Delta Downs | Horse Racing Free Tips

Broberg & Thornton Repeat Atop Delta Standings

Trainer Karl Broberg took his 11th consecutive Delta Downs leading trainer title; Broberg and Matt Johansen's End Zone Athletics, Inc. won their seventh straight leading owner title and 10th in the last 11 years; and Broberg's go-to local rider Tim Thornton sat atop the jockey standings for the fourth year in a row as the Vinton, LA bullring's 2021-2022 meet concluded Mar. 5. The Broberg barn saddled 105 winners and racked up $1,928,820 in earnings, coming close to matching its 107 wins and $2,017,120 during the 2018-2019 season. A total of 78 of Broberg's winners carried the colors of End Zone Athletics, which eclipsed its record-setting 2020-2021 meet with 78 winners and $1,322,480 in earnings this time around. Thornton piloted 129 winners and the earners of $2,782,260.

The post Broberg & Thornton Repeat Atop Delta Standings appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

Delta Downs’ Louisiana Premier Day Includes 10 Stakes Races On Feb. 5

Delta Downs in Vinton, La. will host its richest race program of the season on Saturday, Feb. 5, when the track will award $933,000 in total purse money throughout 11 races, included 10 stakes, all for Louisiana-bred horses. The event is called Louisiana Premier Day, and this year marks the 19th renewal of the event which will kick off with a special first post time of 12 noon.

The featured race on the card will be the $150,000 Louisiana Premier Day Championship for older horses competing at 1-1/16 miles, which will be the 10th race on the program. This year's Championship attracted a full field of 12, which includes two also eligible runners.

The Championship is guaranteed to have a new winner this year. Underpressure, who has won the last two editions of the race, was not entered this year. The lukewarm 3-1 morning line favorite for Saturday's feature is Keith Plaisance's Langs Day, who won the Gold Cup at Delta Downs on October 30 impressively before finishing a hard closing second in a tough allowance race last time out on January 12.

The Championship field also includes Kendel D. Standlee's Izzy's Baby Boy (5-1), who most recently won a dramatic B Connected Stakes on New Year's Day; Robert Asaro Enterprises, Inc's Maga Man (8-1), who comes into the event with the highest career earnings mark of $289,480; and the Sam B. David, Jr. trainee Jax Man (6-1), who ran second, only a neck behind Izzy's Baby Boy, in the B Connected.

Fans will also be in for a treat when the $100,00 Louisiana Premier Day Matron rolls around as Grade 2 winner Cilla takes on several rivals in the five-furlong dash for older fillies and mares. The Brett Brinkman trainee and daughter of the great California Chrome is the solid 6-5 favorite as she goes for her seventh career win and attempts to add to her lofty $416,000 bankroll.

Another race that will get plenty of attention will be the $100,000 Louisiana Premier Day Starlet. The one-mile event will be a rematch between 5-2 morning line favorite Free Like a Girl and Medley. Medley narrowly defeated Free Like a Girl in the $100,000 Louisiana Lassie Stakes at Fair Grounds on December 11. But Medley has never raced at Delta Downs and Free Like A Girl is undefeated in Vinton with two stakes tallies in as many starts earlier this meet. On October 22 she romped by 18-1/2 lengths in the $100,000 Louisiana Jewel and on November 19 she scored another impressive win in the $100,000 My Trusty Cat.

In addition to the many local horsemen taking part in Louisiana Premier Day, there are also some nationally prominent trainers who will saddle horses on the program. They include Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen, as well as Karl Broberg, Tom Amoss, W. Bret Calhoun and many others.

Delta Downs will offer the DRF Bets $50,000 Guaranteed All Stakes Pick 4 wager on the Louisiana Premier Day program. The special wager will take place on race 8 – 11, which includes the afternoon's richest race, the $150,000 Louisiana Premier Day Championship serving as the penultimate leg. The special wager will also include an ultra-low takeout of just 12%.

Delta Downs will also welcome a special guest to its simulcast program during Louisiana Premier Day. Nationally known horse racing analyst and commentator Martha Claussen will join track announcer Don Stevens on the simulcast show as a co-host, handicapper and trackside reporter following the major stakes races.

Listed below are each Louisiana Premier Day race in program order.

Race # Purse Stakes Race Distance Age

1 $50,000 LAPD Bon Temps Starter 5 furlongs 4yo & up FM

2 $100,000 LAPD Matron 5 furlongs 4yo & up FM

3 $38,000 (La-bred Maidens) 7-1/2 furlongs 3yo

4 $50,000 LAPD Ragin Cajun Starter 5 furlongs 4yo & up

5 $100,000 LAPD Starlet 1 mile 3yo FM

6 $60,000 LAPD Ladies Starter 1 mile 4yo & up

7 $100,000 LAPD Sprint 5 furlongs 4yo & up

8 $125,000 LAPD Distaff 1 mile 4yo & up FM

9 $100,000 LAPD Prince 1 mile 3yo

10 $150,000 LAPD Championship 1-1/16 miles 4yo & up

11 $60,000 LAPD Gentlemen Starter 1-1/16 miles 4yo & up

The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association will be awarding two (2) $1,000 college scholarships via a drawing that will take place on Louisiana Premier Day.

Entries for the LTBA drawing will be taken at a designated booth between 11 am and 12 noon. Winners will be announced after the fifth race and will have to be present to win when the announcement is made from winner's circle. To qualify for the drawing, entrants must be enrolled full time for spring or summer 2022 classes and in good standing with their Louisiana college or university.

