Virginia Racing

The stabling area at Colonial Downs will open Wednesday, June 10 for horsemen and new arrivals in preparation for the 2026 summer Thoroughbred meeting, the track announced Monday. With training scheduled to begin the following Thursday, live racing is set to kick off Thursday, June 25 with a record-setting season featuring an expanded schedule. The meet will offer 45 days of live racing and will be conducted everything Thursday through Sunday from opening to a special Labor Day program Monday, Sept. 7. It will be the most live racing days...

Colonial Downs racing secretary Dan Bork has released the condition book for the 2026 three-day spring meeting which runs from Thursday, Mar. 12 through Saturday, Mar. 14, the track said via a release on Friday. The meet is highlighted by the $500,000 Virginia Derby and $250,000 Virginia Oaks Mar. 14, which are points races on the "Road to the Kentucky Derby" and "Road to the Kentucky Oaks," respectively. Click here for access.

Jill Byrne has been named Executive Director of The Virginia Thoroughbred Association (VTA), according to a release Thursday. Debbie Easter will remain with the VTA, serving on a wider range of industry initiatives with the Virginia Equine Alliance (VEA) of which she is President. Byrne will also continue to serve in her existing role as Vice-President of Marketing & Strategic Planning for the VEA. A Virginia native and graduate of the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Byrne served as an on-air host and handicapper with TVG in addition to holding...

If the countdown on their website is any indication, Colonial Downs can't wait to put on a show come Virginia Derby weekend during an inaugural three-day Spring meet held March 13-15. The New Kent, VA-based track, though known primarily for it's famous Secretariat Turf Course, stands ready to host a new dirt feature on the 'Road to the Kentucky Derby' in the Virginia Derby which will see a field of Triple Crown hopefuls travel 1 1/8 miles with Derby points being awarded to the top five finishers on a 50-25-15-10-5...

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....

The Virginia-Certified Residency Program generated an estimated economic impact of $86.2 million between 2017 and 2023, according to a study commissioned by the Virginia Equine Alliance. "This is a significant total, especially taking into consideration that the program is still relatively new," said Debbie Easter, president of the Virginia Equine Alliance. "The program didn't begin until 2017, yet already is demonstrating its value." The program requires horses to reside at least six consecutive months at a Virginia farm during his or her first two years to receive a certification as...

Virginia's Colonial Downs has cancelled its Friday's card due to an excessive heat forecast. The National Weather Service is predicting heat indices for Friday ranging from 105-110 degrees Fahrenheit, numbers that examine the combined effects of temperature, wind speed, and humidity. Thursday's nine-card will still be run as scheduled with a first post of 1:30 p.m. ET. Friday's card will be brought back as drawn on Wednesday, Aug. 2. Post time will be 1:30 p.m. Officials at Colonial Downs came to the decision jointly with the Virginia Horsemen's Benevolent and...

By 2026, the gaming corporation that owns Colonial Downs is aiming to nearly double the amount of racing at the turf-centric Virginia track, potentially expanding the current boutique-styled summer race meet from 27 to 50 dates. That news was revealed Thursday morning by Bill Carstanjen, the chief executive officer of Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), who briefly mentioned the dates increase during a public quarterly earnings conference call with investment bankers. The reason has everything to do with CDI's gaming revenue and apparently very little do with the overall scope of...