First run in 1998, the Virginia Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles on turf. The race took brief hiatuses in 2014 and 2018 but returned again in 2019 with the reopening of Colonial Downs, where it had run from 1998 to 2013. The race has quite the roll of honor with champions Kitten's Joy, English Channel, and Gio Ponti and Grade 1 winner Go Between, Red Giant, Silver Max and Paddy O'Prado winning the race in its brief history.
First run in 1998, the Virginia Derby is run at 1 1/8 miles on turf. The race took brief hiatuses in 2014 and 2018 but returned again in 2019 with the reopening of Colonial Downs, where it had run from 1998 to 2013. The race has quite the roll of honor with champions Kitten's Joy, English Channel, and Gio Ponti and Grade 1 winner Go Between, Red Giant, Silver Max and Paddy O'Prado winning the race in its brief history.