Rare ‘double dead heat’ at Colonial Downs featured ties for first and third in same race

A photo finish didn’t help decide the winner — or the third-place finisher — in a rare result at Colonial Downs racetrack in New Kent on Friday.

The rare finish was just the 15th “double dead heat” in the same race since 1990 — a span that includes more than 2 million horse races in North America, according to a release from the track.

Dead heats occur a few times per year around the world, but a double dead heat is extraordinarily rare, especially since the introduction of photo-finish technology.

“I’ve been in the racing business for more than 20 years and this was definitely a first for me,” said Frank Hopf, Senior Director of Racing at Colonial Downs. “It just speaks to the kind of excitement and competition fans will find on every race day here at Colonial.”

On Friday, the first race was a $70,000 “maiden special,” and Magic Wallet, ridden by Victor Carrasco, and Sometime (Axel Concepcion) each finished in 1 minute, 4.59 seconds to tie for first place. Birdy Whisper (Johan Rosado) and Smols (Gavin Ashton) finished in 1:06:34 to tie for “show,” third place.

Worth noting: Birdy Whisper and Smols are stablemates owned and trained by Carlos Munoz of CM Thoroughbreds.

The result produced a complicated outcome for bettors. There were payouts for two winners, two different exacta results (picking first and second), four different trifecta results (picking first, second, and third), and four different superfecta results (picking first, second, third and fourth).

Colonial Downs is hosting its Festival of Racing on Aug. 9 — billed in a release as “the biggest day of racing in Virginia history with more than $2.5 million in prize money up for grabs.”

Jami Frankenberry, jami.frankenberry@pilotonline.com

Originally Published: July 28, 2025 at 2:18 PM EDT