Va. Derby guide: Odds, PPs, more for Colonial Downs feature

The Grade 3, $500,000 Virginia Derby anchors the Saturday action at Colonial Downs.

The lush turf course of the New Kent, Va., oval will pit a dozen 3-year-olds against one another over 1 1/8 miles with Deterministic sitting as a tepid 3-1 morning-line favorite.

The Virginia Derby goes as race 10 of 12 at 6:15 p.m. EDT, and it will be shown live on FanDuel TV.

Check out Horse Racing Nation’s free past performances page for downloadable PPs for the Virginia Derby and more, courtesy of our partners at Brisnet.

We also have Super Screener picks and analysis for the Virginia Derby as well as recent top speed figures for each contender.

Virginia Derby best speed figures

Looking at the pace

The pace projector calls for an upbeat tempo in the Virginia Derby with Herchee and Izzy d’Oro doing battle up top.

Pace projector appears courtesy of TimeformUS.

HRN picks for Virginia Derby

Buy the special Now through Breeders’ Cup Super Screener package for just $97, a savings of nearly $400, and get analysis for the Virginia Derby and much more this weekend.

Ed DeRosa’s Virginia Derby fair odds believe Grand Mo the First could go off as an overlay while Deterministic is a potential underlay.

DeRosa also has fair odds for the Mint Millions at Kentucky Downs, where he is fading the international competition in favor of speedy Goliad, although Funtastic Again and Emmanuel have their merits as well.

Doubling the fun at Kentucky Downs, DeRosa also produced Franklin-Simpson fair odds. Find out why he thinks Apollo Ten could get overlooked in this spot.

Matt Shifman’s Virginia Derby selections respect Deterministic but believe Zverev is the best bet on Saturday.

Jill Byrne of the Virginia Equine Alliance joined the Ron Flatter Racing Pod to discuss the evolution of racing in the state in the wake of the news that Colonial Downs will be adding a Kentucky Derby prep to its schedule in 2025.

2024 Virginia Derby (G3)