Virginia Derby by the numbers

Gio Ponti takes the 2008 Virginia Derby. Photo by Jeff Coady, Coady Photography.

What are the Virginia Derby’s significant digits?

We break it down: Virginia Derby by the numbers…

1- Number of horses who have never run on turf entered in this year’s Virginia Derby. Chilly in Charge (12-1) has won two of six career starts, including a facile score in the Crowd Pleaser Stakes in an off-the-turf contest two back at Parx Racing. Horacio Karamanos, who won more big races than any other rider in the last iteration of Colonial, has the mount for Miguel Vera.

2 – Number of tracks at which the Virginia Derby has been contested: The race began its life at Colonial Downs in 1998 and was contested there annually until the old Colonial’s demise following the 2013 season. It then was held at Laurel Park three times in the ensuing five years but has not been run since 2017, when it was won by Just Howard.

1 – Number of trainers in this year’s race with a prior win in the Virginia/Commonwealth Derby. Graham Motion won the most recent running of this event, at Laurel Park in 2017.

3 – Most wins by a trainer: Dale Romans owns three wins, in 2004 with Kitten’s Joy; 2010 with Paddy O’Prado; and 2012 with Silver Max. Bill Mott also has three wins: 2002 (Orchard Park), 2003 (Silver Tree), and 2006 (Go Between).

3 – Most wins by a jockey: Edgar Prado won three straight from 2002 to 2004, scoring on Mott’s first two winners and completing the hat trick with Romans’ Kitten’s Joy in 2004. Garrett Gomez is second with two wins.

104 – Average winning Equibase speed figure in the Virginia Derby. The highest Equibase fig recorded was Kitten’s Joy’s 112.

9 – Number of furlongs in Saturday’s Virginia Derby. Up through 2013, it was typically contested at 1 ¼ miles – 10 furlongs.

37 – Price of the longest-shot Virginia Derby winner. Red Giant was 37-1 when he won in 2007. Virginia-bred One Go All Go was 35-1 when he won in 2015

1 – Virginia-breds to win the Virginia Derby.

6 – Favorites to win the Virginia Derby.

0.60 – Price of shortest-priced Virginia Derby winner. Paddy O’Prado was 3-5 when he won it in 2010, a record nearly matched two years later by Silver Max, who was 9-10.

10 – Number of horses to win the Virginia Derby who became millionaires in their career. That list is topped by Gio Ponti (2008), who earned over $6.1 million, and English Channel (2005), who earned some $5.3 million.

3 – Number of horses trained by Graham Motion entered in today’s race. That number includes morning line favorite English Bee (5-2), winner of the Jimmy Murphy Stakes at Pimlico three back.

2 – Number of jockeys in today’s race with prior Virginia Derby wins: Feargal Lynch, winner of the 2017 edition aboard Just Howard, will ride Solidify (10-1) for Motion. Horacio Karamanos, who scored in 2007 aboard Red Giant, is on Chilly in Charge.

1 – Horses in this Virginia Derby sired by a Virginia Derby winner. English Bee is a son of 2005 winner English Channel.

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