Colonial Downs to Host Four MATCH Stakes on Dirt Track

When Colonial Downs ushered in Thoroughbred racing in 1997, every race during that first meet was held on dirt since the track's signature Secretariat Turf Course was not yet ready for use.

A year later, Penny Chenery cut a ceremonial ribbon to inaugurate the 180-foot wide grass surface and since then, Colonial Downs has been synonymous with turf racing. The track generally hosts 80% of its races over the massive oval, which is 1 1/8 miles around at its outermost rail setting.

On Aug. 18, Colonial completed week five of a seven-week summer race season and at last, the number of dirt races carded has slowly begun to rise. Actually—due to heavy rains early in the week—all the races on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday's programs were taken off the grass and contested over the 1 1/4-mile dirt track. Eight of those 27 were originally scheduled to be run on dirt.

On Aug. 23, Colonial's dirt track will be showcased to an even larger extent, playing host to four $100,000 stakes in the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championship Series—the Victory Gallop for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles, the Love Sign for fillies and mares 3 and up at 1 1/16 miles, the Seeking the Pearl for fillies and mares 3 and up at seven furlongs, and the Chesapeake for 3-year-olds and up at six furlongs.

Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, winner of three Virginia Derbies, has a trio of horses set to compete. His Paris Lights  won the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) in 2020 and is entered in the Love Sign. Much of Frank's Rockette 's $821,103 bankroll came from a pair of grade 2 wins and a pair of grade 1 runner-ups, and she'll aim to up that in the Seeking the Pearl. And his South Bend  was in the 2020 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), Runhappy Travers Stakes (G1), and Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes (G1T) and is entered in the Victory Gallop.

Besides the MATCH quartet, a fifth dirt race is scheduled Monday—a 6 1/2-furlong, $60,000 allowance/optional claimer which has attracted a field of 10.

Carding more races over the somewhat forgotten surface has been a project of Jill Byrne, Colonial's vice-presdent of racing operations, and Allison DeLuca, Colonial's racing secretary.

"American racing is a lot of dirt racing and here it always seemed like people forgot that we had a dirt course," said DeLuca. "We made some good dirt races this year and I'm really happy about it. We have a fabulous dirt course. It was almost criminal that people weren't using it. This year I feel like we've made a dent in it. Trainers and riders have said the dirt track was fantastic and it is. This is my third year at Colonial and over that time, people have said horses come here and they get better going over it."

Co-leading trainer Michelle Lovell, based at Colonial for the first time ever, has two horses entered in dirt races Monday—Just Might  in the Chesapeake and Brooklynn's Dabomb  in the allowance. She has been impressed with both the turf and dirt ovals.

"The dirt track is a really nice surface and it's been very fair," she said. "You can win from anywhere—in front, in the middle, and from behind. We've won a couple races on it and I've been pleased with it. It's been very kind to the horses during training too."

Entries: Victory Gallop S.

Colonial Downs, Monday, August 23, 2021, Race 4

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 3:09 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Rock On Luke (KY)	Sheldon Russell	122	Regina Brennan	5/1
2	2Caramel Chip (KY)	Maria Rosana Scaldaferri	118	Maria Ines Mejia	20/1
3	3South Bend (KY)	Junior Alvarado	122	William I. Mott	3/1
4	4Singapore Flash (TX)	Reylu Gutierrez	122	John Alexander Ortiz	6/1
5	5McElmore Avenue (MD)	Horacio Karamanos	122	Mary E. Eppler	7/2
6	6Tybalt (KY)	Kevin Gomez	122	Claudio A. Gonzalez	10/1
7	7Cordmaker (MD)	Victor R. Carrasco	122	Rodney Jenkins	2/1

Entries: Love Sign S.

Colonial Downs, Monday, August 23, 2021, Race 6

• STK
• 1 1/16m
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 4:05 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Saracosa (KY)	Francisco Arrieta	122	Cipriano Contreras	12/1
2	2Final Cut (KY)	Feargal Lynch	122	Victoria H. Oliver	20/1
3	3Bajan Girl (KY)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	122	Rohan Crichton	7/2
4	4Charge Account (KY)	Nik Juarez	122	Kelly J. Breen	8/1
5	5Sosua (KY)	Hector Rafael Diaz, Jr.	122	Arnaud Delacour	9/2
6	6Dream Marie (KY)	Leonel Reyes	124	Matthew J. Williams	3/1
7	7Sweet Sami D (KY)	Victor R. Carrasco	122	Patrick B. McBurney	8/1
8	8Paris Lights (KY)	Junior Alvarado	126	William I. Mott	5/2

Entries: Seeking the Pearl S.

Colonial Downs, Monday, August 23, 2021, Race 7

• STK
• 7f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo's & up Fillies and Mares
• 4:33 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Heiressall (FL)	Miguel Angel Vasquez	122	Teresa M. Pompay	15/1
2	2Tipsy Gal (KY)	Colby J. Hernandez	122	Dallas Stewart	15/1
3	3Finding Fame (KY)	Forest Boyce	122	Claude R. McGaughey III	9/2
4	4Frank's Rockette (KY)	Junior Alvarado	124	William I. Mott	3/5
5	5Kiss the Girl (MD)	Victor R. Carrasco	124	Michael J. Trombetta	15/1
6	6Milenita (KY)	Maria Rosana Scaldaferri	118	Maria Ines Mejia	50/1
7	7Cheetara (CHI)	Horacio Karamanos	122	Ignacio Correas, IV	8/1
8	8Never Enough Time (MD)	Julian Pimentel	124	Michael J. Trombetta	6/1

Entries: Chesapeake S.

Colonial Downs, Monday, August 23, 2021, Race 8

• STK
• 6f
• Dirt
• $100,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 5:01 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Bank (KY)	Feargal Lynch	122	Steven M. Asmussen	12/1
2	2Whereshetoldmetogo (MD)	Sheldon Russell	124	Brittany T. Russell	7/2
3	3Tringale (KY)	Andrew Wolfsont	122	Kimberly A Graci	15/1
4	4Laki (MD)	Horacio Karamanos	124	Damon R. Dilodovico	4/1
5	5Mucho (KY)	Reylu Gutierrez	124	John Alexander Ortiz	3/1
6	6Guest Suite (KY)	Francisco Arrieta	124	Cipriano Contreras	12/1
7	7Long Range Toddy (KY)	Jon Kenton Court	122	Dallas Stewart	8/1
8	8Just Might (KY)	Colby J. Hernandez	124	Michelle Lovell	5/2