Reside Thoroughbred racing is having fun with a resurgence in Virginia and Colonial Downs is main the way in which. The monitor is ready to host what can be its largest and greatest season of dwell racing in its historical past when its gates open on July 13, 2023 for a nine-week meet that may final till Sept. 9.

Colonial Downs is situated in New Kent County, Va., alongside I-64 in between Richmond and Williamsburg. Virtually all of the guests to the world arrive by way of Richmond, which is dwelling to the world’s main airport and is simply half an hour away. The monitor opened in 1997 and raced Thoroughbred dates till 2013. After a six-year hiatus, the monitor reopened in 2019 after historic horse racing (HHR) machines had been legalized in Virginia. The monitor was purchased by Churchill Downs Inc. in 2022 and now is able to host its most anticipated dwell race meet in years this summer season.

Attending to Know Colonial Downs

Reside racing at Colonial Downs can be contested each Thursday, Friday, and Saturday all through the season, and all races on the 2023 meet can be telecast on FanDuel TV or FanDuel Racing. Colonial Downs is dwelling to North America’s only one ¼-mile circumference important filth monitor, making it the second largest configuration within the nation. However let’s face it, Colonial Downs is synonymous with turf racing, which is contested on a 7 ½-furlong internal monitor and the outer 1 1/8-mile Secretariat turf course. Over 80% of the races on the 27-day 2023 Colonial Downs meet are anticipated to be contested on the grass.

Main Race Dates

The Colonial Downs season will host 25 stakes races together with 4 graded stakes providing a complete of $5.375 million in purses. Twenty-two of the 25 stakes can be run on the grass. The monitor’s signature race is the Grade 3 New Kent County Virginia Derby, which can headline a six-stakes closing day on Sept. 9. The purse of the Virginial Derby has been raised this 12 months to $500,000. The corresponding race for 3-year-old fillies, the Virginia Oaks has had its purse raised from $50,000 to $250,000 for 2023.

The massive information on the Colonial Downs stakes schedule, nevertheless, can be a trio of high-profile graded stakes that can be run at Colonial Downs for the primary time in 2023. The Arlington Million, the Beverly D. Stakes, and the Secretariat Stakes – previously run at Arlington Worldwide – will all be run at Colonial Downs this 12 months and are scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 12. The $500,000, Grade 1 Beverly D. can be part of the Breeders’ Cup Problem Collection and can be a “Win and You’re In” race for the Maker’s Mark Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

Observe Developments

Colonial Downs is understood for its turf racing and nearly all of the races on the meet are run on the grass, with usually solely about 1-2 filth races carded on any given day. Turf sprints are run at 5 ½ furlongs on the outer turf course, whereas the overwhelming majority of the grass route races are run on the internal turf. The Colonial Downs grass programs are huge and honest and there’s little or no desire when it comes to publish positions on both turf course going both lengthy or quick.

Handicappers ought to concentrate on the monitor tendencies when it comes to most well-liked working kinds, primarily based on the outcomes from the corresponding meet run at Colonial Downs in 2022. In Colonial Downs turf sprints, 61 of 72 races run at 5 ½ furlongs had been gained by horses that raced inside 4 lengths of the early lead. Velocity horses had the benefit with horses racing on or near the tempo successful 33 of the 72 turf sprints for 46%. Stalkers racing between 1 ½ and 4 lengths off the early tempo gained 28 of 72 for 39% wins. Which means closers gained solely 15% of the turf sprints in 2022.

Turf routes then again are likely to play utterly the alternative at Colonial Downs with closers holding the benefit. Virtually all of Colonial’s 108 internal turf routes had been run at both one mile or 1 1/16 miles and closers excelled at each distances. Closers racing a minimum of 4 lengths off the early tempo gained 46 of the 108 internal turf routes for a win proportion of 43%, together with 45% at one mile. Solely 10 turf routes had been run on the outer turf and people races gave the impression to be honest to all.

On the Colonial Downs important monitor, there have been solely 11 filth route races run in 2022. Sprints are way more prevalent on the primary monitor, however Colonial ran solely 42 filth sprints in 2022. Early pace horses loved an enormous edge in filth sprints, with 64% of the winners racing on or near the tempo. Stalkers gained many of the different races and closers racing greater than 4 lengths off the early tempo gained simply 5 of the 42 races for 12%.

Jockeys and Trainers to Watch

Purses are good, so Colonial Downs attracts plenty of good horsemen to compete at its nine-week summer season meet.

The defending main rider at Colonial Downs from the 2022 meet is Jevian Toledo, who led all jockeys with 25 wins from his 137 mounts for an 18% win price. Colonial’s 2021 main rider Horacio Karamanos tied for second within the standings with 18 wins (16%) together with Leonel Reyes (15%). Different jockeys anticipated to vie for spots within the high within the standings embody Joe Rocco Jr., (13 wins in 2022 to associate with 20 wins in 2021), Samy Camacho (14 wins in 2022), Yan Aviles (17 wins in 2022), Victor Carrasco (13 wins in 2022), and Feargal Lynch (11 wins in 2022). Jareth Loveberry can even determine prominently into the combination when he is ready to return from his current damage. Notably, Irad Ortiz Jr. rode 18 principally high-profile races at Colonial Downs in 2022 and gained 10 of them for a 56% win proportion, so respect his mounts when he visits the Virginia monitor.

Within the coach ranks, the main coach on the 2022 Colonial Downs meet was Michael Stidham who gained 13 races from 61 starters for 21%. He edged Michael Trombetta who gained 11 races from 51 starters for 22%. A few former Arlington stalwarts, Larry Rivelli and Chris Block, are anticipated to name Colonial Downs dwelling for 9 weeks. Rivelli gained 9 races on the 2022 meet and Block gained seven. A large assortment of nationally outstanding trainers are anticipated to have a number of starters at Colonial Downs this season led by Steve Asmussen, who gained eight races on the 2022 meet. Others to observe embody Todd Pletcher, Graham Movement, and Shug McGaughey, who every gained three races at Colonial Downs in 2022.

Another trainers that horseplayers needs to be keenly conscious of primarily based on their 2022 outcomes at Colonial Downs embody Mike Maker, who gained 5 of his 9 begins in 2022, Robert Falcone who gained 5 races from six starters, and Mary Lightner, who gained with 4 of her six starters eventually 12 months’s meet.