Colonial Downs opens 45-day summer season with $6.5M in stakes

Colonial Downs will open its 45-day summer season Thursday, June 25, with a slate of 35 stakes and handicaps worth more than $6.5 million, headlined by the Colonial Downs Festival of Racing on Saturday, Aug. 1.

The Festival of Racing centers on the Grade 1, $1 million Arlington Million at 1 1/4 miles, the Grade 2, $500,000 Beverly D. at 1 3/16 miles and the Grade 2, $500,000 Secretariat Stakes at one mile. The three races will be contested over Colonial's acclaimed Secretariat Turf Course.

Live racing will run Thursdays through Sundays, with a Labor Day finale on Monday, Sept. 7. Overnight maiden special weights carry $70,000 purses ($87,500 for Virginia-restricted runners), and allowances reach $80,000 for open company and $90,000 for Virginia-restricted fields.

Five additional stakes round out Festival Day: the $150,000 Van Clief (Listed) for older horses going 5 1/2 furlongs on turf and its sister race, the $150,000 Andy Guest; the $100,000 Petramalo Mile, a one-mile dirt test for 3-year-olds, and its distaff counterpart, the $100,000 Tyson Gilpin at seven furlongs; and the $100,000 Reigh Count at seven furlongs on dirt.

Closing day on Labor Day showcases the Grade 3, $500,000 Old Dominion Derby, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-olds. The card features five additional turf stakes: the $250,000 Old Dominion Oaks (Listed) at the same distance for sophomore fillies; the $150,000 Colonial Cup at 1 1/2 miles for 3-year-olds and up; the $150,000 Da Hoss for older horses sprinting 5 1/2 furlongs; and a pair of juvenile tests, the 1 1/16-mile $125,000 Kitten's Joy and the 5 1/2-furlong $125,000 Rosie's Stakes.

Four new $100,000 stakes pepper the expanded calendar – the Maggie Walker at a mile on dirt for fillies and mares on Saturday, July 18; the Yorktown at nine furlongs on the main track for older horses on Saturday, July 25; and the Colonial Turf Dash for 3-year-old turf sprinters along with its female counterpart, the Shenandoah Turf Dash, both at six furlongs on Saturday, Aug. 8.

The $100,000 Love Sign rounds out open-company action with a six-furlong dirt sprint for fillies and mares on Saturday, July 25.

Virginia-bred, -sired and -restricted runners begin their share of the program on opening Saturday, June 27, with the $125,000 Edward P. Evans for older horses and the $125,000 Brookmeade for distaffers, both at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

Turf sprinters take the spotlight two weeks later in the $125,000 Punch Line and the female-restricted $125,000 Glenn Petty, both at 5 1/2 furlongs.

A pair of 2-year-old Virginia-restricted races – the $100,000 Hickory Tree and its sister race, the $100,000 Keswick – headline Sunday, Aug. 2. Each carries an additional $50,000 for Virginia-bred or -sired horses and covers 5 1/2 furlongs on dirt.

Two more handicaps spotlight older Virginia-restricted runners on the turf: the $100,000 Meadow Stable Handicap on Saturday, Aug. 15, and its distaff version, the $100,000 Camptown Handicap, on Saturday, Aug. 29. Both carry the same Virginia-bred/sired bonus.

The $100,000 Bert Allen Handicap and the $100,000 Nellie Mae Cox Handicap close the Virginia-restricted slate on Saturday, Sept. 5. The 1 1/16-mile turf events – the Cox restricted to fillies and mares – each include an additional $50,000 for Virginia-bred or -sired horses.

The Maryland-Virginia partnership returns with six stakes restricted to Maryland- and Virginia-bred or -sired runners. The series opens on Saturday, July 4, with the $125,000 Star De Naskra for 3-year-olds and the $125,000 Miss Disco for sophomore fillies, both at seven furlongs on dirt. The $125,000 Find for older horses and the $125,000 All Brandy for older fillies and mares follow on Saturday, Aug. 15, at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The slate wraps with a pair of 5 1/2-furlong juvenile turf tests on Saturday, Aug. 29: the $125,000 Jamestown and its sister race, the $125,000 Dolley Madison.

For a second consecutive year, Colonial Downs will host Claiming Crown qualifiers, with the top two finishers in each earning automatic berths in the Claiming Crown at Churchill Downs on Saturday, Nov. 14.

The eight qualifiers run under Starter Handicap conditions on Saturday, Aug. 22: the $50,000 Iron Horse Qualifier at 1 1/16 miles on dirt; the $50,000 Ready Rocket Express Qualifier at six furlongs on dirt; the $50,000 Glass Slipper Qualifier at one mile on dirt; the $62,500 Rapid Transit Qualifier at seven furlongs on dirt; the $75,000 Canterbury Qualifier at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf; the $75,000 Tiara Qualifier at 1 1/16 miles on turf; the $87,500 Emerald Qualifier at 1 1/16 miles on turf; and the $100,000 Jewel at 1 1/8 miles on dirt.