Delta Downs was forced to cancel the remainder of its Friday night program after a third-race spill and will not conduct its scheduled Saturday night program.
The Vinton, La., racetrack, which opened its 2021-22 meet with two afternoon programs on Oct. 13-14, was racing under its new LED lighting system for the first time on Friday when Its a Deal fell at the top of the stretch in the third race. Jockey Jorge Guzman fell heavily to the track.
According to the Equibase chart, Its a Deal walked off after the incident. Guzman's condition is not known.
The racetarck sent out the following Tweet after the cancellation:
**Due to technical difficulties, Delta Downs has cancelled the remainder of its Friday program, races 4-10. The Saturday program has also been cancelled. Live racing resumes at Delta Downs Wednesday, October 20. Post time 12:55 pm.
— Delta Downs Racing (@deltaracing) October 16, 2021
The new lights were necessitated by damage from Hurricane Laura, which hit Louisiana in August 2020 and damaged the tote board and the old lighting system. Friday was to be the track's first night races since February 2020.
The track did not specify why the remainder of Friday and all of Saturday's cards were cancelled, but it is believed jockeys are not happy with the new lighting system and voted not to ride after the third race incident.
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