*Originally posted on Paulickreport.com on 1/21/2026 written by Chelsea Hackbart*

The initial redevelopment project called for Shamrock Farm in Woodbine, Md., to be used as a training center, but that plan was abandoned due to “environmental impacts and excessive costs” of construction.

Renovation plans for Thoroughbred racing in the state of Maryland have seen a major shift this week with the announcement of a tentative agreement to purchase Laurel Park from The Stronach Group.

The state is in the midst of rebuilding the historic Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, and initial plans had called for Shamrock Farm in Woodbine to be developed as a training center. The Maryland Stadium Authority purchased Shamrock for $4.5 million in May 2025, but the location was deemed “not viable due to environmental impacts and excessive costs,” according to Maryland General Assembly documents sourced by The Baltimore Banner.

Instead, the state has announced intentions to purchase Laurel for $50 million and to use that facility as a training center while horses ship in to Pimlico for year-round racing. The deal is projected to save roughly $50 million, according to a press release from the Maryland Stadium Authority. 

“Today’s action marks the first step in writing the next chapter of Maryland’s rich Thoroughbred racing heritage,” said Maryland Stadium Authority Chairman Craig A. Thompson. “This represents more than a planned acquisition — it represents the preservation of a storied racing facility. By pursuing Laurel Park as the home of Maryland’s statewide training center, we are creating a path to secure the state’s historic investments into Maryland’s horse industry and develop the next generation of Triple Crown champions.”

Since Jan. 1, 2025, the state-operated nonprofit The Maryland Jockey Club has leased Laurel Park from The Stronach Group as a transition facility while Pimlico is being redeveloped, as outlined by a master agreement approved in May 2024 (link). Under those terms, racing operations would have permanently ended at Laurel Park at the conclusion of the lease. While final details will be negotiated in the coming weeks, the Maryland Stadium Authority will assume ownership of Laurel Park, pending necessary approvals and closing procedures, giving the historic landmark a renewed purpose as a best-in-class horse training facility.

Once finalized, acquisition costs will be paid by the Stadium Authority with available project funds. At that point, the state will pursue methods to offset these costs, to include revenue bonds issued by the Maryland Economic Development Corporation (MEDCO). The Maryland Jockey Club will continue to oversee daily operations at Laurel Park under state ownership.

“This planned approach affords maximum flexibility, cost savings and efficiencies going forward— on behalf of the State and thoroughbred industry.” said Maryland Economic Development Corporation Executive Director Tom Sadowski. “We look forward to the prospect of Laurel Park continuing to support Maryland’s storied racing tradition, with a renewed focus on training excellence and equine health.”

With approximately 1,100 horse stalls available for use at Laurel Park, day-to-day racing and training operations will be consolidated at the new statewide training center, while the Pimlico Race Course will transition to a “ship-in” racing model where horses and trainers will travel from other facilities to the venue on racing days. The strategic pivot will save the State an estimated $26.3 million in construction costs toward hundreds of new stalls at Pimlico, support about 500 jobs in Laurel, and preserve roughly 1,000 parking spaces around the race course. Moreover, by concentrating all overnight racing staff at Laurel Park, the Maryland Jockey Club expects to save $2.5 million annually in operating expenses.

“Using Pimlico Race Course as a ship-in track will allow The Maryland Jockey Club to operate a world-class racetrack efficiently, with all training consolidated at Laurel Park,” said Maryland Jockey Club Executive Director Bill Knauf. “Laurel Park is an ideal training center, valued for its history and its status as our current Maryland racing hub. This acquisition enables a smooth transition from racetrack to training facility, minimizing disruption for horsemen and staff. The proven dirt and turf surfaces are ideal for preparing horses for races at the new Pimlico Race Course.”

As part of this strategic pivot, the State will save an additional $22.5 million by pursuing alternatives to a previously designed large-scale contiguous event center at Pimlico, guided by a community needs study conducted by MEDCO. The Stadium Authority still plans to develop gathering spaces at Pimlico’s enhanced clubhouse, to include a restaurant, sports bar, and other meeting areas with total capacity for about 1,500 people.

Over the next few months, the Stadium Authority will convene local officials and industry leaders as part of a task force to determine Shamrock Farm’s future, including potential use as horse rescue sanctuary space or for future recreational development.

“This plan represents a pivotal opportunity to secure the future of Maryland racing,” said Maryland Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association President Katharine M. Voss. “By preserving and reinvigorating Laurel Park as a premier thoroughbred training center and aligning it with a reimagined Pimlico, the State and Governor Moore have taken decisive action to preserve a historic industry that has supported Maryland families for generations. This approach delivers long-term certainty for horsemen, stability for thousands of workers, and ensures that Maryland’s rich racing heritage remains a strong and sustainable economic engine for generations to come.”

The 151st Preakness Stakes will run at Laurel Park as scheduled on May 16, 2026, before returning to a reimagined Pimlico Race Course in spring 2027. Once finished, Pimlico will become the permanent home of Maryland horse racing, with approximately 120 racing days running at the venue each year.

