Colonial Downs opened on Labor Day 1997, the end result of the efforts of Virginia Thoroughbred interests to bring pari-mutuel racing to the Old Dominion. Virginia had witnessed no live racing of consequence since pre-Civil War days, and Colonial Downs’ opening came nine years after the passage of the state’s first pari-mutuel legislation. Colonial Downs was allowed to open OTBs prior to implementing live racing, but the Virginia legislature mandated that the track be opened by Sept. 1, 1997, or else forfeit its OTB licenses.

• A few days after Tale of the Cat ran off with the Grade 2 King’s Bishop Stakes at Saratoga, writer Lucy Acton found a sliver of time in leading trainer and horsemen’s advocate John Forbes’s packed day. Forbes, 50, was well aware that some people who knew him only as the president New Jersey Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Benevolent Association “think that’s all I do.” Working on legislative issues, chairing meetings and addressing horsemen’s countless day-to-day concerns took up a lot of his time. “But it doesn’t really take away from the hours I spend training horses. It takes the time I might spend on anything else.” Forbes purchased Tale of the Cat, a son of Storm Cat, at the 1995 Keeneland September Yearling Sale for $375,000, ranking as the most expensive horse he had ever trained. The colt was 3-for-4 and turned in the most impressive performance of the Saratoga meeting.

• Atlantic City culminated its 30-day live meet Aug. 17. Other than the Caesars International Handicap-G1 on opening day in late June, the track offered no stakes races that year. The Matchmaker-G3 was transferred to Monmouth Park, as was the Jersey Shore Breeders’ Cup Stakes-G3.
  It was the last year the Caesars International (i.e. United Nations) was run at the track. It was won by Influent, who upset Allen Paulson’s odds-on favored entry of Geri and Flag Down.

• After an unassuming 1996 season, it seemed that 7-year-old Awad might have left his glory days behind him. That was until Jim Ryan’s homebred won Saratoga’s Grade 1 Sword Dancer Invitational Handicap and set a course record of 2:23.20 for 11⁄2 miles. Awad pushed himself to the third-leading Mid-Atlantic-bred money-earner of all time, behind Maryland-bred Cigar ($9,999,815) and Virginia-bred Paradise Creek ($3,401,416).
  Awad’s “unassuming” 1996 season saw him fail to win in 11 starts, but he hit the board five times and earned $772,524; in 1997 he earned $523,775. He retired after one start in 1998 having amassed $3,270,131 in 70 starts. His course record of 1:58.69 in winning the 1995 Arlington Million-G1 was never broken, and his Saratoga course record also still stands.