Colonial Downs

Dates for the 2021 Thoroughbred racing season at Colonial Downs were approved Wednesday by the Virginia Racing Commission at its quarterly meeting, which was held virtually. The seven-week campaign will run from July 19 to Sept. 1 with racing scheduled every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. The meet will include a total of 21 race dates. The stable area and track will open for training July 5 and will close Sept. 8. "Purses are projected to average at least $500,000 per day absent any unforseen events like an increase of the...

The Maryland Jockey Club will require all jockeys who rode during the abbreviated meet at Colonial Downs to undergo a 14-day quarantine period beginning Aug. 13 and a negative COVID-19 test taken within 72 hours before returning to any MJC facility. The same protocols are in place for all dormitory residents who were at Colonial Downs. Colonial Downs announced it was ending its 2020 meeting Friday due to coronavirus concerns. "The MJC considers the health and safety of our team, horsemen and riders as our number one focus," MJC President...

Colonial Downs has canceled the remainder of its 2020 meeting due to COVID-19, it was announced Friday evening. Colonial Downs canceled racing Tuesday and Wednesday after leading jockey Trevor McCarthy tested positive for COVID-19, per a report in Daily Racing Form. "Colonial Downs Group places the health and safety of our team, partners and visitors as our top priority," a statement from Colonial Downs read. "We established thorough protocols prior to the 2020 racing season to address any issues that may arise from the coronavirus pandemic. As a result of...

Colonial Downs has canceled Tuesday and Wednesday's card due to leading jockey Trevor McCarthy testing positive for COVID-19, according to a report by Daily Racing Form. McCarthy took off his mounts Sunday and Monday because of "flu-like symptoms", according to his agent Scott Silver. According to the report, McCarthy attempted to get tested Monday but was unable to, then received a test Tuesday and was positive. Silver added that McCarthy's symptoms had dissipated and he was feeling well enough on Tuesday that he would have ridden at Colonial card his...

4th-Colonial Downs, $40,400, Msw, 8-3, 2yo, f, 5f, :57.65, ft. FEELING MISCHIEF (f, 2, Into Mischief--True Feelings {GSP, $111,205}, by Latent Heat) broke like a shot and led Some Nights (Street Boss) and 21-1 shot Bravo Regina (Congrats) through a :22.38 quarter. Clear and moving easily turning for home, the 6-5 choice pulled away with aplomb, crossing the wire a geared-down eight-length winner over Bravo Regina. Palmgirl (Commisioner) completed the trifecta. The winner is a half to Grade III-placed Royal Act (American Pharoah). Grade III-placed True Feelings--a half-sister to Flirtaious...

Colonial Downs has postponed Monday's opening card due to forecasted dangerous heat conditions with heat index forecasts over 100 degrees. Monday's races will be re-carded for Sunday, Aug. 2 and horsemen will need to re-enter Tuesday, July 28. Colonial Downs's revised opening day features a nine-race card planned for Tuesday, July 28 with a post time of 5:30 p.m. ET.

Colonial Downs Group, a subsidiary of Peninsula Pacific Entertainment, announced it will alter course from hosting limited spectators to a "spectator-free" racing program for the 2020 race meet, which kicks off July 27. As a result of the pandemic, the decision was made at the request of the Virginia Racing Commission (VRC) and the Virginia Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. According to Colonial Downs officials, the changes are intended to focus additional care on key operating areas, including jockeys' quarters, paddock supervision, the racing office and stable area. The 2020...

Colonial Downs is slated to open for its 18-day stand Monday, July 27, and the turf-centric oval announced Friday that it will cap attendance at 1000 spectators in accordance with third phase of Virginia's COVID-19 re-opening plan. Spectators will be limited to outdoor areas of the track apron and grandstand; will receive temperature checks upon arrival; must maintain six feet  of distance from other attendees; and will be required to wear masks indoors and encouraged to wear them outdoors. "With the advancement into Phase 3 of Virginia's reopening plan, and...

Colonial Downs Group, which includes the Virginia racetrack that reopened last summer and Rosie's Gaming Emporiums at three other in-state locations, announced Wednesday that it will transition its closed restaurants to provide 20,000 free "grab and go" meals for police officers, doctors, nurses, firefighters, grocery store employees and other workers on the "front lines" of the response to the coronavirus pandemic. The company closed its facilities on Mar. 15. The meals will be provided starting Apr, 1, with day-before ordering requested. Groups of 10 or more are encouraged to sign...

The GIII Virginia Derby, the marquee event of the Colonial Downs season, highlights the New Kent oval's 2020 stakes schedule. The turf event for 3-year-olds anchors the 18-day meeting's closing day Saturday, Aug. 29. Also featured on Virginia Derby Day: the Virginia Oaks, Rosie's S. and Kitten's Joy S. The 2019 Rosie's winner Four Wheel Drive (American Pharoah) went on to win the GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint. The 2020 season kicks off July 23 with live racing days over a six-week period will run every Thursday, Friday and...

Dr. Alfred C. Griffin Jr., the co-chair of the Virginia Gold Cup who played a key role in keeping pari-mutuel racing alive in his home state during Colonial Downs's closure, was elected president of the National Steeplechase Association at Friday's NSA Board of Directors meeting. The Warrenton, Va. orthodontist succeeds Guy J. Torsilieri, who was elected as the NSA's chairman. Torsilieri, who served as the NSA's president for 11 years before declining to seek another term, was elected as the NSA's chairman. He succeeds Beverly R. Steinman, who retired from...

The popular Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships Series (MATCH) has been renewed for 2020, with an expanded schedule and an increase in owner, trainer and breeder bonus money thanks to new partner racetracks, horsemen's groups and breeder associations, the Thoroughbred Horsemen's Association announced Tuesday. The Series, which returned in 2018 after a 16-year hiatus and works toward the larger goal of coordination in a region with the largest concentration of daily racing in the United States, has grown to 35 stakes at eight tracks with a combined $3.75 million in purses for...