Gov.-elect Abigail Spanberger is appointing Katie K. Frazier to serve as Virginia’s Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry.

“Agriculture is the number-one private industry in Virginia. Our Commonwealth deserves dedicated leadership that brings Virginia crop and livestock producers, foresters, business leaders, and community members together to protect and grow this critical sector of our economy,” Spanberger said Wednesday. “That’s why I’m excited to announce the appointment of Katie Frazier to serve as our next Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry. Especially at this moment marked by uncertainty across the farm economy, I know that Ms. Frazier’s decades supporting Virginia’s growers and their families will provide the steady experience our agriculture and forestry industries need.”

A native of the Shenandoah Valley, Frazier has served as the chief brand officer for Farm Credit of the Virginias since 2018. She leads the financial cooperative’s marketing, legislative and advocacy efforts, education, the Farm Credit Knowledge Center, stakeholder and community relations, and charitable contributions programs. She has also served as the executive director of the Virginia Agribusiness Council.

 “I am deeply honored to be appointed by Governor-elect Spanberger to serve as the Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry for the Commonwealth of Virginia. With over twenty years of experience advocating for agriculture, forestry, and our rural communities, I am excited to work alongside the Governor-elect and her team to provide leadership and direction for Virginia’s top industries,” said Frazier. “Governor-elect Spanberger has been a steadfast champion and supporter of agriculture and forestry, a commitment that began during her time in Congress serving on the House Agriculture Committee. I look forward to collaborating with the Spanberger Administration, the General Assembly, and our partners to continue advancing a vision of economic growth and prosperity for our farmers, foresters, and agribusinesses.”

Our thoughts and prayers are with family and friends of Sam English II, DDS who passed away last weekend at the age of 80. Mr. English operated a flourishing thoroughbred racing and breeding business, English Racing Stables, based out of Dinwiddie. His obituary follows.

It is with deep sadness that we announce the passing of Sam Earl English II, DDS, a principled, moral, and profoundly kind man of faith whose life was defined by integrity, devotion, and quiet strength. He passed away on November 27, 2025, leaving behind a legacy built not on accolades alone, but on the countless lives he touched with generosity, wisdom, and unwavering character.

Born on August 9, 1945, in Portsmouth, VA, Sam distinguished himself from a young age. He graduated early from Hermitage High School and entered the Virginia Military Institute at just sixteen. At VMI, he excelled academically and as a leader, before graduating and continuing his path of discipline and achievement at the Medical College of Virginia, where he earned his degree in Dentistry.

During his time at MCV, Sam met and married Mary Jane Lowery. Shortly after his graduation, the couple moved to Fort Benning, where Sam honorably fulfilled his military commitment, rising to Captain with the United States Army.

Following his service, Sam and Mary Jane returned to his beloved home state of Virginia-now with a daughter and another soon to follow-so he could remain close to the family he held dear. It was in Virginia that Sam began building what would become one of his greatest professional accomplishments: a dental practice that expanded into a respected network of eight offices across central Virginia. Sam was not only a talented businessman but a compassionate and highly skilled dentist. Many families entrusted their care to him across generations, drawn by his fairness, steadiness, and genuine concern for every patient.

Sam’s love of horses was one of the great passions of his life. What began with a few horses stabled near his Mechanicsville home grew into a flourishing thoroughbred racing and breeding operation known as English Racing Stables, with farms in Goochland, Dinwiddie, and Charles Town. The horses and the people who worked alongside him were an important and meaningful part of his daily life.

Throughout his life, Sam’s faith and family remained at the heart of everything he did. Guided by a steadfast moral compass, he placed far greater value on character than on wealth or status, appreciating sincerity, hard work, and humility. The Church and his relationship with God were a guiding force in all he did. Sam enjoyed many personal interests that reflected both discipline and simplicity. He loved classic Corvettes, earned a Black Belt in Taekwondo, and found peace in visiting the beach for reflection. He loved old trucks, general stores, Western movies, and the simple treasures of bygone days that reminded him of a quieter era. Sam also had a remarkable ability to connect with people, and his encouragement, humor, and wisdom made others feel cared for in a way few could.

Above all, Sam was deeply proud of his daughters and grandchildren. Nothing brought him greater happiness than hearing about their accomplishments, their aspirations, and the lives they were building. He celebrated each milestone with heartfelt sincerity and offered unconditional love throughout their lives.

While we are heartbroken by his passing, we take comfort in knowing he is reunited with his parents on a farm, overlooking the fields and horses he loved so dearly. We know he will continue to guide us with the same steady presence that shaped his life.

Sam is survived by his daughters, Allison English Watkins and Stacey Elizabeth English; and by his grandchildren, Stan Watkins, Monty Watkins, and Drew Watkins; his brothers and sister; as well as many other beloved family members and special friends who will forever cherish his memory.

