8News talks with Colonial Downs about the upcoming Virginia Derby

NEW KENT COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- 8News got a visit from a special guest on Tuesday morning to talk about what to expect for the upcoming Virginia Derby being held at Colonial Downs Racetrack in mid-March.

The 2025 Virginia Derby will be held at Colonial Downs, located at 10515 Colonial Downs Parkway in New Kent on Saturday, March 15 with gates opening at 10:30 a.m. and the actual event beginning at noon.

The race is the state's first-ever Kentucky Derby qualifier race. According to Colonial Downs, the winning horse will secure a spot in the field for the 151st Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.

To learn more about the derby, 8News Anchor Delaney Hall spoke with Frank Hopf, Senior Director of Racing Operations at Colonial Downs, about what attendees can expect -- and it's not just horse racing.

"We'll have some great horses here from around the country but in addition to that we're going to have some military presentations along with The Deloreans -- an 80s cover band that will be playing in between races throughout the day," Hopf said.

PHOTOS: Colonial Downs readies track for Virginia Derby

While Virginia Derby is one of the bigger events at Colonial Downs, they have several other plans for the rest of the year.

"We'll go back to our traditional meets starting on July 9 and that will go through September 13," Hopf said. "We actually have expanded our race meets, so we'll have 41 days of racing this summer -- tickets for that will start going on sale probably in April."

Tickets for the derby are $5 and they must be purchased prior to the event. For more information about tickets, seating and the raceway's safety policies, visit the Colonial Downs website.