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Colonial Downs Gears Up for Thrilling 2024 Racing Season
(June 23, 2023 – New Kent, VA) – With $7 million in purses and a renowned turf course, the 2024 racing season at Colonial Downs is set to attract some of the top jockeys in the sport. Last year’s leading rider Antonio Gallardo and two-time top jockey Trevor McCarthy are both returning to the Virginia track, eager to showcase their skills on the wide, even turf surface.
Colonial Downs’ turf course is the widest in North America at 180 feet and covers 1 1/8 miles, praised by riders for its consistent, even footing. “The surface is very even,” Gallardo commented. “It makes it easier for jockeys when horses are not bobbling. An uneven course, hard then soft, makes the horse bobble, and sometimes the horses quit because they no longer feel comfortable. Not at Colonial.”
With approximately 80% of the races held on the grass, the track’s layout provides advantages for strategic riding. “With the inside at Colonial, you have tight turns and a short stretch,” Gallardo explained. “You have to be in a really good position turning for home. You can be off the pace, but you know you have to start moving at the half-mile pole. In the turn you have to be in position, and turning for home at the quarter pole you have to be close to the lead.”
“The turf there at Colonial is great,” McCarthy said. “The surface they have has unbelievable draining. They do a phenomenal job getting it ready every year and maintaining it day in and day out to keep it going for the two months we are there. It’s great because you don’t catch big turf courses like that in too many places. It is so fun to ride.”
This weekend’s opening card features several high-profile stakes races, including the $125,000 Million Preview, $125,000 Beverly D. Preview, and the $125,000 Boston. Gallardo and McCarthy are set to take on some of the top turf horses in the country, with Gallardo riding the morning-line favorite In a Jam in the Boston and McCarthy guiding the Graham Motion trainee Highland Chief in the Million Preview.
These inaugural stakes races serve as preps for the upcoming Arlington Million (G1), $500,000 Beverly D. (G2), and Secretariat Stakes (G2), all scheduled for August 10th. As the top riders in the sport descend on Colonial Downs, fans can expect an exciting and competitive meet filled with high-class turf racing.
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