The family will receive friends from 3 to 5 p.m. Sunday, December 7, at the Mechanicsville Chapel of Bennett Funeral Home, 8014 Lee-Davis Road. A funeral service will be held at 9:30 a.m. Monday, December 8, at The Episcopal Church of the Creator, 7159 Mechanicsville Turnpike. Entombment will follow in Signal Hill Memorial Park. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Virginia Thoroughbred Project (virginiathoroughbredproject.org).

“Written by Chris McGrath for the Thoroughbred Daily News, originally posted on September 2nd, 2025.”

There are decades where nothing happens,” said Lenin. “And there are weeks when decades happen.” By the notoriously slow-burning standards of Thoroughbred breeding, however, for Amy Moore it has felt more like a decade when centuries have happened.

The way it began, in a sprint maiden at Saratoga on 16 August 2015, could hardly have been less auspicious. The previous September, as she prepared to surface from a 30-year immersion in employee benefits law in Washington D.C., Moore had bought a Blame filly at Keeneland. The idea was that someday this would be the first broodmare on the little Virginia farm she had promised herself in retirement.

Working up to this debut, the filly had actually been showing plenty of ability–enough to start second favorite. She finished tailed off. Moore was mortified, felt like slinking away from the racetrack “with a paper bag over my head.” What a waste of $170,000.

Scroll forward 10 years, to the day: 16 August 2025. Same racetrack, another sprint maiden over the dirt. It’s Our Time (Not This Time) wins with preposterous ease, by 17 3/4 lengths, melting the stopwatch even so. Where did this monster come from? Everyone checks the card. Breeder: South Gate Farm, Virginia. Amy Moore! Surely she hasn’t done it again?

For that Blame filly, of course, has since become celebrated as Queen Caroline. Winner of five stakes in Moore’s colors, after switching to turf, she duly arrived on the 126-acre farm at Millwood in 2019 as one of just two mares in the founding band. She had been sent to Violence, the first mating Moore ever arranged.

The resulting colt, Forte, won the GI Hopeful Stakes days before Queen Caroline’s second foal, a colt by Uncle Mo, appeared at the September Sale. He duly made $850,000, while Forte proceeded to confirm himself champion juvenile at the Breeders’ Cup.

Just about the only thing that had gone awry was that Queen Caroline had lost a Not This Time foal that spring. But now that Moore had funds, she could return to Keeneland in November for an in-foal mare to fill that void. And, in fact, one of the things that put triple stakes winner Shea D Summer (Summer Front) top of her shortlist, at $260,000, was the fact that she happened to be carrying a first foal by none other than Not This Time.

“I thought he was really an up-and-coming stallion,” Moore recalls. “And also a good match for this mare. She’s a compact, sprinter type, 15.3hh, and Not This Time is a taller, stronger, scopier horse. I thought they’d complement each other well. And Shea D Summer met all my criteria. Number one, for me: a mare has to have raced successfully. I know a lot of people do have success with unraced mares, but a small program like mine can’t be discovering whether or not they’d have had ability if only they’d been sound. She was versatile, too: she won on a fast dirt track, and on a wet dirt track; she finished second on turf. And she was also a young, attractive mare.”

She had blood, too: out of an Empire Maker half-sister to the dam of one champion juvenile, Air Force Blue (War Front), while the next dam is sister to another in Flanders (Seeking the Gold).

Shea D Summer followed what has become standard procedure for Moore: sent into the trusted care of Patricia Ramey at nearby Upperville, where she delivered a colt; then to Kentucky, along with her foal, to be covered by Bolt d’Oro; and then back to South Gate.

Amy Moore with Shea D Summer | Sara Gordon

“The colt was very attractive and well-balanced,” Moore recalls. “And had his mother’s mind. She’s a very calm, sensible, pleasant mare and her foals have so far had her temperament, which is a big plus. We swim yearlings, as part of our program to prepare them for the sale, and he was a good swimmer. He was just no trouble, always did what was asked.”

Also as usual, the colt entered John Stuart’s consignment for the 2024 September Sale. His Bluegrass Thoroughbred Services had been among several agencies tried by Moore, when first cutting her teeth with a few weanling pinhooks. “And he was the one that stood out,” Moore explains. “Not just for his very candid advice, but also for providing a lot of help besides selling horses. He would come from Kentucky to Virginia to see how my sales yearlings were coming along, and give me advice about how to prepare them. We’ve just had a good working relationship all the way along, so over time I’ve consolidated my business with John and his son Sandy.”

Gratifyingly, the Not This Time colt cleared the investment in his dam straight off, realizing $425,000 from Elza Mitchum.

“I was very pleased by that,” Moore says. “Like his mother, he’s not a big horse. When he went to the sale, he was just a respectable size, certainly not a great big yearling. But I kind of like a smaller horse. I think they’re sounder and come to hand more quickly.”

This one has proved a case in point for Tom Amoss.

