The same brutal heat that spurred Colonial Downs to cancel its opening day card Monday is causing it to delay its Tuesday evening card, as well. Fortunately, this delay is only for an hour.

Colonial will kick off its 18-day 2020 stand with a nine race card this evening, beginning at 6:30 p.m. The featured event on the card is the fourth race, the $40,000 Hansel Stakes. The Hansel, a 5 1/2-furlong dirt race for Virginia-bred, -sired, or -certified two-year-olds, has drawn a field of eight, with the Mike Trombetta trainee Sky’s Not Falling, a first-out winner at Delaware Park, the 8-5 favorite.

The Hansel is one of three Virginia-restricted stakes set to highlight the opening two days of racing in New Kent. Wednesday features the Edward P. Evans Stakes and the Camptown Stakes.

On Monday, with temperatures set to hit 97 degrees — and feel like 105 — Colonial spiked the 11-race program which would have kicked off the meet. “The safety & welfare of horses & humans are always the priority,” Colonial VP-Racing Jill Bryne wrote on Twitter.

Tuesday is projected to be equally hot early in the day but to cool off as the evening wears on. While at 5:00 p.m., New Kent is scheduled to experience temps of 95 degrees (feeling like 104), by 7:00 p.m., the temperature is projected to have fallen by 10 degrees.

Once again this year, Nick’s Picks, featuring handicapping, analysis, and notes from Nick Hahn and Derby Bill Watson, returns to The Racing Biz.