Colonial Downs is a racetrack located in New Kent County, Virginia adjacent to Interstate 64, halfway between Richmond, Virginia and Williamsburg, Virginia, that conducted Thoroughbred flat racing and Standardbred harness racing between 1997 and 2014.The property on which Colonial Downs currently sits could undergo redevelopment after the Virginia Racing Commission denied the track racing dates for 2016.History and informationThe track opened on September 1, 1997. More than 13,000 attended the track on opening day. The track used several unconventional construction and business approaches. They constructed one of the largest tracks in size in the country but built a relatively small clubhouse. They also built OTB's prior to the opening of the track. The track also struck a deal with Maryland to stop Maryland racing during the Colonial Downs thoroughbred meet, although this later ended. The tract of land on which the track is built was obtained through an eminent domain suit brought by the State of Virginia against an African American/Native American family (Tero Johnson) that had owned the majority of the land since 1863.Until 2005, the track was managed by the Maryland Jockey Club under a complicated agreement with Virginia and Maryland regulators and the Maryland-Virginia Racing Circuit. The track was fairly successful and offered good summertime turf racing in the traditionally poor three-year-old turf division. The track ran two legs of the annual Jacobs Investments Grand Slam of Grass. This event consisted of the Colonial Turf Cup and the Virginia Derby from Colonial Downs, the Secretariat Stakes from Arlington Park and the Breeders' Cup Turf.