“I keep tabs on them by following their workouts, and he was working very well,” Moore says. “In fact he worked a bullet at Saratoga, before that first start, so I actually thought he should have been shorter odds. It looked like he could run.”

In the event, it turned out that It’s Our Time could fly. Safe to say that his half-sister by Bolt d’Oro would have been promoted from Hip 1722 if the catalogue for next week’s September Sale were compiled now.

“She’s a very nice filly,” Moore affirms. “She looks a good bit like him: on the smaller side, just as he was, so someone’s got to be willing not to insist on a 16-hand yearling. But she has that same temperament, too, which I think stands them in good stead.”

Incredibly, Moore has produced Forte and now It’s Our Time from just nine foals of racing age–plus a third ‘TDN Rising Star‘ in Crimson Light (City of Light). For all the help she values, from the Stuarts and others, she’s plainly bringing something pretty special to the equation herself. Not that there’s anything extraordinary in her grounding: plenty of others have shown ponies and hunters as kids, while she is reliably self-deprecating about her principal attribute showing yearlings in her youth. (“I was popular because I’m short,” she says. “I could make a small horse look bigger.”) Perhaps, then, the secret is the mentoring she received from Jim and Faye Little, who had a stable locally in North Carolina, where Moore grew up, before moving up to Washington and getting into Thoroughbred pinhooking.

“Jim was a track coach,” she explains. “And I do think that experience helped him. He just had a very good eye for an athlete, horse or human. In each case, I think it’s more about the way they move than how they’re put together; about how the parts work together as a whole. I definitely learned a lot from Jim about conformation, about picking out the athlete.”

Bizarrely, those first nine foals have all been colts. This time, however, the three she is sending to the September Sale are all fillies.

“So this is the first time the question has arisen, whether I should keep a homebred filly as a future broodmare,” Moore says. “And I decided that the best thing to do is send them to the sale, see how they do in the market, and if they don’t bring a price that I think appropriate, then I’ll keep and race them.”

The other pair are both out of mares acquired at the 2023 Keeneland November Sale after the pragmatic if painful decision to cash out Queen Caroline, in foal to Flightline, for $3 million to John Stewart’s Resolute Farm. Lorena (Souper Speedy) was a five-time stakes winner round Woodbine and cost $160,000 in foal to Essential Quality; Strong Beauty (Overanalyze), whose black type score came among Louisiana-breds, carried a Jackie’s Warrior foal at $110,000. The resulting fillies are catalogued as Hips 805 (“big, strong, robust”) and 1751 (“smaller but very well made, quite flashy and attractive”) respectively.

Bolt d’Oro yearling filly out of Shea D Summer at South Gate Farm | Sara Gordon

Even now, there are only eight mares at South Gate and that is evidently as many as Moore intends to accommodate. She never planned to change the world, coming here: it was just a reward that had kept her going through all those years behind a desk.

“I enjoyed practicing law, but I was practicing at a level of intensity that didn’t admit many other activities,” she reflects. “When I retired, I wanted to have some land. I’d been living in the city for 30 years and wanted to be a farmer. And since horses were what I knew, horses were what I would farm.”

But knowing them as she did, didn’t some part of her fear that she had used up all her luck in one go, with Queen Caroline? Could she seriously hope for lightning to strike a second time?

“Well, I figured I could live at a lower level of good luck!” Moore replies. “I really enjoy the farm life. Racing is fun, also, but I think I’m more of a breeder and raiser than I am a racer of horses. I’m delighted when they have success for somebody else. I certainly didn’t expect to have another potential Forte quite so soon, but let’s see where he goes from here. I’m just very happy that he has started as well as he has.”

So much, after all, depends on the interventions of fate–as she found even finding this farm.

“I looked at a lot of places up and down Loudoun County,” she recalls. “But they were all house and no barn. You’d have some huge mansion, many times larger than I needed or wanted, and then a low dark barn and no fencing. But when I was looking at yearlings in 2014, and bought Queen Caroline, I needed someone to vet them for me and was recommended Dr. [E.C. ‘Pug’] Hart. And when I was trying to find a farm, down the line, it turned out that Pug and Susie were moving. So I came and looked at their place and it was perfect: a covered free walker, a horse swimming pond, lots of double-fence paddocks. So I was lucky there, too.”

So the guy who vetted Queen Caroline also ended up providing her pasture. But if Moore appears to have some kind of Midas touch, nor has she ever lost sight of what first animated the whole project. That passion for the horse, dating back to her girlhood, means that Moore essentially derives as much gratification from the quieter, daily joys of farm life as from showstoppers at the sales.

“I had a colt that I couldn’t sell because of some X-ray issues, so I raced him locally,” she says. “He started out last year at Colonial Downs, but it was like he thought the other horses must be afraid of something. He didn’t want to get anywhere near whatever was chasing them, and kept back in some other county! But then he ran in a $12,500 maiden claimer at Laurel and battled the whole length of the stretch to get his nose in front just on the wire. That was a tremendously exciting moment. And you can get that, lower down the scale. There’s a lot of satisfaction every day, just being in a beautiful place and surrounded by beautiful animals.

