Colonial Downs

NEW KENT, VA--Fev Rover (Ire) is headed West. With a win in Saturday's GI Beverly D. S., another line of history was written in the storied legacy of thoroughbred racing in Virginia. Colonial's first Grade I race attracted a field of just five going 1 3/16 miles over the famed Secretariat turf course. And with the Friday night defection of her main rival Didia (Arg) (Orpen), Fev Rover took full advantage and asserted her dominance. In doing so, she booked herself a fees-paid spot in November's GI Breeders' Cup Filly...

The Virginia-bred Gigante (Not This Time) refused to let Nagirroc (Lea) by in the final yards as he gallantly defended his home turf in the GI Secretariat S. at Colonial Downs Saturday. The 22-1 longshot was shuffled back to last as Mo Stash (Mo Town) took the field through fractions of :23.67 and :48.03. The field bunched up around the far turf and Gigante was rolling up into contention four wide approaching the lane. He forged to the lead with a furlong to run and grittily held Nagirroc at bay...

4th-Colonial Downs, $60,000, Msw, 8-12, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 1:42.17, fm, 6 1/2 lengths. INTEGRATION (c, 3, Quality Road--Harmonize {GISW, $827,860}, by Scat Daddy) earned even-money favoritism in his first start since bringing $700,000 as a yearling at the 2021 Fasig-Tipton New York Select Yearling Sale. 30-1 longshot Elon (Great Notion) was eager to go on with it and surged ahead to open up nearly five lengths on the field through a half in :47.58. Integration, though caught a bid wide throughout, easily took over into the far turn as the...

4th-CNL, $60K, Msw, 3yo/up, 1 1/16mT, 3:00 p.m. A $700,000 Ylg FTSAUG purchase, INTEGRATION (Quality Road) debuts for Shug McGaughey. Out of 2016 GI Del Mar Oaks heroine Harmonize (Scat Daddy), who was campaigned and bred by Larkin Armstrong, this 3-year-old colt hails from a deep, extended female family which includes MGSWs like Al Khali (Medaglia d'Oro), Cappuchino (Capote) and Hungry Island (More Than Ready), plus GI Diana S. heroine and MGSW Somali Lemonade (Lemon Drop Kid) and MGISW Verrazano (More Than Ready). TJCIS PPs 5th-SAR, $136K, Msw, 2yo, 7f,...

In the absence of Godolphin standout and GI Longines Breeders' Cup Turf winner Rebel's Romance (Ire) (Dubawi {Ire}), the role of morning-line favorite for Saturday's feature at Virginia's Colonial Downs fell to GI Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational winner Atone (Into Mischief). A Godolphin-bred gelded son of leading sire Into Mischief, the Michael Maker trainee, owned by Three Diamonds Farm, put a career best 103 Beyer Speed Figure to take down Brazilian standout Ivar (Brz) (Agnes Gold {Jpn}) at Gulfstream Park Jan. 28. He'll stretch out to 1 1/4 miles...

1st-CNL, $60K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 1:30p.m. Lael Stables' BUBBLING UP (Vino Rosso) marks her career debut at Colonial Downs for trainer Michael Stidham. Out of  GSP Shaken (Uncle Mo), the Mark Stansell-bred filly brought $550,000 at Fasig-Tipton's Saratoga Select Sale last summer. The top-priced offspring by the champion Vino Rosso last season, the filly's pricetag far surpassed the Spendthrift sire's 2022 yearling average of $94,287 for 112 head sold. TJCIS PPs  

Joining an ever-growing list of tracks to cancel their programs to start the weekend, Delaware Park will follow suit and reschedule their Saturday live racing card due to the excessive heat forecasted for the region, the track said in a release Friday. Acting upon the recommendation of the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission (DTRC) veterinarians, the entire July 29 live racing card will be transferred to Friday, Aug. 4. The national weather service has predicted temperatures in the 90s with a heat index of value approaching the mid-100s. Live racing is...

A forecast for extreme heat caused the cancellation of live racing at Woodbine Thursday and Friday, as well as at Laurel Park Friday, while Ellis Park will move its Friday and Saturday programs. Colonial Downs, which announced it was cancelling its Friday card Wednesday, additionally has now cancelled its Saturday card. Woodbine announced its cancelled Thursday races would be offered to be carded for July 30 and the track will also attempt to make up Thursday's races by adding additional races over the next few race cards. After monitoring the...

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...

Every week, the TDN publishes a roundup of key official rulings from the primary tracks within the four major racing jurisdictions of California, New York, Florida and Kentucky. Here's a primer on how each of these jurisdictions adjudicates different offenses, what they make public (or not) and where. The TDN will also post a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from the same week. These will include decisions from around the country. New York Track: Saratoga Date: 07/12/2023 Licensee: Tyler Gaffalione, jockey Penalty: Three-day...

A little more than four years ago, horse racing returned to the Commonwealth of Virginia and Colonial Downs for the first time since 2014. Under the leadership of then track Vice President Jill Byrne--one of Virginia's own--the track staged racing three days a week for about a month and since then, the meet has expanded both in terms of length and in terms of popularity among the betting public. In August 2019, Ben Massam drew on his Virginian roots--Ben was a championship-caliber track and field athlete at the College of...

The colt had been getting a little fractious in the gate and now he half sat down: too low for Jareth Loveberry to climb out, but not low enough to scramble underneath. "Get me out!" the jockey hollered. He was just trying to lift himself clear when his mount came back up and pinned a calf against the steel. The pain was excruciating. It was only five seconds or so before they got the gate open but that was enough, as they stretched him out, for the agony to be...