Colonial Downs

Colonial Downs Racetrack has pushed its Festival of Racing, which includes the GI Arlington Million, back a day after it was originally scheduled for Saturday, Aug. 10, the track said in a Wednesday release. The decision to switch the card to Sunday, Aug. 11 was made after confirmation from weather experts that heavy rain caused by Tropical Storm Debby would hit the Tidewater by the end of the week. While most of the conditions are expected to clear the area by Saturday, safety is the highest priority. Gates will open...

Colonial Downs Racetrack in New Kent, VA has rescheduled their Thursday and Friday racing cards to dates next week due to impending weather in the area from Tropical Storm Debby. The Thursday, Aug. 8 card will move to Monday, Aug. 12 while the Friday, Aug. 9 card will be held as drawn Tuesday, Aug. 13. Officials are still monitoring the weather as it relates to the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing card Saturday which includes the GI Arlington Million and the Breeders' Cup WAYI GII Beverly D. Stakes. A decision...

Monmouth Park has cancelled its eight-race card scheduled for Friday, Aug. 2 due to excessive heat, the track said in a release Friday morning. Racing is scheduled to resume on Saturday, with the Tyro Stakes for 2-year-olds at five furlongs on the grass headlining the card. Earlier in the day, Colonial Downs said via X that they would be pushing back their start time because of the temperatures. First post was rescheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET.

In conjunction with BES Studios, the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) was awarded a Telly Award in recognition of a sixty second TV commercial titled "Virginia Wins With Horses" that was submitted in the annual competition which honors excellence in video and television across all screens. The BES Studios and the VEA  received a "Silver" in the Travel & Tourism Regional TV category--the highest achievement awarded by the Telly awards judging panel, a body of over 200 executives from television networks, production companies, global agencies, immersive content studios, and streaming platforms....

Colonial Downs has added an extra day of live racing Sept. 4 to its meet to make up for the nine-race card which was cancelled July 12 due to severe weather and excessive rain fall in the New Kent area. The added card on Sept. 4 will kick off a four-day race week to close the 2024 meet, which wraps up with the New Kent County Virginia Derby Day Sept. 7. The GIII New Kent County Virginia Derby headlines a card with $1.3 million in stakes purses, including five other...

11th-Colonial Downs, $60,000, Msw, 7-18, 2yo, 5 1/2fT, 1:03.91, gd, 6 lengths. CURAHEE (g, 2, War of Will--Blameitonthemusic, by Blame) graduated with a professional six-length tally over the Colonial turf course Thursday. The even-money favorite, looking to become the fourth winner for his freshman sire (by War Front), broke sharply and was on the lead in the early strides. He sat a pressing second as Lazio (Bucchero) had the lead through an opening quarter in :22.17. Curahee stuck a head in front at the top of the lane and skipped...

   In this series, the TDN takes a look at notable successes of European-based sires in North America. This column is highlighted by the victory of Godolphin's Cinderella's Dream in the Belmont Oaks.   Slipper Fits For Godolphin Miss Flawless in her first four starts in England and Dubai prior to a seventh in the G1 QIPCO 1000 Guineas, Cinderella's Dream (GB) (Shamardal) handed breeder Godolphin and Charlie Appleby a victory in the GI Belmont Oaks Invitational Stakes during the final days of the Belmont at the Big A meeting...

With severe weather and excessive rainfall expected to continue to make its way through the New Kent area, Colonial Downs has cancelled live racing for Friday, July 12. A plan for rescheduling the missed races will be provided by Colonial Downs as soon as it is available and all ticket purchases for Friday will be refunded. The track does expect a full card of live racing for Saturday, July 13.

In 1981, Arlington Park's president Joe Joyce created the Arlington Million, a mile-and-a-quarter race on turf intended to raise the focus on Chicago racing. Soon after, in 1983, highly-decorated U.S. Army WWII veteran and businessman Richard L Duchossois purchased the track and substantially raised its profile. At the time, European-based racing connections were mostly strangers to American shores. Aside from the successful exploits of American oil company executive Nelson Bunker Hunt and his illustrious France-based trainer Maurice Zilber, European racehorses had cut little ice Stateside since 1969, the year in...

During its nine-week 2024 meet, Colonial Downs will offer more than $2.4 million in non-stakes purses to horses who are Virginia Certified and the track's first condition book features 46 Virginia-restricted races. Any horse that maintained residency in Virginia for at least a six-month consecutive period prior to Dec. 31 of its 2-year-old year qualifies. "We often hear from owners and trainers who did not know their horse qualifies for our Virginia Restricted races," said Gary Palmisano, Executive Director of Racing for Churchill Downs. "The rules are unique to what...

The Boiling Springs Stakes at Monmouth, scheduled to be run Sunday, is contested annually at a mile-and-one-sixteenth on the turf and is for 3-year-old fillies. With those conditions, it should be an easy race to fill. Not this year. The racing office did not get enough entries and the race was scrapped. Not that any of this should come as a surprise. There is a glut of racing in the Mid-Atlantic states. When Colonial Downs opens on July 11, there will be eight Mid-Atlantic tracks running within a range of...

Signaling the beginning of the 2024 Thoroughbred season, Colonial Downs's barn area will open on Monday, June 24 with training scheduled to begin on Thursday, June 27, the track said in a press release on Friday. Multiple leading trainer Mike Stidham and Hall of Fame conditioner Mark Casse are among the trainers preparing to return to the Tidewater track. The latter put in a successful debut meet where he won 10 races, which included Fev Rover (Ire) (Gutaifan {Ire}). The Canadian Horse of the Year took home the GI Beverly...