“I’ve been very lucky. But I know that as fast as you can go from the bottom of the valley to the top of the mountain, you can find yourself going back down even faster. Luck counts for a lot in the horse business, and I’ve certainly been very fortunate. But I have greatly enjoyed my good fortune.”

Saturday’s card at Colonial Downs featured a pair of Virginia-bred, -sired or -certified handicaps, with Ken Ramsey’s 6-year-old gelding Whenigettoheaven taking the $100,000 Meadow Stable and The Estate of R. Larry Johnson’s mare Hollywood Walk defending her crown in the $100,000 Camptown.

Trained by Nolan Ramsey and ridden by J.G. Torrealba, Whenigettoheaven went straight to the front in the Meadow Stable, setting the pace under pressure from odds-on favorite Determined Kingdom. After being headed in mid-stretch, Whenigettoheaven dug back in, regained the lead and held off the late surge of Going Up by a head. Defending champion Determined Kingdom held third.

Whenigettoheaven covered 5½ furlongs on turf in 1:01.74 and paid $11.00, $4.60 and $2.40.

Bred in Maryland by R. Larry Johnson, the Virginia-certified gelding now owns a record of 29-7-5-8 with $441,890 in earnings.

Hollywood Walk’s second straight Camptown title also came in dramatic fashion. Tracking leader Bosserati from mid-pack, she rallied up the rail in the stretch and put her head down just in time to hold off Chickahominy. Stablemate Noquestionaboutit finished third.

Trained by Mike Trombetta and piloted by Mychel Sanchez, Hollywood Walk completed 5½ furlongs on turf in 1:02.97. Sent off as the 4-5 favorite, she paid $3.60, $2.60 and $2.10.

Fresh off a victory in the open-company Andy Guest Stakes on the Arlington Million undercard, Hollywood Walk now boasts consecutive stakes wins. Bred in Maryland by R. Larry Johnson, the Virginia-certified 6-year-old mare has a career line of 27-7-4-8 with $542,731 in earnings.

Trainer Michelle Lovell confirmed that JAL Racing’s Doncho, who earlier this month set a world record going 5½ furlongs on turf, will be entering the $150,000 Da Hoss Stakes on Old Dominion Derby Day at Colonial Downs. Doncho had also been entered in Sunday’s Disco Partner Stakes at Saratoga but will scratch from that race.

“The Da Hoss was the original plan,” Lovell said. “It’s better spacing, four weeks after his race at Ellis, and four weeks until the Woodford at Keeneland, assuming everything works out.”

Facing allowance company on Aug. 8 at Ellis Park, Doncho led throughout and stopped the clock in :59.75, breaking the previous world record of :59.80 set by Cogburn in 2024.

“I just love the way he did it,” Lovell said. “The length of his stride, how smoothly he traveled. It was great. We weren’t planning on going to the lead. He was gliding around there beautifully. “He ran a really good race, but he worked on Monday like it didn’t take anything out of him. He’s doing fantastic. He’s just beautiful. After Just Might retired, he’s my new musclehead.”

Before the record-setting score, all Doncho’s success had come on dirt. In all, the 4-year-old gelding has four wins from eight starts, including the 2024 Gold Fever Stakes at Belmont Park.

Lovell previously won the 2021 Da Hoss with Just Might, who led all Thoroughbreds that year with seven stakes victories.

The Da Hoss Stakes is one of six turf stakes scheduled for Old Dominion Derby Day on Saturday, Sept. 6. The card features $1.3 million in total purses, headlined by the Grade 3, $500,000 Old Dominion Derby. Other stakes include the $250,000 Old Dominion Oaks (Listed), $150,000 Colonial Cup, $125,000 Rosie’s Stakes (sponsored by Exacta Systems), and the $125,000 Kitten’s Joy.

Post time for Old Dominion Derby Day is set for noon ET. Fields will be drawn Saturday, Aug. 30.

 Nominations have been released for the six turf stakes set for Old Dominion Derby Day on Saturday, Sept. 6, at Colonial Downs. Featuring $1.3 million in total purses, the Grade 3, $500,000 Old Dominion Derby headlines the card, alongside the $250,000 Old Dominion Oaks (Listed), $150,000 Colonial Cup, $150,000 Da Hoss, $125,000 Exacta Systems Rosie’s Stakes, and $125,000 Kitten’s Joy.

The 1 1/8-mile Old Dominion Derby drew 32 3-year-olds, led by Rocker O Ranch’s Giocoso. Trained by Keith Desormeaux, Giocoso captured the local Secretariat Stakes (G2) and has $514,971 in career earnings. Stablemate Optical, owned by Don’t Tell My Wife Stables, also was nominated.

