Racing in the Old Dominion

Two thoroughbreds dance along a green ridge as I leave my home in King William County for the Virginia Derby on a gray Saturday morning in Central Virginia. Though Kentucky may be synonymous with thoroughbreds, I was raised just a stone’s throw from the Meadow Stables, where Secretariat was bred and raised. Virginians take immense pride in their deep ties to horse racing, and their role in shaping America’s storied racing tradition is undeniable.

It’s a madhouse inside Rosie’s Casino and Emporium in New Kent. A record-breaking crowd of more than 8,000 people have gathered at the Colonial Downs racetrack this weekend to witness one of the most anticipated horse races in Virginia this century—the running of the 27th Virginia Derby. This year’s event holds even greater significance as the winner will earn an automatic spot in May’s prestigious Kentucky Derby.

With so much on the line, top trainers from Bob Baffert to D. Wayne Lukas have made the trip just east of Richmond with their eyes on winning a qualification into the biggest event in all of horse racing—the 151st Kentucky Derby set for May 3, 2025. Baffert’s Getaway Car is the heavy favorite. American Promise, a massive horse at almost 17 hands, is here too. The Virginia-born Omaha Omaha is also expected to make his case for his inclusion in this year’s Kentucky Derby.

The sun breaks through scattered clouds as an ’80s cover band rocks near the dirt track. I make my way inside where women, dressed in their floral finest, parade around in colorful hats of every shape and size. The men, too, are dressed sharply in striped blazers and khaki pants. The cold, relentless grip of winter has officially given way to the promise of new spring, and there’s an unmistakable energy in the air—the buzz of a racetrack.

“They used to let us come out on the track and tailgate for July 4th all on the dirt,” roars a chain-smoking lady with a box haircut and a “kiss me I’m Irish sticker” emblazoned across her white blazer. “That’s before the whole world went crazy!” 

Fat, toothless white men sporting Redskins polos loiter around the beverage stand as chiseled black fellas ripping cigars below “no smoking” signs mingle on the grandstand. My Virginia. “Thus to tyrants” etc. Four centuries in the making. On days like this, it’s hard to imagine being anything besides a proud son of the Blue Ridge. 

Gov. Glenn Youngkin appears out of nowhere. He’s a giant of a man. It’s a big day for the Republican statesman who played a role in securing this leg of the Kentucky Derby prep circuit. The crowd parts as he strides with first lady Suzanne Youngkin through a mass of people just east of the paddock moments before the start of the Virginia Oaks, the eighth race of the day and the most important after the main event. Youngkin’s wife wears a floral dress with purple, green and yellow horses. She smiles big for the cameras. The years of Terry Mcauliffe are long gone now and Virginia’s never been better for it. 

“They’re going to make so much f*cking money here today,” remarks a staffer manning one of the many wager stalls on the perimeter of the race track. There are hundreds of people lined up at each and every stall, eager to place their bets on the horse or horses they believe will cross the finish line in front.

I haven’t gambled in over a year, but here, amid the bazaar I can’t help but throw $20 down on the 10–1 American Promise. If this truly is Trump’s golden age, perhaps it can start for me here this Saturday on the backwoods trail to Kentucky. 

The bugles call over the smell of manure, sacrifice, and hope. If God made one small corner of this earth it was Virginia in spring. Everything that is great about our country is here—its people, rich and poor and in between. The faces of the future in their beige Carhartt jackets hang from their father’s shoulders. 

I make my way to the paddock where horses are mingling ahead of the Oaks. There, I spoke with a septuagenarian from Pennsylvania who ran his own stable for many years. The old man, who had stood in that same spot since 8am, watching all the horses pass, whimsically recalls his missed chance to stud a mare with Kentucky Derby winner Real Quiet after Quiet was kicked “in the gonads.”

It’s amazing when you speak to someone who really knows horses. The glint in their eyes. The misses. So many misses. A life of horseracing. The romance and poetry. The pain. So much pain. We shake hands and as I turn for the grandstand he grabs me by the shoulder—“I like Fondly in the Oaks.” Like a man possessed, I wheel to the wager hall to lay a crisp $5 bill on the 8–5 favorite Fondly. Why not—have a hunch. 

The Oaks gets off without a hitch as thousands of fans push toward the ring. Down the back stretch they speed and sure enough, the #8 horse Fondly wallops the field. The old man hanging over the fence line at the paddock was right, and I’m $30 richer for it. 

The big race is an hour to post and Youngkin is speaking with reporters.

“If you win, you’re in here today,” Youngkin says. “This is going to be a marquee race. This is why we have a sell out crowd on a perfect spring day in the Commonwealth of Virginia. We have a Virginia horse, Omaha Omaha, and I think Omaha Omaha is about to remind everybody that Virginia horses win in Virginia.” 

As the horses take the track, a voice echoes from speakers on high. Baffert’s Getaway Car is expected to lead the pack and he breaks well from the starting gate. The 1⅛-mile race on dirt at Colonial Downs features a long back stretch, a single turn, and then the final stretch. As the horses turn for home, the sound of the crowd is deafening. The 3-year-old colt American Promise takes charge and stretches his big legs out leaving the field in the dust. By the finish line, it’s not even close—American Promise wins by 7¾ lengths with a track record time of 1:46.41. Getaway Car grabs second, and Youngkin’s pick, Omaha Omaha, the local fan favorite, finishes a strong third. 

I cash my lucky ticket on American Promise, the fourth-crop sire of the former Kentucky Derby winner Justify. The big horse, bred in Kentucky, is headed home to Louisville to strut his stuff in May’s big race. As I turn past the fencing to head for the parking lot, I catch a view of Youngkin presenting the Derby trophy to jockey Nik Juarez. Everyone is all smiles. On the drive home, it is announced that the event took in a Virginia Derby Day record of $6,540,489. A huge day for Colonial Downs and the event staff in New Kent County. 

“I think Virginia has contributed so much to racing and the equestrian industry that we should have more of it here,” Youngkin said in comments following Saturday’s races. “The future for thoroughbred racing in Virginia has never been brighter, and this opportunity allows us to shine on horse racing’s biggest stage.”