For more information about Louisiana Premier Day and the remainder of Delta Downs' current season, which runs through March 5, visit the track's website at www.deltadownsracing.com. Fans can also follow the track on Facebook and Twitter.

Delta Downs Racetrack Casino and Hotel, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD), features exciting casino action, live horse racing and fun dining experiences. Delta Downs is located in Vinton, Louisiana, on Delta Downs Drive. From Lake Charles, take Exit 7 and from Texas, take Exit 4.

Source of original post

Fix to Delta’s Light Woes Might Not Arrive by End of Meet

A new lighting system at Delta Downs that was only operational for three races on the first night of the season back in October and has been repeatedly tweaked since then might not end up being deemed safe or usable for racing by the time the current Thoroughbred meet ends Mar. 5.

Ironically, after more than three months of debate over alleged shadows and perceived inconsistencies with how the patterns fall on the racing surface, the lighting installer and a consulting firm retained by Delta are now trying to rectify the problem not by increasing candlepower, but by actually turning down the intensity of the lighting from about 90% of full illumination to around 60% on each of the poles around the six-furlong track.

“The jockeys are basically saying that there are lights that are very bright, and then it goes into shadows, which they're afraid that the horses will be spooked [by],” Steve Kuypers, Delta's vice president and general manager, told the Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) during a Tuesday meeting.

“That's what is taking so long, is [because] they have to go pole by pole, light by light,” Kuypers said. “And they do this by flying a drone up so [it gives a picture of] the candle width or the candle light, so they can adjust light by light. So we're hoping in the next couple of weeks they will come with a full report to get the entire track to a candle light that is acceptable, and then we'll invite the jockeys over, let them ride, hopefully they will say it's okay.”

Delta's jockeys did not speak on the issue during the Jan. 18 meeting. But the last time the LSRC took up this issue, on Dec. 13, a lawyer for The Jockeys' Guild told commissioners there were “grave concerns” with the light-emitting diode (LED) system, which was necessitated by the old lights getting wrecked by a hurricane in August 2020.

One month ago, the jockeys' concerns about shadows were offset by an initial report issued by the lighting experts that had proclaimed the new Delta lights to be “tremendously better than the pre-hurricane lighting.”

Tuesday, commissioner Tom Calvert pressed Kuypers on why the fix was taking so long.

“This problem that we're having is difficult, because we were supposed to have Delta running at night and Fair Grounds running during the day,” Calvert said. “And now we have two of our major tracks competing against one another for the daytime patrons, and it's a bad situation. And we would like some expedition on behalf of your experts, and it doesn't seem like it would take a month to figure it out.”

By unanimous voice vote Tuesday, the LSRC extended permission for Delta to continue racing during daylight hours for another 60 days, a period of time that extends beyond the meet's closure in seven weeks.

The commission also mandated that Delta provide any new report authored by its lighting experts within 15 days. Delta can also come back before the LSRC at any time before or after then to request a switch back to night racing if jockeys end up okaying the most recent round of fixes to the lighting system.

Three races into the first night program of the season Oct. 15, a horse fell at the top of the stretch. Fueled by complaints from some jockeys and trainers that areas on the turns were dangerously dark and shadowy, the remainder of that card and the Oct. 16 program were cancelled. Delta, a longtime night-racing fixture, has raced only afternoons since then.

The post Fix to Delta’s Light Woes Might Not Arrive by End of Meet appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

Source of original post

California Chrome Daughter Cilla Dominates Friday’s Orleans Stakes At Delta

Delta Downs hosted the $75,000 Orleans Stakes on Friday afternoon and the winner was a very popular choice of the fans as P. Dale Ladner's 3-5 wagering favorite, Cilla, came home in front under jockey Thomas Pompell. The daughter of California Chrome got back to the winner's circle for the first time since winning the Grade 2 Prioress Stakes at Saratoga Race Course back in September.

Breaking from post eight in a field of nine, Cilla stalked the early pace set by Icy Charlie, who carved out fractional times of 22.54 seconds for the opening quarter mile and 46.01 for the half. As they turned for home Cilla engaged Icy Charlie who didn't give way easily in the stretch. The pair battled it out for a few strides before Cilla gained the upper-hand and went on to a 2 3/4 length victory over a game Icy Charlie, while Onerollofthedice settled for third, another half length behind the runner-up.

Cilla covered the five-furlong distance of the Orleans in 58.40 seconds. Each race on the Friday program was contest of a fast track and under sunny skies.

The win by Cilla marked the sixth of her 13-race career. She earned $45,000 for the effort and now has a career bankroll of $416,000.

Bred in Louisiana by Ladner and her trainer Brett Brinkman, Cilla is a 4-year-old bay daughter of California Chrome, out of the Into Mischief mare Sittin At the Bar.

Fans who wagered on Cilla collected payoffs of $3.20 to win, $2.40 to place and $2.20 to show. Icy Charlie was worth $4.80 to place and $3.40 to show. Onerollofthedice returned $7 to show.

Delta Downs will close out its race week on Saturday afternoon with another nine-race program that kicks off at 12:55 pm. The headliner will be the $75,000 Sam's Town Stakes for older horses sprinting five furlongs.

For more information about the current season visit the track's website at www.deltadownsracing.com. Fans can also get information about the track through Facebook by visiting the page 'Delta Downs Racing'. The track's Twitter handle is @deltaracing.

The post California Chrome Daughter Cilla Dominates Friday’s Orleans Stakes At Delta appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post