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By Ana Costa
When you think about horseracing, you may picture
big men, chomping on cigars and wearing out of date
clothing or women dressed in colorful outfits with really
big fancy hats. At Colonial Downs in New Kent, it is
so much more. Yes, it’s still a fun-filled day of peoplewatching,
entertainment, and seeing and being seen, but
what you may not know is that Colonial Downs is also
home to the widest grass course of any horse racetrack
in North America.
Racehorses do not usually get to run on turf or grass
when they race, according to Darrell Wood, Colonial
Down’s Marketing Director. “Most American races run
on dirt,” he says. “We give horses more of a chance to
run on turf than any other track, therefore trainers like to
bring their horses here.”
During the season, when Colonial Downs is “up and
running,” it accommodates about one thousand horses.
Wood explains the need for so many horses, “With five
days of racing a week, eight to ten races a day, up to
fourteen horses per race; most of which can only race
five to six times a year; you need a lot of horses to cater
to the races here.”
Describing Colonial Downs during the season, Wood
states, “It is something you have to come out and see to
appreciate. In the morning when the horses warm up, the
backstretch is like a city coming to life. By noon, when all
thousand horses have exercised, the backstretch is like a
ghost town again, until racing preparations begin.”
So when does the season begin? The summer season,
which is Colonial Down’s niche and is the season for
thoroughbred racing, begins on June 5th, a day before
the Belmont Stakes and runs through July 28th. In the
fall, Colonial Downs is open from September 9th to
November 7th for harness races, where instead of a
jockey riding on top of a horse, a driver sits in a twowheel
cart behind the horse.
Every racetrack has its signature event and Colonial
Downs is no different. It is home to the Virginia Derby,
which attracts the best horses, jockeys, and trainers in the
country. The jockeys that people see on television at the
Kentucky Derby are also present at the Virginia Derby.
Over 9,000 people have attended in the last two years
and this year, on Saturday, July 18, Colonial Downs
hopes to have over 10,000 people in attendance. With
different events, attractions and parties, along with the
horse racing, Colonial Downs hopes to become the
social event that the “young, Richmond ‘in-crowd’ marks
on their calendar as the place to be seen,” Wood says.
Besides the horse racing events, on the day of the
Virginia Derby, there is a Derby Trackside Party Zone
Celebration, which started about three years ago. For
$30, you will receive an all-inclusive ticket to the Virginia
Derby, which includes three beer/wine or soft drink
tickets, a barbeque lunch, live entertainment on stage
all day, and a nice gift. The First Turn Festival is a new
event where for a price you can bring your own food,
beverages, and set up a tent with your own grill. There
will also be events that lead up to the Derby such as a
bartenders’ competition on June 20th, where Richmond
bartenders compete to create and name the official
Virginia Derby drink.
Colonial Downs hopes to take the Virginia Derby to a
Kentucky Derby status, fancy hats and all. “Subliminally,
we hope that when people get out their fancy hats or
come out to one of the competitions they will think ‘this
is just like the Kentucky Derby’ and hopefully this will just
grow and grow,” says Wood. To bring it to such status,
the Virginia Derby will host a big fancy hat competition
with various categories. Miss Virginia will be one of the
judges and the lottery will provide the prizes.
Regardless of whether you have been a horseracing
fan for years, are new to it or just want to see what it is all
about, come out to Colonial Downs. The season is short
but the fun you will experience will keep you coming
back for years to come!
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