Pin Oak Stud’s World Beater, trained by Riley Mott, also was nominated. He gave Mott his first Grade 1 victory in the Saratoga Derby and previously won the Audubon Stakes at Churchill Downs in May. He was runner-up in the Belmont Derby (G1).

Trainer Graham Motion has four nominees, including Shamrock Farm’s three-time winner End of Romance, an Irish-bred who finished seventh behind Giocoso in the one-mile Secretariat.

Among the 34 3-year-old fillies nominated to the 1 1/8-mile Old Dominion Oaks are three trained by Brad Cox: George Messina and Michael Lee’s Belmont Oaks (G1) winner Fionn; Steve Landers Racing’s Pucker Up Stakes (G3) winner Destino d’Oro; and Full of Run Racing’s well-bred filly Yes It Tiz.

Likewise, Rusty Arnold nominated three classy fillies, led by Bregman Family Racing’s P.G. Johnson winner Totally Justified, who boasts two graded stakes placings.

Mark Grier’s Evershed was nominated to the Old Dominion Oaks. The Arnaud Delacour trainee followed up her local opening day allowance win with a second in the Saratoga Oaks (G2).

Jonathan Thomas leads all trainers with four of the 26 older horses nominated to the $150,000 Colonial Cup, including last year’s champion, Truly Quality, owned by Augustin Stables. The 5-year-old has since won the Singspiel Stakes (G3) and Hollywood Turf Cup Stakes (G2) and would be making his second start of the season.

JAL Racing’s Doncho tops the 35 older horses nominated to the 5½-furlong, $150,000 Da Hoss Stakes. In his most recent start, the 4-year-old, trained by Michelle Lovell, set a world record for the distance — covering 5½ furlongs on turf in 59.75 seconds — in his allowance win at Ellis Park.

The 5½-furlong Exacta Systems Rosie’s Stakes drew 38 2-year-old nominees, led by Arindel’s Monster, who finished second in the Skidmore Stakes at Saratoga. The colt is trained by Jose D’Angelo.

George Weaver leads all trainers with seven nominees, including Medallion Racing, Swinbank Stables, Joey Platts and Mark Stanton’s filly Cy Fair, and Thomas Brockley, Daryn Brockley, Dew Sweepers and R.A. Hill Stable’s colt Tough Critic.

The 1 1/16-mile Kitten’s Joy Stakes drew 34 2-year-olds, led by Proton. Owned by Stone Farm, Clyde Linwood Miles Jr., Ken Wheeler Jr., Lynwood Napier and Debbie Easter, the Graham Motion trainee was an impressive local debut winner.

First post for the Old Dominion Derby Day program is set for noon ET. General Admission is $5 and tickets can be purchased online at www.colonialdowns.com.

About Colonial Downs

Colonial Downs Racetrack, in New Kent, Virginia, hosts live thoroughbred racing on two nationally renowned surfaces – the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest turf course in North America at 180 feet wide and on a 1 1/4-mile dirt track. The Colonial Downs Group, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums® throughout the commonwealth, which offer innovative historic horseracing (HHR) gaming and full card simulcasting as well as Rosie’s Game Room in Collinsville, and The Rose Gaming Resort® in Dumfries which offers 1,650 HHR gaming terminals, full-card simulcasting, eight bars and restaurants and more than 100 hotel rooms.

 The Estate of R. Larry Johnson sends out the defending champions of Saturday’s $100,000 Meadow Stable and $100,000 Camptown, as trainer Mike Trombetta’s runners Determined Kingdom and Hollywood Walk headline the sibling 5½-furlong turf sprint handicaps for older Virginia-bred, -sired or -certified Thoroughbreds at Colonial Downs.

With nine races on tap, the Camptown is slated as Race 7, immediately followed by the Meadow Stable. Post time is set for 12:30 p.m. ET.

Determined Kingdom will take on 11 older males in the Meadow Stable, including last year’s runner-up Whenigettoheaven. The two met again in June and Whenigettoheaventurned the tables  on Determined Kingdom in the Ben’s Cat Stakes at Laurel Park.

Determined Kingdom exits an impressive effort in the Troy (G2) at Saratoga, finishing a game third behind Bring Theband Home. Boasting six local wins, the 2024 Virginia-Bred Horse of the Year was previously trained by Phil Schoenthal but joined Trombetta ahead of his 6-year-old campaign. Drawing post 8, Determined Kingdom will be piloted by Mychel Sanchez.

Ken Ramsey’s Whenigettoheaven earned back-to-back Ben’s Cat titles, edging Determined Kingdom in the final strides. The 6-year-old son of Street Magician, trained by Nolan Ramsey, comes into the Meadow Stable off that victory. J.G. Torrealba takes the call and the pair from the rail.

Set to defend her Camptown title against nine older fillies and mares, Hollywood Walk exits the most prestigious stakes win of her career. Receiving a perfect rail-skimming trip from Mychel Sanchez, the Virginia-bred scored an upset in the Andy Guest Stakes on the Arlington Million (G1) undercard. With lifetime earnings of $482,731, the 6-year-old Animal Kingdom mare is a half-sibling to Mindframe, one of the sport’s top older dirt routers.

