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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But this will be a meet unlike any other at the track that sits just a few miles east of the Texas-Louisiana border. Delta Downs was directly in the path of Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm with winds reaching 150 miles per hour that all but tore the place apart when it hit land on Aug. 27. Since then, there’s been a full-court press to get the track ready for a delayed opening day of a meet that will be conducted during the day.

“There has been a lot of last-minute stuff being done, almost 24 hours a day. There’s been a rush to get ready to race,” said the track’s announcer Don Stevens.

In the days before Hurricane Laura hit Louisiana, Delta Downs was finishing up its Quarter Horse meet, which ended Aug. 22. That gave the track six weeks to prepare for a Thoroughbred meet set to begin Oct. 3. But Laura hit the area with such severity that it was clear the meet could not open on time.

“There’s just a lot of damage and it’s everywhere,” Delta’s Director of Racing Operations Chris Warren said the day after the hurricane hit.

While the barns held up well during the storm, ensuring that the horses still on the grounds stayed safe, the rest of the facility didn’t fare nearly as well. The tote board was demolished, the starting gates were turned over and so severely damaged they had to be replaced and the outside rail was torn apart. The patrol towers were also badly damaged and also had to be replaced. The wiring for the track’s lights was wrecked.

“The light towers were wired above the ground,” Stevens said. “There are wires from pole to pole and they were built in 1973. It destroyed so much of infrastructure. We couldn’t repair them, they were prehistoric. We just pulled them out of the ground and said we will race during the day.”

It could have been worse. Laura was one of five hurricanes to hit Louisiana this year, but the only one that produced significant damage to the track.

The daytime cards will be the biggest change for a track that liked to call itself “America’s Favorite Nighttime Track.” The handle figures weren’t huge, but Delta had a following and it, more often that not, outhandled the competition it ran up against when racing Wednesday through Saturday nights.

With lights unavailable, management had to figure out a way to maximize handle. Rather than trying to compete against the simulcast signals from racing’s top tracks, they settled on a new format, racing Mondays through Thursdays with a 12:55 CT first post. The new schedule will go into effect next week. It is a spot on the calendar where there will not be much competition for the wagering dollar.

“The Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays should be good,” Warren said. “On Thursdays there is a lot of competition. It will probably be so-so on that day. If we can do as well as last year I’ll be happy. I’m hoping we won’t be down any, but really don’t know what to expect.”

“I have talked to a lot of the jockeys and they are alle excited,” Stevens said. “They say the track is in great shape. Most of them, 80 or 90%, are excited about day racing because now they can get to sleep at night. Racing during the day will really be strange and so will the Mondays through Thursdays. I’ve never worked at a racetrack and had weekends off.”

Delta has not set a timetable for when it will repair the lights and return to nighttime racing, but could do so for its summer Quarter Horse meet, run at a time where temperatures soar during the day.

With horses that race on the Delta-Evangeline Downs circuit having nowhere to run since Evangeline ended its meet Aug. 29, the first few Delta cards will consist of nearly all full fields. Ninety-six horses have been entered for opening day and  98 for the following day.

All the dates will be made up. The 84-day meet, originally scheduled to conclude Feb. 27, has been extended to Apr. 16.

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The 84-day meeting will continue through Apr. 16 and feature live racing each Monday through Thursday following opening week. Post times for the season have been moved up to 12:55 p.m. CST daily as a result of the damage sustained by the lighting system, making nighttime racing impossible.

Additionally, the stakes schedule has been revised from 2019 with the track offering 22 added-money races worth a total of $1.745 million, including a pair of $60,000 races opening weekend. The track will be closed Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26 before the week wraps up with a pair of $100,000 events, the Treasure Chest S. and the Delta Mile S.

The richest race day of the year, scheduled for Feb. 10, features 18th edition of Louisiana Premier Day. The program includes 10 stakes for Louisiana-bred horses and a total of $805,000 in total purse money. The featured race on Louisiana Premier Day will be the $125,000 Louisiana Premier Day Championship for older horses.

For more information, visit www.deltadownsracing.com.

