ECLIPSE WINNER CONCEPCION JOINS COLONIAL DOWNS COLONY
Posted on July 8th, 2025
NEW KENT, Va. (July 8, 2025) – On Opening Day, Eclipse Award winning jockey Axel Concepcion will make his first appearance at Colonial Downs, as the 20-year-old has joined the local riding colony for the 2025 41-day summer session. Concepcion, who won the Eclipse as the nation’s top apprentice in 2023, has 18 mounts over opening week.
“It feels great to be here,” Concepcion said. “I want to take advantage of these opportunities that the trainers are giving me. My goal is to win as many races as I can and to try to win a title.”
As an apprentice, Concepcion won the Laurel Park riding title. His familiarity with the Maryland jockey colony and connections puts him in a good position to have success at Colonial.
“I know a lot of these riders from my first years based in the Mid-Atlantic,” Concepcion said. “I rode not just at Laurel but also Charles Town, Delaware Park, and Monmouth. There are so many good riders here. I am very blessed to be able to compete with them. You need to know all the riders who you are in the race with, you need to know all the horses, and how all that comes together to win a race.”
Concepcion began the year at Fair Grounds, where in his first meet there he finished eighth in the standings with 32 wins. After riding at Churchill Downs for the first month of the Spring meet, Concepcion followed the opportunities his agent Liz Morris lined up for him at Monmouth Park. The Puerto Rican native made the most of them, winning four stakes races including the Pegasus aboard Bracket Buster for trainer Vicki Oliver, who has stalls at Colonial for the first time.
“We hope to ride for Oliver, as well as Mike Tomilson, Keith Desormeaux, and others,” Morris said. “We’ll also be looking to rekindle some of Axel’s East Coast connections from when he was leading apprentice, as well as continue success with other Kentucky trainers who will be shipping in.”
In his third year of riding in the U.S., Concepcion has won with 16% of his mounts, totaling 329 wins with almost $14 million in earnings.
“Axel is a talented up-and-coming rider,” Morris said. “He has an innate ability to put a horse in a great position to win a race. I’ve seen it time and time again now since having his book. Combined with being studious and a strong finisher, he really has all the attributes to ride at any track or with any colony when given the opportunity.”
Last year, newcomer Ben Curtis was able to win the local riding title in his first meet. Hungry to prove himself and grateful for every opportunity he is given, Concepcion appears poised to attempt to do the same.
Tickets for the entire meet can be purchased online at www.colonialdowns.com.
Colonial’s races will be prominently featured on FanDuel TV all season long. Additionally, FanDuel TV will be on-site for coverage of the Festival of Racing on August 9.
Racing fans who can’t make it to Colonial can wager at any of the Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums throughout the state, The Rose Gaming Resort in Dumfries or VA-Horseplay locations in Chesapeake and Henrico. Bettors also can wager on racing from ColonialDowns via www.TwinSpires.com, the official advance-deposit wagering service for Churchill Downs Incorporated and its family of racetracks. TwinSpires.com boasts an improved wagering experience and mobile app combining the latest technology with the ability to wager on virtually every quarter, harness and thoroughbred horse race from venues around the globe. TwinSpires.com also offers access to unmatched insight and analysis from horse racing experts, handicappers, insiders, educators and Bloodstock Research Information Services (Brisnet).
About Colonial Downs
Colonial Downs Racetrack, in New Kent, Virginia, hosts live thoroughbred racing on two nationally renowned surfaces – the Secretariat Turf Course, the widest turf course in North America at 180 feet wide and on a 1 1/4-mile dirt track. The Colonial Downs Group, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates Rosie’s Gaming Emporiums® throughout the commonwealth, which offer innovative historic horseracing (HHR) gaming and full card simulcasting as well as Rosie’s Game Room in Collinsville, and The Rose Gaming Resort® in Dumfries which offers 1,650 HHR gaming terminals, full-card simulcasting, eight bars and restaurants and more than 100 hotel rooms.