Chief among her competition is stablemate and fellow Johnson homebred Noquestionaboutit. The 3-year-old Great Notion filly moved up in class to win the Glenn Petty in her first stakes try. Noquestionaboutit drew post 8 and will be reunited with Jorge Ruiz.

The complete fields for both the Meadow Stable and the Camptown Handicap can be found on Equibase: https://www.equibase.com/static/entry/CNL083025USA-EQB.html

Live racing resumes Wednesday at Colonial Downs with first post at 12:30 p.m. ET. Along with the regular Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule, a special Labor Day program is set for Monday, Sept. 1, with first post at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Tickets for the entire meet can be purchased online at www.colonialdowns.com.

Racing fans who can’t make it to Colonial can wager at any of the Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums throughout the state, The Rose Gaming Resort in Dumfries or VA-Horseplay locations in Chesapeake and Henrico. Bettors also can wager on racing from ColonialDowns via www.TwinSpires.com, the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks. TwinSpires.com boasts an improved wagering experience and mobile app combining the latest technology with the ability to wager on virtually every quarter, harness and thoroughbred horse race from venues around the globe. TwinSpires.com also offers access to unmatched insight and analysis from horse racing experts, handicappers, insiders, educators and Bloodstock Research Information Services (Brisnet).

About Colonial Downs

Colonial Downs Racetrack, in New Kent, Virginia, hosts live thoroughbred racing on two nationally renowned surfaces – the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest turf course in North America at 180 feet wide and on a 1 1/4-mile dirt track. The Colonial Downs Group, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums® throughout the commonwealth, which offer innovative historic horseracing (HHR) gaming and full card simulcasting as well as Rosie’s Game Room in Collinsville, and The Rose Gaming Resort® in Dumfries which offers 1,650 HHR gaming terminals, full-card simulcasting, eight bars and restaurants and more than 100 hotel rooms.

Trainer Mike Trombetta swept Saturday’s pair of juvenile turf sprints at Colonial Downs, as both the Estate of Larry Johnson’s colt Doubting Thomas and Red White and Blue Racing and London Reid Thoroughbreds’ filly Just Philtored wired their respective Virginia-bred, -sired or -certified fields in the $125,000 Jamestown and $125,000 Dolley Madison.

With Jorge Ruiz aboard, Doubting Thomas covered 5½ furlongs in 1:02.39, defeating Karate Island by 1¾ lengths. Sometime finished third.

“I was loaded at the top of the stretch and waited until they made a run at him before opening him up,” Ruiz said. “Today he broke spiritedly from the gate, so I said, let’s go to the lead. I like this horse — he is maturing nicely.”

The odds-on favorite Doubting Thomas paid $3.00, $2.10 and $2.10.

Along with his off-the-pace debut win, the Virginia-bred Caravaggio colt is 2-for-2 on turf with a career bankroll of $127,500.

Going 5½ furlongs under jockey Mychel Sanchez, Just Philtored stopped the clock in 1:03.21 while winning the Dolley Madison by 4½ lengths over Slewperstitus. Karina Anna ran third.

“You can do anything with her,” Sanchez said. “I didn’t see a lot of speed in the race, so I took advantage of that and went to the lead. Although we put up a good time, I feel like she went a little slow for what she wanted to do. I can rate her more, I can send her more. Bodywise, she is strong. When you get on her, you can feel the power.”

Sent off as the 7-5 favorite, Just Philtored returned $4.80, $2.60 and $2.10.

Perfect in three career starts, including the Keswick, the Maryland-bred daughter of Great Notion has earned $167,430.

Live racing resumes Wednesday at Colonial Downs with a 12:30 p.m. ET first post. Along with the regular Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule, a special Labor Day program is set for Monday, Sept. 1, with first post at 12:30 p.m. ET.

Tickets for the entire meet can be purchased online at www.colonialdowns.com.

Racing fans who can’t make it to Colonial can wager at any of the Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums throughout the state, The Rose Gaming Resort in Dumfries or VA-Horseplay locations in Chesapeake and Henrico. Bettors also can wager on racing from ColonialDowns via www.TwinSpires.com, the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks. TwinSpires.com boasts an improved wagering experience and mobile app combining the latest technology with the ability to wager on virtually every quarter, harness and thoroughbred horse race from venues around the globe. TwinSpires.com also offers access to unmatched insight and analysis from horse racing experts, handicappers, insiders, educators and Bloodstock Research Information Services (Brisnet).

About Colonial Downs

Colonial Downs Racetrack, in New Kent, Virginia, hosts live thoroughbred racing on two nationally renowned surfaces – the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest turf course in North America at 180 feet wide and on a 1 1/4-mile dirt track. The Colonial Downs Group, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums® throughout the commonwealth, which offer innovative historic horseracing (HHR) gaming and full card simulcasting as well as Rosie’s Game Room in Collinsville, and The Rose Gaming Resort® in Dumfries which offers 1,650 HHR gaming terminals, full-card simulcasting, eight bars and restaurants and more than 100 hotel rooms.

