Colonial Downs is expecting a sellout crowd of 8,000 to attend the Virginia Derby on Saturday, March 15, when the New Kent County track’s signature race will be held for the first time on dirt as a lead-in to the Kentucky Derby.

The winner is all but assured a slot in the May 3 “Run for the Roses,” in what is expected to be an annual event that is another big step to put horse racing here on a par with most big tracks on the East Coast.

Frank Hopf, who runs Colonial for owner Churchill Downs, home of the Kentucky Derby, told the Virginia Racing Commission last week all systems were go for what could be the biggest one-day show since the track opened in 1997. 

“As always, I’m cautiously optimistic,” said Hopf, like a man hedging a bet he knows will come through, “[but] we feel pretty good. We’ve had an excellent response.”

One major complaint from the horsemen, that the underused dirt surface was too hard and therefore more likely to result in injuries, has been resolved, Hopf hopes, by adding another two inches of material across the entire track (5,000 pounds in all) to increase the base to a total depth of about 6 inches, along with some extra cushion. “A major investment,” Hopf called it. Now, all they have to worry about is the weather, which could delay recovery.

In all, Colonial’s new spring meet will be a three-day affair, with as many as nine races Thursday and Friday, March 13-14, when post time each day will be 12:30 p.m.

Depending on the number of entries, as many as 11 races – including the Virginia Oaks which, believe it or not, finished in a dead heat last summer – are scheduled for Derby day. The first race will get underway at noon.

The state’s first (and still only) parimutuel track for Thoroughbred racing is best known for its Secretariat turf course, which is rated among the best, and used primarily by Colonial Downs for its annual summer meet. This will be the 25^th Virginia Derby, with the first run in late 1997 on turf over 1 ¼ miles.

At one point, this was a primary destination for some of the best three-year-olds like Kitten’s Joy and English Channel, both of whom won here and went on to earn U.S. Champion Male Turf Horse honors. In 2006, then-Colonial Downs owner JEFF JACOBS put up $1 million as part of his short-lived “Grand Slam of Grass.”

This year’s new-look Derby will be for $500,000 over 1 1/8 miles and will not be graded, a measure of a race's prestige, because of the move to dirt. That could impact some potential entries, despite the fact it is a prep race for the Kentucky Derby. The winner will get 50 points, which should be enough to assure a place in the field of 20 starters in Louisville.

Hopf said he expected most of the top trainers to have entries at the March meet, which will be televised by the FanDuel cable network. Naturally, there will be competition for both horses and the betting dollar, although Laurel, in nearby Maryland, will not run in deference to Colonial.

About to begin his third year as Colonial Downs’ executive director, Hopf said he was confident the spring meet would live up to expectations. An early rush to buy tickets resulted in all 3,000 seated areas being sold out. That leaves about 5,000 general admission tickets, of which more than 2,000 have been sold at $5 each.

Still, Hopf knows anything is possible. He’s been around long enough to be familiar with Murphy’s Law – whatever can go wrong will go wrong. At least it hasn’t ruined his sense of humor.

“Right now what I am really looking forward to is … March 16^th,” he said.

• Colonial Downs also announced its summer meet will be 41 days – up from 27 the previous two years under Churchill’s ownership – and be held July 9 to Sept. 13 (four days a week, Wednesday through Saturday, in addition to Labor Day Monday).
• Unlike the early days of the track, when Jacobs was the owner and every commission meeting had some fireworks, Friday’s session was typically tame.
• In the opening public-comment portion, Henrico County supervisor Dan Schmitt noted considerable opposition to Churchill Downs putting a Rosie’s gambling site at Staples Mill and Glenside. He acknowledged the VRC had no jurisdiction in the matter but, nevertheless, hoped the commissioners would be reluctant to award a license if it came to that.

For more on Colonial Downs, visit Jerry Lindquist’s blog.