Saturday’s $500,000 Virginia Derby at Colonial Downs is one of the season’s richest and most important races on turf for the sophomore set. It will be part of six consecutive stakes races on an 11-race card, and the featured event is slated to begin at 6:20 pm ET. The final card of the 2023 Colonial Downs season kicks off at 1:30 pm ET.
Let’s Meet the Contenders for the Virginia Derby:
#1-Freedom Trail (Antonio Gallarado // John Terranova)
Since starting his career 2-for-2, he’s lost 5 straight and will race without blinkers for the first time as trainer Terranova tries to shake things up. Colonial will be his seventh straight change of venue. Jockey Gallardo is leading the Colonial Downs standings heading into the final weekend.
#2-Gigante (Cristian Torres // Steve Asmussen)
Two-time local stakes winner of the 2022 Kitten’s Joy and 2023 Grade 2 Secretariat, the latter in a 22-1 upset on the Arlington Million Day program. Colt has a versatile running style winning on the lead and from off the pace. Jockey Torres was second this summer in the Ellis Park standings after winning the Oaklawn title.
#3-Runaway Storm (C.J. Hernandez // Ethan West)
Lightly raced gelding makes his stakes debut in his fourth lifetime start, winning grass routes at Laurel and Horseshoe Indianapolis to date. Led every step of his last two starts and should be part of the early pace in a bid to take them all the way.
#4-Salute the Stars (Sheldon Russell // Brad Cox)
Candy Ride colt makes his first bid no grass since a maiden win at Ellis Park 13 months ago. He’s since gone on top dirt victories at Churchill and Monmouth, the latter a rallying score in the Pegasus Stakes. He’ll look to bounce back from a seventh-place finish in the Grade 1 Haskell on dirt, a race that last week produced the 1-2 finishers in Del Mar’s Pacific Classic, Arabian Knight and Geaux Rocket Ride.
#5-Dataman (Jorge Ruiz // Graham Motion)
Tapit colt exits back-to-back wins at Delaware and Laurel, most recently at 12-1 upset in the Bald Eagle Derby. Perfect in two starts since teaming with jockey Ruiz. Half-brother to multiple stakes-winning turf filly Alda, who also competed for trainer Motion, a barn that has won the Virginia Derby three times (2017, 2019, 2021).
#6-Mondego (Trevor McCarthy // Christophe Clement)
British-bred has run exclusively in America, most notably a 41-1 third-place finish in the Grade 1 Belmont Invitational Derby. Has run his best races on firmer turf and will be looking to improve off a disappointment on soft going at Saratoga. Clement won this race in 2008 with the eventual champion Gio Ponti.
#7-Activist Investing (Feargal Lynch // Chad Brown)
Another domestically raced British-bred, this Kingman colt rides a two-race winning streak into his stakes unveiling. Just one start this year, winning a similar 1-1/8 miles grass test at Saratoga. Trainer Brown won the 2016 Virginia Derby with Deeply Undervalued. Lynch added the 2017 Virginia Derby to his ledger aboard Just Howard.
#8-Laurel Valley (Horacio Karamanos // Mike Maker)
Took six starts to break his maiden, breaking through Aug. 23 in wire-to-wire fashion at Saratoga. That was his first turf route and perhaps found his groove against fellow New York-breds. Takes a major step up in class, but attracts Colonial’s all-time leading jockey Karamanos.
#9-Integration (Kendrick Carmouche // Shug McGaughey)
The most lightly raced member of the Virginia Derby field exits a blowout debut win August 12 at Colonial Downs. The $700,000 son of Quality Road romped by 6-1/2 lengths over 1-1/16 miles in his only venture to date. High-class son of Harmonize, a turf filly who won the Jessamine at 2, Del Mar Oaks at 3 and Glens Falls at age 4. McGaughey won this race a dozen years ago with Air Support.
#10-Ari Gold (Jose Ortiz // Todd Pletcher)
Led nearly every step vs. Dataman in Laurel’s Bald Eagle Derby before succumbing by three-quarters of a length at the wire. His prior two victories from six starts came wire-to-wire, so expect jockey Ortiz to have him in the mix from the outset. Ortiz won this race two years ago, Pletcher last season (his third career Virginia Derby score).
#11-Program Trading (Flavien Prat // Chad Brown)
The field’s second of two unbeatens (joining Integration), he’s also the most accomplished as winner of the Grade 1 Saratoga Invitational Derby. British-bred son of Lope de Vega looks for four wins in a row and has handled various surfaces at Monmouth, Belmont and Saratoga of varying degrees of firmness. Has tactical speed to press-and-pounce.
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