🏇Colonial Downs// Sat., Aug. 9, 2025
- Fink
- Aug 9
- 4 min read

Happy Saturday & National Bowling Day! 🎳
We are back in the saddle and have a great day of racing for you with two tracks featured today, one with a full card, and one with an opportunity to cash a nice ticket around a Breeders' Cup Qualifier. First up, we head to New Kent County, Virginia to play the full card from Colonial Downs. This is a track that we do not visit often but when we do it is always a great day of racing. We have 12 total races, seven stakes, but sadly no Breeders' Cup win and in race. The featured race comes in the 11th race, the $1M Arlington Mile. This is a Grade 1 route on the turf that features a former Kentucky Derby Winner, Mystik Dan. This will be his first turf race of his career, so there will be a lot of eyes on this one to see how he performs. While we typically follow the more well known races, we could not pass up the opportunity to cap a card with so many stakes races and so much upside. The weather in Virginia is amazing with highs in the low 80s and clouds from time to time. The track will be fast and the turf will be firm for the card today.
About two thirds of the way through this card we have the late pick five kicking off at Saratoga in race eight. In this sequence we do have a Breeders' Cup win and in race meaning this pool could be massive. The featured race comes in the 10th, the Sword Dance stakes presented by Resorts World. THis one will be a long one at 1.5 miles on the inner turf with a purse of $750k. The winner earns their spot in the Longines Turf at the Breeders' Cup in November. We have great weather in New York today with highs in the upper 80s and mostly sunny skies. The track is fast and turf is firm so get those pick 5 tickets in to try and cash the big one today!
The Arlington Million Stakes, first run in 1981 at Arlington Park in Illinois, was a groundbreaking event as the first Thoroughbred race to offer a $1 million purse. Designed to attract top international turf horses, the 1¼-mile race quickly gained prestige, with John Henry’s dramatic win in the inaugural running becoming an iconic moment in racing history. Over the decades, it drew many of the world’s best runners and became the signature event of Arlington Park’s summer meet. Following Arlington’s closure in 2021, the race was moved to Churchill Downs. After
Churchill Downs Incorporated (CDI) acquired Colonial Downs in 2023, they made the New Kent, Virginia, track the new home of the Arlington Million Stakes.
Need help pickin' winners? We've got you covered! Our (Always Free) #LundinLine's Top Picks and Best Bets are below in this post. We use them to help narrow the field while putting our tickets together. The first post will be here soon, so don't be late - It's time to get #InTheMoney! 💰🤑
Colonial Downs // Sat., Aug. 9th, 2025
🏇🏾 1st Post @ 12:00 (EDT) / 9:00 (PDT)
R1: 9-1-2-4
R2: 9-5-8-2
R3: 1-2-5-6
R4: 2⭑-1-6-5
R5Ⓢ: 5-8-1-2
R6Ⓢ: 4-1-9-3
R7Ⓢ: 2-4-8-5
R8Ⓢ: 12-4-1-9
Late Pick 5 @ Saratoga / Post @ 4:30 EDT - See picks below
R9Ⓢ: 8-5-2-3
R10Ⓢ: 4-2-3
🏇R11Ⓢ: Boxed Exacta: 5-8
Mr. Fink: 5-8-3-6
Mr. W: 8-5-6-1
R12: 8-5-3-10
🏇= Featured Race(s)
⭑Best Bet(s)
R4: Street Earnings (#2)
Ⓢtakes Race(s)
R5: 100K Petramalo Mile S.
R6: 100K Tyson Gilpin S.
R7: 150K Andy Guest S.
R8: 100K Van Clief S.
R9: 500K Secretariat S. (G2T)
R10: 500K Beverly D. S. (G2T)
🏇R11: 1 Mil. Arlington Million S. (G1T)
1 1/4 Miles on the Outer Turf for 3 Yr. Olds & Up
Late Pick 5 @ Saratoga
(4:31 EDT / 1:31 PDT)
R8: 8-4-6-7
R9Ⓢ: 1-2-5
🏇R10Ⓢ/BC:
Win: Far Bridge (#6) / Boxed Trifecta: 1-5-6
Mr. Fink: 6-1-5-9
Mr. W.: 6-5-1-8
R11: 8-7-4-3
R12: 7-5-2-10
Ⓢtakes Races
R9: 500K Saratoga Oaks
🏇R10: 750K Sword Dance
1/2 Miles on Turf for 4 Yr. Olds & Up
BC Div: Longines Turf
The Sword Dancer Stakes, inaugurated in 1975, is a prestigious Grade I turf race held annually at Saratoga Race Course in New York. Named in honor of Sword Dancer, the 1959 Horse of the Year and a Hall of Fame inductee, the race was contested initially on dirt before being permanently moved to turf in 1978. Run at 1½ miles, it attracts top older turf horses from around the country and often serves as a key prep for the Breeders’ Cup Turf. Over the years, it has been won by champions such as Theatrical, Awad, and Flintshire, solidifying its reputation as one of America’s premier long-distance grass races.

Photo from our friends @ National Day Calendar
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-TSL
/ As always, please forgive any typos and grammatical errors