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Delaware Park (race track)
Encyclopedia
| Horse Race Track | |
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| Delaware Park Racetrack | |
| Location | Stanton, Delaware Stanton, Delaware Stanton is an unincorporated community in New Castle County, Delaware, United States, near the confluence of the Red Clay and White Clay Creeks. It is located in the southern end of Mill Creek Hundred.-History:... , United States United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district... |
| Owned by | Delaware Park LLC |
| Race type | Thoroughbred Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed... - Flat racing Flat racing Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles... |
| Principal Races – Delaware Park | |
| Delaware Oaks Delaware Oaks The Delaware Oaks Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton near Wilmington, Delaware.... (G2) |
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| Delaware Handicap Delaware Handicap The Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade II race is open to filles and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles on the dirt.... (G2) |
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Delaware Park (also known as DelPark) is an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
track, casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, and golf course
Golf course
A golf course comprises a series of holes, each consisting of a teeing ground, fairway, rough and other hazards, and a green with a flagstick and cup, all designed for the game of golf. A standard round of golf consists of playing 18 holes, thus most golf courses have this number of holes...
in Stanton, Delaware. It is located just outside the city of Wilmington
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
, and about thirty miles from Philadelphia.
Thoroughbred racing
William duPont, Jr.William duPont, Jr.
William duPont, Jr. was an American businessman and banker and a prominent figure in the sport of thoroughbred horse racing. A member of the Delaware Du Pont family, he was the son of William du Pont and Annie Rogers , and brother to horsewoman, Marion.In 1919, he married Jean Liseter Austin...
a designer of twenty-three racing courses, designed and built Delaware Park Racetrack in partnership with Donald P. Ross. Phillip T. Harris of Media, PA., was hired as the architectural engineer. The facility opened on June 26, 1937 and today is the only thoroughbred horse racing track in the state of Delaware. Races are run from April to November.
Race purses
Prize money
Prize money has a distinct meaning in warfare, especially naval warfare, where it was a monetary reward paid out to the crew of a ship for capturing an enemy vessel...
have increased in recent years owing to increasing casino revenues. With the United States national average horse racing purse of $20,762 in 2005, the average 2005 purse for DelPark of $30,650 has helped to attract more talented contenders and more first-time competitors to the venue for the 2005 and 2006 racing seasons. The 2005 average purse for DelPark placed Delaware fifth among states of the United States; the first rank for average purse was held by New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
at $41,229 per race.
In recent years, near-Triple Crown winner Afleet Alex
Afleet Alex
Afleet Alex is an American thoroughbred race horse who, in 2005, won two of America's classic races, the Preakness Stakes and the Belmont Stakes...
and Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
winner Barbaro
Barbaro
Barbaro was an American thoroughbred who decisively won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, but shattered his leg two weeks later in the 2006 Preakness Stakes, ending his racing career and eventually leading to his death....
, both won their career debuts at Delaware (Barbaro did it on the grass at 7-1), and the sprint champion mare Xtra Heat was based there. The track is now home to many horses who routinely ship to and win at the major circuits in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
and Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
.
Delaware Park is also the only mid-Atlantic track to regularly card Arabian
Arabian horse
The Arabian or Arab horse is a breed of horse that originated on the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily recognizable horse breeds in the world. It is also one of the oldest breeds, with archaeological evidence of horses...
races. The area has a strong Arabian and equestrian population. Michael Matz
Michael Matz
Michael Ray Matz is an American Olympic equestrian rider and horse trainer. He is perhaps most well known for having trained the ill-fated Barbaro to win the 132nd Kentucky Derby in 2006. The previously undefeated colt suffered a career and life ending injury after the start of the Preakness Stakes...
, Barbaro's trainer, won the silver medal in the equestrian events at the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
. Matz is one of several mid-Atlantic trainers to perform on the national stage, along with Barclay Tagg
Barclay Tagg
Barclay Tagg is an American thoroughbred horse trainer. A 1961 graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Animal Husbandry, he is best known for conditioning Kentucky Derby, Preakness, and Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Funny Cide. Horses in Tagg's stable have included Showing Up and...
