Next week’s Virginia Derby will cap a successful summer racing season at Colonial Downs

NEW KENT — A purse of $1 million is up for grabs Tuesday when the showcase Virginia Derby is held in New Kent, capping off a successful fourth season at the Colonial Downs racetrack.

Earlier this year, Churchill Downs, the venue of the Kentucky Derby, agreed to purchase both the New Kent racetrack and six Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums. The promoters have raised the profile of the Virginia Derby since the racetrack got back to normal after the 2020 season was cut short due to COVID-19.

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Colonial Downs expects large crowds on Derby Day, the highlight in the final week of the summer racing season. Monday is Labor Day’s family race program, but on Tuesday, “The nation’s top turf horses will compete on the widest turf course in North America,” the racetrack said in a news release. The race is set to get underway at 1:45 p.m.

The highlights of Derby Day include the grade 3, $300,000 New Kent County Virginia Derby for 3-year-olds, along with the $200,000 Virginia Oaks for 3-year-old fillies. They will race on the famous Secretariat Turf Course named after the legendary Triple Crown winner who was born in Doswell, Virginia.

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Visitors can compete for a share of $25,000 cash in the New Kent County Virginia Derby Cash Dash, where 50 winners will win $500.

The event will also include family entertainment including a Dixieland strolling band, a magician, a juggler, and a face painter. Las Vegas Entertainer of the Year, T-Fox will be performing the National Anthem as well as a free show at Rosie’s immediately after the last race. Food trucks will attend the event.

Free general admission includes access to an air-conditioned tented hospitality space, apron access with track and paddock-side viewing, covered bench seating and access to the Paddock Bar. Colonial Downs offers other options including clubhouse dining, clubhouse boxes, turf club dining and turf club suites.

The event marks the fourth season of thoroughbred horse racing at the New Kent County venue since the track was revitalized and reopened in 2019.

“Peninsula Pacific Entertainment has not only lived up to the promise of bringing high caliber thoroughbred horse racing back to Virginia but is honored to present this year’s Virginia Derby card,” said John Marshall, executive vice president of operations for Colonial Downs Group. “It is great to see so many families and fans enjoying live racing that adds so much value to business and tourism in the commonwealth.”

Colonial Downs was shuttered for five years from 2014 following disputes between the then owner and the Virginia Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association. Peninsula Pacific Entertainment bought the course and racing resumed in 2019. The racetrack experienced a curtailed season in 2020 due to COVID-19 but roared back in 2021 and 2022.

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David Macaulay, davidmacaulayva@gmail.com