The Morning Stretch at Colonial Downs

BY KATHERINE CALOS - Staff Writer
Published: August 26, 2008

Check our photos of the 2007 Colonial Turf Cup

Check our photos of the daily preparations at Colonial Downs

Check our photos
from Colonial Downs in New Kent County.

Check our photos
of the 2008 Strawberry Hill Races at Colonial Downs

Check our photos
of the 2007 Strawberry Hill Races at Colonial Downs

Check our photos
of the 2006 Strawberry Hill Races at Colonial Downs

Check our photos
for highlights of the Strawberry Hill Races

At 6 a.m. at Colonial Downs, every horse is a winner:

-The dappled gray that slows to a walk while his rider banters with friends at the track kitchen;
-The massive chestnut that looks longingly at the turf where he’d prefer to run;
-The slender youngster that chafes at being ponied around the track;
-The galloping bay that seems dwarfed by his exercise rider standing in the stirrups;
-The chestnut filly that breezes through a workout.

Later on, when the crowds cheer, only one horse will take first place, but at dawn every horse has an equal opportunity.

If you’re a fan of racetracks or horses, it’s an opportunity you might want to share. From 6 to 10 a.m. when the track is open for training, the public is allowed to watch from the track kitchen on the backside.

In the kitchen, Miguel Paz and Lupe Blanco cook big breakfasts to order: two eggs, home fries and toast for $2.50; add ham, bacon or sausage for $1; get a large coffee for $1.25. While you’re waiting for your order, a rider wearing his helmet and padded vest may be getting his own coffee beside you.

Take your food to the patio and you’ll have an unbridled view of the gap, where horses enter the track.

The pounding of hoofs on the dirt track and the rhythmic blow of horses at a gallop are about the only sounds you’ll hear. There’s no announcer, no cheering, nothing to spook the horses.

The summer Thoroughbred meet continues through Wednesday, giving you a few more chances to see dawn at Colonial Downs. You can check in again in the fall when harness racing runs from Sept. 12 through Nov. 5.

If you’re lucky, you’ll see some of the track’s big names at work.

When I took in a morning workout early in the summer season, Ferris Allen, the trainer whose 25 wins in a season set a track record, was sharing a picnic table with Hamilton Smith, another winning trainer who had 42 horses at the track.

Competitive camaraderie came though in a joking complaint to Smith. “You had to beat me yesterday, Hammy, my horse, my namesake, my Lou,” said the owner of Count on Lou, who came in second to Smith’s Mr. Keeper.

Trainer Jill Cathey was trying a new rider that morning on Cobbley’s Jamboree, a Virginia-bred horse who prefers running on grass. Fortunately, Colonial Downs has some of the best turf tracks in the nation for races; unfortunately, horses do their training on the dirt track. “I can’t even get him to breeze on the dirt,” Cathey said, “but put that sucker on the turf, he stretches out and rocks it.”

Jockey Katie Crews, a newcomer to the track this season, had a good inaugural workout on the big boy (shoe size 8).

“He’s a big sweetie,” she said. “It’s like galloping an elephant.”

Crews, 20, was introduced to racing at Colonial Downs when she worked on a Maryland farm breaking Thoroughbreds.

“I came to the track here and fell in love with it,” she said. She looked at the jockeys and thought “That’s cool. That’s what I want to do.”

Last year she started racing, broke a leg when a horse flipped on her in the starting gate, recuperated, and came back strong this year. One day in the spring, she rode 12 races in Pimlico, Md., and Charleston, W.Va., winning four of them. Coming to New Kent is like a vacation in comparison, because she’s not traveling between racetracks.

It’s a different kind of break for Stephanie Nixon, owner of Horseshoe Hill Stables in Ashland. She’d left home at 4 a.m. to keep track of eight horses at Colonial Downs, the only place she races consistently. The summer Thoroughbred season fits neatly into a niche between a springtime spent breaking young horses and a fall dedicated to breeding.

“This is my favorite time of the morning,” Nixon said. “You get to see the horses, all of them. It’s nice and peaceful. I love the races, but I also love this.”

Racing, she said, has its own appeal.

“When you have a horse that wins, I can’t explain it, it’s the biggest rush you’ll ever feel. “It’s a great sport.”

IF YOU GO

Getting there: Colonial Downs is about 25 miles east of Richmond on Interstate 64. Take Exit 214, turn right at the bottom of the ramp and take a quick left on Colonial Downs Parkway at the Kentlands sign. The main entrance is a quarter-mile on the left. To get to the track kitchen, continue to the end of Colonial Downs Parkway and turn left.

Cost: General admission costs $2 on race days. Jockey Club admission is $10, and Turf Club admission is $15.

Details: http://www.colonialdowns.com or (804) 966-7223