The Future Of Colonial Downs?
 

Does anyone here know the latest?

It would be a tragedy if it suffers the same fate as Bay Meadows and Hollywood Park.

The latest article on Colonial from Google News was from the Richmond paper three weeks ago There is no TB racing in Virginia this year and the VA Equine Assn. are planning 2017 dates for a place called Morven Park in Leesburg VA which is mostly used for steeplechase racing.Colonial is not scheduled for any dates.

http://www.richmond.com/business/loc...e6dfedf0a.html

Thanks for the link - and if they ever do resume racing at Colonial Downs, the turf course needs to be reconfigured. Not having any available distances between 5 1/2 furlongs and 1 mile on turf is totally inexcusable.

That is actually pretty common on a lot of turf ovals is it not?

Just because it's common doesn't mean it's good.

There is a reason it is common though. If you are going to put a turf track inside the dirt track you are going to have limitations. With how important turf racing was at Colonial maybe they should have reversed the tracks like Woodbine, but it is way too late for that now.

Here's how you do it with a 1/14-mile dirt track, as Colonial Downs has:

Put a 120-foot-wide main turf course inside the main track. Allowing for 25 feet between the inner rail on the dirt and the outside fence on the turf, this produces a main turf course of 1 1/16 miles plus 110 feet with the rail on the turf course at 0 feet (this assumes a 1,320-foot stretch and 330 feet from the finish line to the first turn on the dirt). Then you add an inner turf course that uses the same stretch as the main turf course, with separate turns and a separate backstretch, the length of the stretch from the last turn to the finish line being 330 feet shorter than on the main turf course, and the distance from the finish line to the first turn being 130 feet shorter than on the main turf course. This creates a 6 1/2-furlong inner turf course with the exact same specifications as the (dirt) track at Assiniboia Downs - 955-foot turns with the rail at 0 feet. A temporary diagonal chute, used as necessary, similar to Monmouth Park's 5 1/2-furlong turf chute (and Hollywood Park's 6-furlong turf chute) would allow 7-furlong turf races on the main turf course, and 7 1/2 furlongs would be run on the inner turf course - therefore, no distance gaps on turf at all.

DelMar?

And this earlier article from Paulick, quoting a Jacobs press release, suggests we're more likely to tee off on that property than ever again wager on races there:

http://www.paulickreport.com/news/th...r-golf-course/

Odds line looks pretty long on it ever coming back.

I used to play Colonial a lot in the past. Kept putting off taking a trip out there to check it out. Guess I missed out.

I don't know if you've ever been to Morven Park but there is no way that place can have flat races. They would have to dig up a ton of dirt to make a flat racing surface. This is not going to happen.

Kentucky Downs isn't exactly flat and their short meet each year works quite well. A unique course could draw some attention from people. Granted, I couldn't see Virginia offering the inflated purses that are available at KD, but would they be able to put together something?

It’s a real shame… Colonial Downs was one of my favorite tracks to play & visit. Loved the small boutique track geared towards turf racing. (imho.. we need more like CD in the States)

Thankfully! None of my relatives in Virginia have made the connection that I haven’t made the trek out to visit from Seattle since the track closed down. ;)

We will find out soon enough.

Are you saying they might do that? (put dirt in?)