Colonial Downs

ATLAS MAJOR (c, 2, Yaupon--Lighter Knot, by Mastery) was made the 8-5 second choice behind even-money favorite Money Man Mike (Bolt d'Oro) for this unveiling, and the betting choices wasted no time stepping out to the front after the break. Pushed along first by Tiz General (Rock Your World) and then Money Man Mike when that runner began fading, Atlas Major opened a clear advantage arriving at the head of affairs. Kicking away from his pursuers, the son of Yaupon came home smartly to win by 4 1/4 lengths in...

How do you fix it? It's the question everyone in horse racing seems to be asking. How do we grow the sport? How do we attract new fans? How do we ensure racing is around for the next generation? Everyone has an opinion. Most involve sweeping changes, new legislation, larger marketing budgets, television deals, technology or industry-wide collaboration. Those conversations matter. But while we're waiting for the big solution, I think we're overlooking the smaller ones. So instead of focusing on the big picture, I'll start with the small. The...

The heat continues to be on up and down the East Coast and Colonial Downs responded by cancelling its Fourth of July program, according to a post on X from the track on Friday morning. Colonial Downs said in the tweet that, "The two stakes races will be used next Saturday, July 11th. We will be adding a card to Monday, July 13th. Saturday's cancelled races will be posted as extras. Post time for Sunday, July 5th and Monday, July 6th will be 10:45am." The racetrack moved up its post...

After initially bringing post times forward to try and beat the heat, Colonial Downs has decided to reschedule the live racing card for Friday, July 3 and will move it in its entirety as drawn to Monday, July 6. In addition, Colonial Downs will shift the programs scheduled for both Saturday, July 4 and Sunday, July 5 to begin at 10:45 a.m. Monday's card will begin at the regular 12:30 p.m. post time. Additional cancellations for Friday include: Belterra Park, Delaware Park, Ellis Park, Monmouth Park and Woodbine.

Colonial Downs will shift its Thursday, Friday and Saturday live racing cards to 10:45 a.m. ET first post due to forecasted heat for the New Kent, Va area. Last race each day will be at approximately 2 p.m. Colonial Downs officials will continue to monitor the latest forecasts, with Sunday's card currently scheduled for its regular 12:30 p.m. first post. Saturday's racing action is topped by a pair of stakes for Virginia and/or Maryland-breds - the $125,000 Miss Disco and the $125,000 Star De Naskra.

Antiope (f, 2, Jackie's Warrior) became the first winner for her freshman sire (by Maclean's Music) at first asking in a Virginia-restricted maiden special weight at Colonial Downs Friday. The Jane Cibelli-trained 3-1 chance was sent to the front, enjoyed a three-length advantage at the stretch call and had a half-length over Bravojuliet (Army Mule) at the wire. The winner's dam had a colt by McKinzie in 2025 and a filly by City of Light this year. Jackie's Warrior, champion male sprinter of 2021 and a five-time Grade I winner,...

Chris Gracie is as much a product of the Mid-Atlantic as the Liberty Bell and the blue crabs lining Chesapeake Bay. "I grew up in these regional markets. I grew up in Pennsylvania, I grew up in Maryland," said Gracie--breeder, seller, bloodstock agent, former jockey, you name it--who, under his Gracie Bloodstock LLC banner, now operates out of Locust Hill Farm in Middleburg, Virginia. "I think the biggest thing is that historically Virginia has been a really, really, really good place for raising horses," he added. "Just go back over...

The 2026 racing season at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Virginia, kicks off Thursday, June 25, with no fewer than 22 turf races scheduled across the weekend on the Secretariat Turf Course. Featured on opening weekend are a pair of Virginia-restricted turf stakes on Saturday: the Brookmeade Stakes for older fillies and mares and the Edward P. Evans Stakes for males three year old and up, each contested over a mile and a sixteenth. An all-steeplechase program is set for Monday, June 29, beginning at 10:45 a.m. ET and includes...

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...

The catalogue for the 2026 Keeneland April Selected Horses of Racing Age Sale, to be held the evening of Apr. 24 following the final day of racing at the Keeneland Spring Meet, is now available online. The auction will be streamed live online at www.keeneland.com beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET. "The April Sale really captures the momentum of spring racing at its peak," Keeneland Vice President of Sales Tony Lacy said. "Because it's held on closing day of the Spring Meet, which concludes just days before the Kentucky Derby, it...

Riley Mott, the son of Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, has come a long way in the 3 1/2 years he has been training on his own. He's already won more than 100 races and collected a pair of Grade I wins, including World Beater (Oscar Performance)'s score in last year's GI Saratoga Derby Invitational Stakes. And now it looks like he'll have a starter in this year's GI Kentucky Derby. In winning the Virginia Derby, the Mott-trained Incredibolt (Bolt d'Oro) earned enough points to guarantee himself a spot in...

Less than 48 hours after Colonial Downs was coated in three inches of fresh snow, Saturday's Virginia Derby, the last 50-point prep race on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, will have competitors and visitors alike dreaming of warmer things to come on the first Saturday in May. Now in its second year, the newly-repositioned Virginia Derby (moved up from the track's traditional summer meet) drew a field of 10 after running with just seven entries in its inaugural edition won by the late D. Wayne Lukas's American Promise (Justify)....