KENWOOD RACING, BREEN AND LOPEZ SWEEPCLAIMING CROWN PREVIEW DAY HEADLINERS

Kenwood Racing and trainer Kelly Breen swept the headliners on Claiming Crown Preview Day at Colonial Downs with Cadet Corps in the $100,000 Jewel Qualifier and One Time Willard in the $87,500 Emerald Qualifier. Paco Lopez was aboard for both victories as the jockey won four races and finished second in three of the eight Claiming Crown Preview events. Lopez added a fifth winner in the day’s nightcap.

The top two finishers in each Claiming Crown Preview race earned an automatic berth in the corresponding Claiming Crown championships on Nov. 15 at Churchill Downs.

Cadet Corps rallied down the center of the track to beat front-runner Bernin Hot by two lengths in the Jewel Qualifier, finishing in 1:48.19 for 1 1/8 miles.

Cadet Corps returned $10.20, $4.00 and $2.20. Bernin Hot paid $4.60 and $2.40.

Claimed for $35,000 on Feb. 1 at Gulfstream Park, Cadet Corps has since won three races for his new connections. The 6-year-old Will Take Charge gelding has a career record of 40-15-3-6 with $410,126 in earnings.

In the Emerald Qualifier, One Time Willard saved ground in third, tipped out at the top of the stretch and held off Kitodan to win by a length, covering 1 1/16 miles over a firm turf course in 1:41.96.

One Time Willard paid $9.40, $4.80 and $3.80. Kitodan returned $5 and $3.60.

Claimed for $25,000 on Jan. 31 at Gulfstream Park, One Time Willard has won three times for Breen. The 6-year-old Micromanage gelding owns a career record of 29-7-7-4 with $422,434 in earnings.

The Claiming Card Preview portion of Thursday’s card opened with the $50,000 Glass Slipper Qualifier.

Going 1 mile on dirt, WWCD LLC’s Next Girl showed grit, running down the 4-5 favorite Mercy Warren in the stretch to win by a neck. Trained by Robert Bailes and ridden by Denis Arujao, Next Girl returned $9.20, $3.60 and $2.10. Mercy Warren paid $2.80 and $2.10.

In the $75,000 Canterbury Qualifier, Madison Avenue Racing Stable, Morris Kernan Jr. and Jagger Inc.’s Quick Tempo went to the front and outdueled Sosua Summer by a neck in a 5½-furlong turf sprint. Trained by Jamie Ness and ridden by Lopez, Quick Tempo paid $6.00, $4.00 and $2.80 as the 2-1 favorite. Sosua Summer returned $5.00 and $4.20.

Cutting back from nine furlongs, Jeanine Cumiskey’s Gilmore rallied from last to first in the $62,500 Rapid Transit Qualifier at seven furlongs on dirt. The Joe Sharp trainee beat J D Factor by a length under jockey Ben Curtis. Dispatched as the 3-2 favorite, Gilmore paid $5.00, $2.80 and $2.40. J D Factor returned $3.60 and $2.80.

At 1 1/16 miles on dirt, Cumiskey’s Curlin’s Malibu closed late to win the $50,000 Kent Stirling Memorial Iron Horse Qualifier by a length over Santos to Wilson. It was the second winner of the day for Cumiskey and Sharp, with Lopez again in the irons. The 6-5 favorite paid $4.60, $3.00 and $2.20. Santos to Wilson returned $4.00 and $3.20.

The $50,000 Ready’s Rocket Express was decided late as Jim Tichenor’s Busk surged past Silver Slugger by a half-length at six furlongs on dirt. The victory marked his seventh straight since being claimed by Manuel Chavez. Jockey Carlos Barbosa has been aboard in each win. Busk paid $4.80, $2.60 and $2.10. Silver Slugger returned $2.40 and $2.10.

With a rail-skimming ride from Forest Boyce, Liberty House Racing, Team Gaudet and Penwood Racing’s Cairo Street pulled the upset in the $75,000 Tiara Qualifier for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf. Trained by Lacey Gaudet, Cairo Street held off favorite Notable Exchange by a length and paid $16.60, $7.00 and $4.40. Notable Exchange returned $3.40 and $2.80.

With two live racing days left this week, first post on Friday is 4 p.m. ET. Saturday’s program includes the $125,000 Dolley Madison, slated as Race 3, followed by the $125,000 Jamestown. First post for the nine-race card is 12:30 p.m. ET.

The second annual Wiener Dog Races at Colonial Downs are set for Saturday, with dachshund heats between the Thoroughbred races. General admission is $5, with free entry for children 5 and younger. Festivities include a petting zoo, pony rides, a face painter and other family activities.

Tickets for the entire meet can be purchased online at www.colonialdowns.com.