2026 Arlington Million Stakes Preview at Colonial Downs

Key Takeaways:

• The Arlington Million brings together proven Grade 1 turf talent. A competitive field mixes defending winner Fort Washington, consistent veterans, and rising stars over 1¼ miles.
• Distance and race shape are the key handicapping angles. Several contenders are stretching out or cutting back, while a modest pace could favor tactical runners.
• Integration: His consistent Grade 1 form and tactical positioning make him a strong threat if he gets a better-timed trip than last year.
• Test Score: The Manhattan runner-up enters in sharp form and looks capable of improving at 1¼ miles after finishing strongly in his latest start.
• Mercante: His forward running style and pedigree suit the distance, giving him upset potential at an appealing price if he gets a favorable trip.

The Colonial Downs summer meet reaches its apex Saturday, August 1, with Arlington Million day. Formerly the flagship day at Arlington International Racecourse outside of Chicago, since the track’s closure the Arlington Million (G1), Beverly D. Stakes (G2), and Secretariat Stakes (G2) have found a new home in Virginia at Colonial Downs.

The Arlington Million, the day’s Grade 1 feature, is a 1 ¼-mile grass race that drew a field of eight. The morning-line favorite is Burnham Square, who has emerged as the country’s best 1 ½-mile turf horse this year, but who is trying to prove that he is also top class going a little shorter. He faces a competitive field including 2025 Arlington Million winner Fort Washington; Integration, who has hit the board in the last two editions of the Arlington Million; and Test Score, who stretches out after a narrow miss in the Manhattan (G1) last out at Saratoga.

The race, inaugurated in 1981 at Arlington Park in Illinois as the Arlington Million Invitational Stakes, was the first Thoroughbred race with a million-dollar purse. Long a fixture of the American turf season and the linchpin of the Arlington International Festival of Racing, the race’s history is a rocky one, but it has continued to survive.

The race was run at Woodbine in 1988 due to track construction, and wasn’t run at all in 1998 or 1999 during a two-year shutdown at Arlington. It wasn’t run in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic, and then was run as the $600,000 Mr. D. Stakes in 2021, the final year that Arlington International Racecourse was open. After Arlington was shuttered, the race spent a year at Churchill Downs before being moved to its current home of Colonial Downs. 2026 marks its third year in Virginia.

Even amid that backdrop, the list of notable winners marks it as one of the most important turf races in American history. The great John Henry won the first edition of the race, held in 1981, and came back to win in 1984. Manila, the 1986 Breeders’ Cup Turf winner, went on to win the Arlington Million the next year. Bricks and Mortar, whose undefeated 2019 campaign included victories in the Arlington Million and the Breeders’ Cup Turf, earned Horse of the Year honors.

2026 Arlington Million Information

• Race Date: Saturday, August 1
• Track: Colonial Downs
• Post Time: 5:52 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time
• Distance: 1 ¼ miles on the turf
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds and up
• Where to Watch: FanDuel Racing
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Arlington Million Draw and Odds

This is the field for the 2026 Arlington Million, including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds for each runner.

Arlington Million Prep Race Results

The eight horses in the Arlington Million come out of four different races. Three horses stretch out after contesting the 1 1/16-mile Wise Dan (G2) at Churchill Downs on June 27. Mercante fared best; he stalked the pace and battled on down the lane to finish second, three-quarters of a length behind the red-hot Lagynos. Dresden Row rallied from midfield for show, half a length behind Mercante in the Wise Dan. Fort Washington, racing at the rear most of the race, finished seventh and will have to rebound here.

Another pair comes out of the Manhattan (G1), a 1 3/16-mile race on the Belmont Stakes undercard at Saratoga. Test Score chased midfield through much of the race and kicked on well in the final furlong to finish second, just half a length behind Deterministic. Integration also made up good ground late, rallying from last midstretch to finish fifth, only 1 ¾ miles beaten for top honors.

Two more in the race come out of the ungraded 1 1/16-mile Soldier’s Dancer Handicap on the lawn at Gulfstream on July 4. Gran Oriente overcame a wide trip, rallying to win by 1 ¼ lengths. Layabout had some early trouble and came up empty in the lane, finishing a well-beaten seventh.

Morning-line favorite Burnham Square is the lone horse coming out of the 1 ⅜-mile Chorleywood Stakes. He was uncharacteristically forward, and battled on down the lane to win by a neck despite being headed mid-stretch.

Arlington Million Contenders

This is a closer look at the horses in the 2026 Arlington Million, from the rail out.

