Colonial Downs opens summer meet with record 45-day 2026 schedule
Colonial Downs opened its stable area June 10, setting up a 45-day meet with $6.5 million in purses and stakes headed by the August 1 Festival of Racing.
The first real sign that Colonial Downs’ summer meet was about to come alive arrived when the stable area opened Wednesday, June 10, giving horsemen a place to land before training and racing begin. Training was set for Thursday, June 11, and live racing follows on Thursday, June 25, the start of a 45-day run that stretches to a special Labor Day program on Monday, September 7.
That opening matters because it is where the meet’s plans turn into actual stock on the grounds. Trainers can settle in, ship in their better runners and start sorting out which barns are ready to fire early, while bettors get their first clues about who came to Virginia with intent. Colonial’s 2026 season is being billed as the most live-racing days in the nearly 30-year history of the track, and the meet’s scale backs up the claim with more than $6.5 million in purses spread across 35 stakes races and handicaps.
The centerpiece comes Saturday, August 1, when the Festival of Racing anchors the summer with the Grade 1 Arlington Million, Grade 2 Beverly D. and Grade 2 Secretariat Stakes, plus five additional stakes on the Colonial Downs Secretariat Turf Course. The card gives the meet its biggest national spotlight and offers an early look at which turf outfits are strong enough to aim for one of the most important racing days in the region. At the other end of the meet, the Labor Day finale carries its own punch, led by the Grade 3 Old Dominion Derby and Listed Old Dominion Oaks in a six-stakes program.
The Virginia Racing Commission approved the expanded and adjusted 48-day live racing season in December 2024, and track officials added a Thursday-through-Sunday format along with Sunday racing to make the schedule more accessible. Frank Hopf framed the meet as a major draw for horsemen, saying, “With a Kentucky Derby qualifier, new weekend race days, and the biggest racing schedule in track history, 2026 promises to be an unforgettable season at Colonial Downs.” General admission is free on most race days, and the calendar also includes Corgi Racing on June 27, Teacher Appreciation Day on August 2, Wiener Dog Racing on August 15, First Responder Day on August 30, and Old Dominion Derby Day plus Battle of the Bands on September 7.
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