Colonial Downs Meeting Shatters Records

Buoyed by a record-breaking handle of more than $6.5 million on New Kent County Virginia Derby Day, Colonial Downs shattered all wagering marks this racing season, the fourth under the management of Colonial Downs Group and ownership of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment.

Total handle for the 26-day live racing meet was $74,940,840 for a daily average of $2,882,340, up more than 29% from the 2021 average daily handle mark of $2,231,765 during that season's 21-day session. This race meet marked an all-time wagering high in the history of Colonial Downs.

“The revival of Virginia racing continues to grow as we once again set new all-time handle marks,” said John Marshall, Colonial Downs Group Executive Vice President, Operations. “It is gratifying to see Colonial Downs evolve into one of the nation's elite meets which is what our team set out to accomplish just four years ago. We congratulate all of those who aimed and worked at placing Virginia racing in such an admirable position.”

Purses for the season averaged a Virginia record of $612,000 up from 2021's $521,000 per day in purse distribution. A total of 1382 individual horses representing 321 trainers made a combined 2,179 starts for the season. Field size averaged 8.35 runners per race compared to the 7.17 national per race average.

Mike Stidham took home leading trainer honors with 13 victories. The owners' race ended in a dead-heat between David Ross's DARRS, Inc. and R. Larry Johnson each of whom visited the winner's circle on six occasions. Jevian Toledo won his first Colonial riding crown with 25 victories.

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Colonial Downs Meet Begins with Record Opening Day Handle

Colonial Downs kicked off its 2021 racing season Monday with a record opening day handle of $2.66 million, spurred by a four-pack of $100,000 Virginia-restricted turf stakes races, and the return of fans to the New Kent track now in its third year under ownership of the Colonial Downs Group.

“We would like to thank the horsemen, our fans on and off site and our team for starting the meet on the right foot,” said John Marshall, Executive VP Operations for the Colonial Downs Group. “What a delight it was to see 2,500 fans at Colonial Downs on a Monday afternoon with such enthusiasm. We appreciate our fans for urging a new all-time Colonial Downs all-source handle opening day record. Looking at today's card, Colonial Downs has arrived at a whole new level.”

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Colonial Downs Takes 108 Entries For Nine-Race Card On Opening Monday

Colonial Downs will usher in its second season of Thoroughbred racing under the ownership of the Colonial Downs Group on Monday July 27 with nine pari-mutuel races getting underway at 5:30 PM (EDT). There will be two non-wagering steeplechase events prior at 4:00 and 4:40 PM.

One hundred and eight horses were entered for opening night's card and $316,000 in purse money will be distributed. Seven of the nine flat races will be contested over Colonial's massive Secretariat Turf Course — the widest grass racing surface in the country at 180 feet across — and the other two will held over the 1 1/4-miles dirt track.

The featured race is a $42,000 turf allowance for 2-year-olds at 5½ furlongs. A field of nine will battle in the eighth race including seven last-time-out winners. The only two that did not prevail most recently were Sunshine City and Crown and Coke, who raced in stakes at Royal Ascot and Churchill Downs, respectively.

A jockey colony of some 30 riders will be based in New Kent for the six-week meet including Trevor McCarthy, last year's top jock with 15 wins. Through July 22 this year, McCarthy is ranked 30th in the country by purse earnings with $2,576,300. Daniel Centeno, who tied for second with 13 victories, is back as is Forest Boyce, who finished fourth in the standings. The trio will be busy on opening night. McCarthy and Boyce have nine mounts each while Centeno has eight.

Veteran jockeys Chuck Lopez and Alberto Delgado are part of the group. Lopez competed at Colonial in 2019 and collected seven wins. The 59-year-old has 4,301 wins from over 30,000 starts. Delgado will be riding for the first time since 2017. The 56-year-old, who has 2,932 victories from over 25,000 starts, rode California Chrome to his first two wins in 2013. Lopez has six mounts Monday while Delgado has two.

Mike Stidham and Jamie Ness, co-leading trainers at the 2019 meet with 10 wins each, have horses entered Monday. The former, who won the 2019 Virginia Oaks with Carnival Colors and Kitten's Joy with Doc Boy last summer, has Princess Grace in the seventh and Palio in the fifth. The latter sends Hazels Little Man out in the featured eighth.

Also supporting the opener are Graham Motion, whose English Bee captured the 2019 New Kent County Virginia Derby (G3), and Wesley Ward, whose Four Wheel Drive won the Exacta Systems Rosie's Stakes then went on the win the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint (G1). Motion's' Dance Recital appears in the seventh and Ward's Sunshine City competes in the feature. Both Ferris Allen, Colonial's all-time leading conditioner, and King Leatherbury, fifth leading all-time trainer nationally with 6,503 victories, have a pair entered.

The track will feature a nightly All-Turf Pick-5 wager that covers the program's final five races. Colonial is in a unique position because its track lights illuminate the grass course instead of the dirt oval. Three of the five legs in Monday's wager have either a 13- or 14-horse field.

The early steeplechase races will be a staple of every Monday card this summer. Opening day's pair feature 10-horse fields and seven in each raced most recently in Virginia — either at the Middleburg Spring Races or the Virginia Gold Cup at Great Meadow which both took place in June.

The 2020 race meet will be presented “spectator-free” out of an abundance of caution so Colonial Downs' personnel can focus extra care towards key operating areas, such as the jockeys' quarters, paddock supervision, racing office and the stabling area.

The season continues through September 2 with cards every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 5:30 PM. The Grade 3 Virginia Derby highlights the meet and will be contested on Tuesday September 1 along with other five stakes.

In Virginia, wagering on Colonial Downs races can be placed at any Rosie's Gaming Emporium or at any VA-Horseplay Off Track Betting location. Online betting is available through TVG.com, Xpressbet.com, Twinspires.com and NYRABets.com. All of Colonial's races will be aired on TVG. More details are at colonialdowns.com/wagering.

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