Colonial Downs meet opens Thursday with 12-race card

Opening day of the 2024 Colonial Downs live racing season is Thursday, July 11, and the card has been drawn. The 12-race program features an average field size of 10.4, as 125 entries were taken with six of those sitting on the also-eligible list.

Beginning with three National Steeplechase Association races, first post on Thursday is 11:45 a.m. EDT.

The Old Dominion 6, a classic Pick 6 with a $1 minimum, includes five legs which are overdrawn or full at 12 runners. The late Pick 5 with a 12 percent takeout is equally as flush with an average field size of 11.4.

Eleven of the 12 races are scheduled for the Secretariat turf course. The lone dirt affair comes in race no. 4, one of three events on the card for 2-year-old fillies. Leading freshman sire by earnings Complexity will be represented on the card, as will fillies from the first crop of Tiz the Law and McKinzie.

Last year’s top barns come out firing on Thursday. The 2023 top conditioner Michael Trombetta leads all with five entries. Michael Stidham enters three; Kelsey Danner, four. Mark Casse and Shug McGaughey are represented with two apiece.

In her first meet stabled at Colonial Downs, Cherie DeVaux enters three. Zartownis and Norwich will face off in the turf sprint allowance feature, which goes as race no. 8, and Prouver enters the turf route allowance feature one race later.

Select Thursdays throughout the nine-week meet will begin with three steeplechase races, a hallmark of Colonial Downs racing. When Steeplechase races are carded, first post on Thursdays is 11:45 a.m. EDT. The flat contests begin at 1:30 p.m. EDT on both Thursday and Saturday. New this year is later afternoon racing every Friday with a first post of 4:30 p.m. EDT.

Stakes racing kicks off next Saturday

The first three stakes races of the season – the $125,000 Million Preview, $125,000 Beverly D. Preview and $125,000 Boston – will be drawn Saturday. All three races will be run over the turf next Saturday.

The Million Preview is for older horses at 1 1/8 miles. The Beverly D. preview is for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles. The Boston, which serves as a prep for the Secretariat (G2), is for 3-year-olds traveling one mile.

2024 wagering menu

New for 2024, when there is a carryover in either 50-cent Pick 5, that money will be carried into the following day’s late Pick 5. The early Pick 5 will cover the first five flat races on the card and the late Pick 5 will cover the final five races each day. Takeout remains at a bettor-friendly 12 percent.

The Old Dominion 6 returns for 2024, a classic $1 Pick 6 wager with a 15 percent takeout covering the final six races daily. If nobody correctly selects all six winners, 25 percent of the net pool will be paid out to those selecting the most winners while 75 percent will be carried over to the following program.

The remainder of the wagering menu consists of the standard $2 win, place and show; $1 exacta, 50-cent trifecta, and 10-cent superfecta. There will be rolling $1 Daily Doubles and $1 Pick 3 wagers on all flat races, plus two Pick 4 bets, one on the first four flat races and the other on the final four events.

Also new this year is the opportunity for horseplayers to link up their multi-race opinions in steeplechase races, which will be held on selected Thursdays. There will be a $1 Pick 3 starting with race no. 1 to cover the steeplechase races and $1 Daily Doubles coupling races no. 1-2 and races no. 2-3.  Each steeplechase race will also offer the standard $2 win, place and show; $1 exacta, 50-cent trifecta, and 10-cent superfecta wagering.