1. Dresden Row: Going into the Wise Dan last out, this son of Lord Nelson had won three races in a row; though that win streak was snapped last out in the Wise Dan, he still ran a good third despite not getting the firm conditions he tends to prefer. He should get firm turf again, which is a plus; another positive is that he has tactical speed in a race that doesn’t have a lot of early pace. The 1 ¼-mile trip is a new challenge, but he has plenty of stamina in his dam-side pedigree and even sire Lord Nelson, a sprinter, had enough distance in his pedigree to suggest he could produce a longer-distance runner. The biggest drawback is the rail, which could lead to some traffic.
2. Layabout: He will be a long shot after a flop in an ungraded race last out, but he had early trouble, and it was his first start in four months. He stands to be fitter second off the layoff, and he stands to appreciate the extra distance. Two and three back he showed good early pace in graded-stakes races at Gulfstream, and even though this race will be a class test for him, he will probably make the running in this race without a lot of early gas. He will need his absolute best effort even if he does get to set an uncontested pace, but if he finds it, he could hang on for a piece underneath at massive odds.
3. Fort Washington: One of two from the Shug McGaughey barn in this race, he is the less consistent of the two, though he did get the job done last year in the Arlington Million – his only career try at 1 ¼ miles on the lawn. He rallied from last in a seven-horse field that time, and did not have a dream pace setup to make a run from last. It was a good effort, and the kind of race that makes him a serious contender if he can find that again. The question is whether he does after his flat effort in the Wise Dan last out – he’ll get firmer ground here, which is a plus, though the fact that regular rider Junior Alvarado didn’t hop on a plane to ride him in this Grade 1 is a serious concern.
4. Integration: The more consistent of the McGaughey pair, Integration comes in off of his first off-the-board finish in over a year – but even then, he made a big late rally and was beaten less than two lengths for everything in the Manhattan. It was an effort that suggests he is still in good form for this. He is also one of the horses less hurt from a pace perspective – he isn’t a frontrunner, but he tends to lay within a couple of lengths of the front. Though he had a weird trip when third in this race last out, and likely moved a little early, a bit better timed move from jockey John Velazquez could get him all the way there.
5. Burnham Square: His quality is undisputed: he is a Grade 1 winner on dirt and an impressive Grade 2 and Grade 3 winner at 1 ½ miles on the grass. However, the question is whether he is going to get all the way there at 1 ¼ miles, a distance that may be on the short side. He did cut back successfully for the 1 ⅜-mile Chorleywood last out and also shift his running style – instead of making a big run around the last turn, he set a slow pace and fought late to get the win. This time the pace may not be quite as slow as what he had to set in the Chorleywood, but he might still have to sit a little closer to the pace than usual, going a distance a bit short of his best. Could he win? Yes. Might he be too short of a price to appeal from a betting standpoint? Also yes.
6. Test Score: He was one of the best sophomore grass horses last year and he has done well enough this year to suggest he trained on at four: he showed tactical speed when beating older foes in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1) in January, and though he was a no-show in the Turf Classic (G1) on Kentucky Derby day, he ran a bang-up second behind the well proven Deterministic in the Manhattan (G1) on Belmont day. The biggest question is distance, as his Grade 1 wins have both come at 1 ⅛ miles. But, his only try going longer than that was at love-it-or-hate-it Kentucky Downs, and he finished the Manhattan last out like a horse who may want this longer trip at age four – a hypothesis in line with his pedigree. In short, he’s an in-form horse who still has upside.
7. Mercante: Mercante should be able to get close to the pace, or may end up setting it if Layabout gets in early trouble with his near-inside post. He hasn’t been much of a winner lately, since it has been since May of last year since he hit the wire first, in the Arlington Stakes (G3) at Churchill Downs. However, he still frequently gets a piece, at least in Grade 3-type races. The step up to a Grade 1 is the biggest question, as he has been less consistent when facing the best. Whether he can handle 1 ¼ miles is the biggest question of all – but being by Gun Runner out of the dam of Travers (G1) winner West Coast, there’s no shortage of pedigree for the extra distance, and that plus his likelihood to get a clean and forward trip add up to an interesting price candidate.
8. Gran Oriente: He upset an allowance in April at Santa Anita at 30-1, beating horses like proven West Coast turfer Cabo Spirit, but has proven in two starts since that he wasn’t a fluke, just a horse who finally figured out how to take his back class from Chile on track in the United States. He has rallied from midfield to win a pair of ungraded stakes at Gulfstream since then, and now steps back up to the graded-stakes level. It’ll be his first graded try at longer than a mile since moving from Chile to the United States – his Group 1 win in Chile was at 1 ¼ miles, a positive, as is the presence of aggressive rider Paco Lopez.

Arlington Million Stakes FAQ

Q: When and where is the Arlington Million?

A: The Arlington Million will be run Saturday, August 9, at Colonial Downs in New Kent, Virginia. The race is the 11th on the 12-race card, with post time scheduled for 5:52 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The card features three graded-stakes races plus five additional stakes races, making it a great betting day on both turf and dirt.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Arlington Million?

A: Chad Brown leads all trainers with four wins, most recently in 2019 with Horse of the Year Bricks and Mortar. Brown does not have a horse in the field in 2026. The only trainer in the 2026 edition who has won it before is Shug McGaughey, who won in 2025 with Fort Washington. He runs both Fort Washington and Integration in the race this year.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Arlington Million?

A: Burnham Square is the 5-2 morning-line favorite for the Arlington Million. He is an impressive 1 ½-mile horse, and showed both versatility and grit last out when winning the 1 ⅜-mile Chorleywood Stakes in a more nail-biting fashion. He will probably hold as a narrow favorite, though it will be worth watching for action on a closely matched field including Dresden Row, Integration, Fort Washington, and Test Score.

Q: Who is the best Arlington Million jockey?

A: Eight jockeys have won the Arlington Million twice: Laffit Pincay, Jr., Cash Asmussen, Jose Santos, Gary Stevens, Jerry Bailey, Ramon Dominguez, Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Florent Geroux. Geroux can take the record for himself alone if he guides Mercante to victory in 2026.

Q: Who won the Arlington Million in 2025?

A: Fort Washington won the 2025 Arlington Million for trainer Shug McGaughey and jockey Junior Alvarado. Alvarado rides at Saratoga on Saturday, but McGaughey has Fort Washington back in the fray with Javier Castellano in the irons. McGaughey also brings back last year’s third-place finisher Integration; once again, John Velazquez takes the call to ride.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.