In a new twist on the Triple Crown trail, the Virginia Derby, previously a turf race for 3-year-olds held during Colonial Downs’ traditional summer meet, has been rebranded for 2025 and is now a 1 1/8-mile dirt race for 3-year-olds on the road to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve. The $500,000 Virginia Derby, along with the $250,000 Virginia Oaks, will headline a new three-day abbreviated March meet at the New Kent Co., Va., racetrack that runs from Thursday through Saturday, March 13-15.

Colonial Downs is normally known for turf racing, which usually dominates the majority  of the track’s summer season. This March Colonial Downs meet, however, will consist of dirt racing only, with eight to 10 races carded per day for the three days.

Colonial’s dirt layout is somewhat unique for North American racetracks with a 1 ¼-mile circumference oval. This unusual layout will be on full display for the featured Virginia Derby, which will be run at 1 1/8 miles but around only one turn with a long run down the backstretch from a chute. The only other American track where you will find 1 1/8-mile dirt races run around one turn is at Belmont Park. The Virginia Oaks will be run around one turn on dirt at 1 1/16 miles.

If you are a horseplayer that is unfamiliar with Colonial Downs but wants to get some bets down at this new March meet, this is a good time to bone up on your skills. Here are some handicapping tips meant to give you a leg-up based on trends from the results of recent meets in terms of which running styles and/or post positions are preferred in the various races.

All statistics are based on 123 dirt sprints and 40 dirt routes run at Colonial Downs the last four years from 2021-2024.

Colonial Downs dirt track tips

Horses train on Colonial's dirt track. (Coady Media)

On the Colonial Downs main track, sprints have been much more prevalent than routes and there are plenty of dirt sprints on the docket for this brief March meet (Thursday’s card, for example is an eight-race card of all sprints).

In the 123 dirt sprints run at Colonial Downs since 2021, early speed horses racing on or close to the pace as a group did the best, accounting for 59 wins (48% of the dirt sprint wins). Stalkers racing between one and four lengths off the pace as a group also did well with 52 victories, accounting for wins in 40% of the races. The horses at a big disadvantage in these races have been closers coming from four or more lengths off the pace who won only 12 of the 123 dirt sprints for 10%. Post positions in Colonial dirt sprints mostly have played fairly.

In Colonial Downs dirt routes, from a smaller sample size of 40 races run the last four years combined, closers were at nearly as bad of a disadvantage than those competing in the sprints. Closers coming from more than four lengths off the pace won only five of the 40 dirt routes to account for wins in only 13% of the races. Early speed horses on or close to the pace won 13 of the 40 races, accounting for wins in 33% of the races. The best running style in these races belongs to the presser/stalker types racing between one and four lengths off the pace, who have won 22 of Colonial’s 40 dirt routes the past four years to account for wins in 55% of the races.

There is a long run to the first turn in these route races, rendering post position draws mostly irrelevant, However, it should be noted that stalkers do the best from the inside three posts 1-3. Stalkers from those inside posts accounted for 14 wins, which was 35% of the dirt routes run the past four years.

If you are looking for statistics specific to the 1 1/8-mile distance of the Virginia Derby itself, note that there has only been a total of three dirt races run at that distance the last four years combined. All three winners broke from posts 1-3, two of them were stalkers and one went all the way on the front end.

Colonial Downs top trainers

Michael Trombetta (Walter Wlodarczyk/NYRA)

If you are on the lookout for trainers that have done well at Colonial Downs, keep in mind that this meet will be quite different from Colonial’s usual summer meets. Nevertheless, there are select trainers who customarily point horses to Colonial Downs races and some do better there than others. The number one person using this criteria is former leading Colonial Downs trainer Michael Trombetta. He has horses entered in four races on Saturday. Another former leading trainer at Colonial Downs is Michael Stidham, who doesn’t have anyone entered on Saturday but will saddle a couple of horses the other days. Steve Klesaris and Fausto Gutierrez are a pair of lower-profile trainers that have been known to win at high percentages with their Colonial Downs entrants.

An assortment of nationally prominent trainers have also made their marks at Colonial Downs the last few years, and a couple of the more notable ones, Steve Asmussen and Mike Maker, have horses entered. Brad Cox is not normally a trainer you associate with Colonial Downs, but he seems to have targeted this March meet and will have horses entered in four races on Saturday, including two major players in the Virginia Derby.