The Delta Jackpot Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 run annually at Delta Downs

Delta Downs

Delta Downs Racetrack, Casino and Hotel is an American thoroughbred and quarter horse racetrack in Calcasieu Parish, near Vinton, Louisiana in the southwest portion of the state. The facility is owned by Boyd Gaming.-History:...

 in Vinton, Louisiana

Vinton, Louisiana

Vinton is a town in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana, United States. The population was 3,338 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Lake Charles Metropolitan Statistical Area.-History of Vinton:...

. A Grade III

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 stakes open to two-year-old horses, it is raced in December over a distance of 1 1/16 miles (8.5 Furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

s) on dirt.

The inaugural running of the Delta Jackpot took place on December 21, 2002. Run over a distance of one mile (1.6 km), it carried a purse of $1,000,000. For the following year, the race was lengthened to its present 1 1/16 miles and the purse was increased to $1 million to make it the second-richest race for two-year-olds in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

 behind only the Breeders' Cup Juvenile

Breeders' Cup Juvenile

The Breeders' Cup Juvenile is a Thoroughbred horse race for 2-year-old colts and geldings raced on dirt. It is held annually at a different racetrack in the United States or Canada as part of the Breeders' Cup World Championships....

.

The 2005 running of the Delta Jackpot Stakes was cancelled due to Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita

Hurricane Rita was the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded and the most intense tropical cyclone ever observed in the Gulf of Mexico. Rita caused $11.3 billion in damage on the U.S. Gulf Coast in September 2005...

.

Sponsored by Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming

Boyd Gaming Corporation is a Paradise, Nevada based business engaged in the development, ownership and operation of hotels and casinos throughout the United States...

, the Delta Jackpot Stakes was run as a graded race for the first time in 2006. It is run on the same day as the Delta Princess Stakes

Delta Princess Stakes

The Delta Princess Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana. A Grade III event for the first time in 2008, it is raced in early December. It is open to two-year-old fillies...

 for two-year-old fillies

Filly

A filly is a young female horse too young to be called a mare. There are several specific definitions in use.*In most cases filly is a female horse under the age of four years old....

.

The 2007 running of the Delta Jackpot Stakes finished in the race's first dead heat, with Z Humor and Turf War stopping the timer in 1:45.43. As a result of the tie, both horses split $800,000 in purse money.

Due to the 2008 economic downturn, the purse was reduced in the 2008 and 2009 runnings from $1,000,0000 to $750,000. The purse was increased back to $1,000,0000 in 2010.

Records

Speed record:

• 1:45.34 - Mr. Jester (2003)

Most wins by a jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

:

• No jockey has won this race more than once.

Most wins by a trainer

Horse trainer

In horse racing, a trainer prepares a horse for races, with responsibility for exercising it, getting it race-ready and determining which races it should enter...

:

• No trainer has won this race more than once.

Most wins by an owner:

• No owner has won this race more than once.

Winners of the Delta Jackpot Stakes

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Sabercat	Gerard Melancon Gerard Melancon Gerard Melancon is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. On April 19, 2007 he won the 3,000th race of his career at Evangeline Downs in Lafayette, Louisiana.-Year-end charts:...	Steve Asmussen Steve Asmussen Steven Mark Asmussen is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, are both trainers who operate El Primero Training Center off the Mines Road in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas...	Winchell Thoroughbreds	1:46.62
2010	Gourmet Dinner	Sebastian Madrid	Steve Standridge	Our Sugar Bear Stable	1:45.23
2009	Rule Rule (horse) Rule is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that won the 2010 Sam F. Davis Stakes and Delta Jackpot Stakes.-References:*...	John Velazquez	Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher is a leading American thoroughbred horse trainer. He has won four consecutive Eclipse Awards as outstanding Trainer of the Year, while topping the leader board in purse earnings in 2004, 2005, and 2006. His horse Super Saver won the 2010 Kentucky Derby, the first of his 24 horses...	WinStar Farm WinStar Farm WinStar Farm is an American Thoroughbred horse breeding and racing farm near Versailles, Kentucky. Formerly known as Prestonwood Farm, it was owned by Houston, Texas oilmen Jack, Art, and J. R...	1:45.63
2008	Big Drama Big Drama Big Drama is a dark bay thoroughbred racing colt out of leading sire Montbrook and dam Riveting Drama. He is trained by David Fawkes. Bred and owned by Mr. Harold Queen, Big Drama has earned $2,639,560 to date...	Eibar Coa Eibar Coa Eibar Coa Monteverde is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. A five-time judo champion in his teens, he attended jockey school from 1989 to 1991 then began his professional riding career in 1992...	David Fawkes	Harold L. Queen	1:44.72
2007	Z Humor (DH Dead Heat Dead Heat is a 1988 movie about an LAPD police officer, Roger Mortis , killed while attempting to arrest zombies who have been reanimated by the head of Dante Laboratories in order to carry out violent armed robberies.-Plot:... )	Garrett Gomez	William I. Mott	Zayat Stables	1:45.43
2007	Turf War Turf War Turf War is a reality television series hosted by Ahmed Hassan, which began airing March 8, 2010. Season two began airing on April 11, 2011....  (DH Dead Heat Dead Heat is a 1988 movie about an LAPD police officer, Roger Mortis , killed while attempting to arrest zombies who have been reanimated by the head of Dante Laboratories in order to carry out violent armed robberies.-Plot:... )	Calvin Borel Calvin Borel Calvin H. Borel is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the 2010 Kentucky Derby...	Mark Casse	Woodford Racing LLC	1:45.43
2006	Birdbirdistheword	Robby Albarado Robby Albarado Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 12 at bush tracks in his native Louisiana and after turning professional, earned his first win at Evangeline Downs in 1990...	Kenneth McPeek Kenneth McPeek Kenneth G. McPeek is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer.Kenneth G. McPeek was born August 2, 1962 in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas and raised in Lexington, Kentucky. He graduated from Tates Creek High School and then the University of Kentucky with a Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration...	Raymond H. Cottrell, Sr.	1:45.42
2005	no race
2004	Texcess	Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza Victor Espinoza is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He began riding in his native Mexico and earned his first win there in 1992 before moving the following year to compete at racetracks in California....	Paul Aguirre	Omar Aldabbagh/P. Aguirre	1:48.20
2003	Mr Jester	Roman Chapa	Steve Wren	Karen J. Biggs	1:45.34
2002	Outta Here	Kent Desormeaux Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year, 1989.-Brief biography:...	Bill Currin	B. Currin / Al Eisman	1:37.77

DH - Dead Heat