our livelihood. Karen has done a marvelous job. She does it different than me, my husband or my father had, but she is an excellent horsewoman, good with owners and good with horses. It’s kind of unbelievable what we’ve done here.”

Dennehy credits the Virginia Thoroughbred Association’s Certified Residency program with providing local farms an opportunity to get a needed boost, including theirs.

“Our farm stays full now,” she said. “We are able to be more selective in horses that stay here, we’ve been able to raise our rates, and have been able offer better pay to our employees. I just had $9,000 in hay delivered and I’ve got money in my checking account to pay for it. That financial pressure has been relieved. We just finished re-building 4-1/2 miles of fencing on the property. We’re don’t have to patch things up anymore. We replace things now. You can go anywhere on this farm and climb over a fence and not worry about it breaking.” 

Dennehy says Eagle Point is in as good a shape now as it has been at any other point in its history. “We’re probably at the top,” she said.

~ Record-setting season will feature reduced ticket prices, new Sunday racing with family activities, the return of Wiener Dog racing, and the addition of Corgi races on opening weekend ~

Coming off a historic Kentucky Derby that saw Virginia Derby runner Ocelli finish third and Virginia Derby champion Incredibolt finish sixth, now is the time to buy single day and season tickets for the 2026 Colonial Downs summer racing season at www.ColonialDowns.com.

Building on the momentum of an incredible three-day spring meet that featured a record crowd of 9,700+ fans for the sold out 2026 Virginia Derby, Colonial Downs will host another 45 days of live racing each Thursday through Sunday from June 25 through a special day of racing on Labor Day, Monday, September 7. This will be the most days of live racing in the nearly thirty year history of Colonial Downs Racetrack.

This season’s expanded and adjusted schedule will add an additional day of weekend racing every Sunday to allow more fans and families to experience the thrill of live thoroughbred racing and all that a Colonial Downs race day has to offer. Each Sunday will feature family friendly entertainment like a petting zoo for young guests.

“March’s sold-out Virginia Derby set the stage for a record-breaking year of live racing at Virginia’s premier Thoroughbred racetrack,” said Frank Hopf, Senior Director of Racing Operations at Colonial Downs. “We’re thrilled to see the continued growth of the sport with the largest race schedule in Colonial Downs history and Virginia Derby horses delivering incredible performances in the iconic Kentucky Derby last weekend. We’re especially excited to introduce Sunday racing this season, giving even more fans and families across Virginia the chance to experience the track. All summer long, guests can enjoy great entertainment both on and off the track including food and drink specials, family fun on Sundays, and even some friendly competition featuring the Commonwealth’s Corgis and Wiener dogs. We invite everyone to make plans to join us this summer.”

Experiencing live racing is more affordable than ever with new reduced-price ticket options at Colonial Downs in 2026. General admission is FREE nearly every race day, with General Admission for three Premium Racing Events available at the fan-friendly price of just $5 and free admission for children five and under. For an elevated experience on any race day, Colonial Downs offers covered seating in the Reserved Grandstand Seats and Grandstand Box Seats, as well as indoor and dining options at the Jockey Club and the 1609 Restaurant.

The 2026 Premium Racing Events that will require a ticket include:

• Saturday, June 27—Opening Saturday will feature the all new Corgi Race with a fun competition between some of Virginia’s most adorable amateur athletes. Registration details will be forthcoming.
• Saturday, August 1—The annual Colonial Downs Festival of Racing will feature the season’s biggest races and purses including the Grade 1 Arlington Million with its $1 million purse, along with the Grade 2 Beverly D., and Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes.
• Saturday, August 15—Wiener Dog Racing returns to Colonial Downs as mighty little athletes race down the track on tiny legs. Registration details will be forthcoming.

The standard post time for the 2026 season will be 12:30pm on all race days except the Festival of Racing and Old Dominion Derby which will begin at noon.

Throughout the summer Colonial Downs will offer a variety of exciting promotions that will be unveiled in the weeks ahead.

For more information on ticketing, dining, and pricing, visit www.colonialdowns.com.