, perennial leading trainer Tim Ritchey
Timothy F. Ritchey
Timothy F. "Tim" Ritchey is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. He is best known as the trainer of Afleet Alex, a 2005 winner of two American Classic Races, the Preakness and Belmont Stakes....
and J. Larry Jones
J. Larry Jones
J. Larry Jones is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. A former commercial farmer, he embarked on a career as a professional trainer in 1982....
, trainer of 2007 Kentucky Derby runnerup Hard Spun
Hard Spun
Hard Spun is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. He is from one of the last crops of three-time leading sire in North America Danzig. Hard Spun is owned by Wilmington, Delaware automobile dealer Richard C...
, who is also based at Delaware Park. Jones also trained the ill-fated Eight Belles
Eight Belles
Eight Belles was a thoroughbred racehorse owned by Rick Porter's Fox Hill Farms. She finished second to winner Big Brown in the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby held at Churchill Downs, a race run by only thirty-nine fillies in the past...
, who also broke her maiden at Delaware before going on to finish second in the 2008 Kentucky Derby prior to her untimely death post-race.
Important annual races at Delaware Park Racetrack include:
Grade II:
- Delaware OaksDelaware OaksThe Delaware Oaks Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton near Wilmington, Delaware....
- Delaware HandicapDelaware HandicapThe Delaware Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Wilmington, Delaware. The Grade II race is open to filles and mares, age three and up, willing to race one and one-quarter miles on the dirt....
Grade III:
- Barbaro StakesBarbaro Stakes at Delaware ParkThe Barbaro Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid July at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. Previously known as the Leonard Richards Stakes, in 2007 it was renamed in honor of Barbaro, the horse who won the Kentucky Derby in 2006 but who eventually died after...
- Endine StakesEndine StakesThe Endine Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held annually in mid September at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. A Grade III six furlong sprint on dirt, the race is open to fillies and mares age three and older....
- Kent Stakes
- Obeah StakesObeah StakesThe Obeah Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually in mid June at Delaware Park Racetrack in Stanton, Delaware. A Grade III event open to horses age three and older, it is contested on dirt at a distance of a mile and an eighth ....
- Robert G. Dick Memorial Handicap
Delaware Park entries are drawn well in advance which often results in short fields after several late scratches. It is not uncommon to see four- or even three-horse fields at Delaware in bad weather. Small fields are an issue because Philadelphia Park Racetrack
Philadelphia Park Racetrack
Parx Racing and Casino is a thoroughbred horse racetrack and racino in Bensalem, Pennsylvania. It currently houses 3,300 slot machines.-History:...
, Laurel Park Racecourse, Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course
Pimlico Race Course is a horse racetrack in Baltimore, Maryland, most famous for hosting the Preakness Stakes. Its name is derived from the 1660s when English settlers named the area where the facility currently stands in honor of Olde Ben Pimlico's Tavern in London...
, Charles Town
Charles Town Races & Slots
Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races is a gambling facility owned by Penn National Gaming and located just outside the eastern city limits of Charles Town, West Virginia. It features a six furlong thoroughbred horse racing facility that is home of the West Virginia Breeders' Classic...
, Mountaineer, and Colonial Downs
Colonial Downs
Colonial Downs is a racetrack for Thoroughbred flat racing and Standardbred harness racing located in New Kent County, Virginia adjacent to Interstate 64, halfway between Richmond, Virginia and Williamsburg, Virginia.-History and information:...
all run simultaneously. Delaware Park is not part of a racing circuit, but is instead a standalone track. During the off-season, horses who do not lay over for the spring meet often disperse to the above mid-Atlantic tracks, plus New York, while others go to Florida. Conversely, many Florida-based horses "summer" at Delaware.
Casino
The casino houses numerous slot machines, including some linked to the multi-jurisdictional progressive jackpot game CasholaCashola
Ca$hola, a video lottery game, is a former Multi-State Lottery Association game. Ca$hola was, to date, the only US multi-jurisdictional video lottery game. It began in July 2006; Ca$hola ended upon its final jackpot win on May 15, 2011...
. (As of April 13, 2011, Cashola will end upon the next jackpot win.) As of 2011, about 8,000 people gamble at the casino each day.
Betting on NFL games was legalized in Delaware and made available at Delaware Park in 2009. Live table games are now offered.