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Based on the progress that has been made to date, racing officials are optimistic that horses might be able to return to the grounds to begin training in late October. Racing at Delta Downs was scheduled to take place Oct. 6, 2020 through Feb. 27, 2021, for a total of 84 dates. However, the ending date could be extended along with the total number of dates, pending approval from the Louisiana Racing Commission.

Steve Kuypers, Vice President & General Manager of Delta Downs, said: “Boyd Gaming and Delta Downs are committed to hosting a successful 2020-21 Thoroughbred meet here in Vinton, Louisiana.”

The region has been slow to recover from the hurricane. Track announcer Don Stevens tweeted Sept. 25 that his powered had just been restored after 28 days.

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Based on the progress of repairs to date, Delta Downs believes it will be able to allow horses to move back on the grounds and start training by late October and begin live racing in late November.

This year's meet was originally scheduled to run from Oct. 6, 2020 to Feb. 27, 2021 for a total of 84 race days. The end of the season may now be revised and extended along with a change in the total number of race days, pending approval from the Louisiana Racing Commission

As work continues and repairs are completed, Delta Downs will provide further information about when horses will be allowed to be stabled on the backside, when the track plans to begin its season, and the new schedule for live racing. This information will be posted to the Delta Downs website at www.deltadownsracing.com.

Delta Downs Racetrack Casino 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.

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Some areas of the state faced massive clouds of the bloodsucking insects in the days after Hurricane Laura made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on Aug. 27, reported a Louisiana State University AgCenter veterinarian. Spraying efforts have since brought the mosquito population under control.

Though residents in the area are used to mosquito population spikes after heavy rains, the amount of mosquitoes seen after Huricane Laura were unprecedented. It is estimated that farmers located near where the hurricane made landfall lost between 300 and 400 head of cattle, said Dr. Craig Fontenot, a vet based in Ville Platte.

Thankfully, the species of mosquito involved in the outbreak doesn't transmit human disease easily, but people are still urged to take precautions. At the height of the outbreak, any exposed skin was immediately covered in insects. Though humans could wear long pants and sleeves, livestock were unable to get away from the insects, many of them pacing or running until they were exhausted, leaving them susceptible to weight loss and disease.

Read more at USA Today.

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Hurricane Laura's path of destruction left Delta Downs, in Vinton, La., in bad shape, and though an evacuation order was in place for the area, as many as 500 Quarter Horses and their caretakers had nowhere else to go. All managed to survive the hurricane, but now many are in temporary stabling locations with nowhere to train.

Evangeline Downs ended its Thoroughbred meet this weekend, and the horses at the Opelousas track would normally shift to Delta Downs for the next Thoroughbred race meet, while Delta's Quarter Horse population would shift to Evangeline. Since Delta is not in any condition to host racing, there simply aren't enough stalls to accommodate both populations at the same time.

The commission's decision would send Evangeline's Thoroughbreds to the Fair Grounds, while the Quarter Horses would be able to take up residence at Evangeline. However, Churchill Downs, Inc., the Fair Grounds' parent company, has said that the New Orleans track is not prepared to take on horses at this time. The track is in the midst of preventative maintenance, New Orleans has been a hotspot for Covid-19, and hurricane season is not yet ended.

“We would love to help,” Fair Grounds attorney David Waguespack said during Thursday's commission meeting, according to crescentcitysports.com. “We're just not able to do what the Commission wants us to do.”

The commission's order included that both Fair Grounds and Louisiana Downs provide: stabling for the horses, “customary accommodations” for their caretakers, training hours, and the necessary security and maintenance staff.

On Friday, Churchill's lawyers lodged a legal challenge asking an Orleans Parish judge to halt the order. A hearing is scheduled for this Friday, Sept. 11.

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The request for stabling involves both Thoroughbreds and Quarter Horses, and is complicated by meets for both breeds ending and starting within the same rough time frame at Louisiana’s four tracks. Additionally, the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic is making movement of people and horses difficult.

According to a letter written by LHBPA president Benard Chatters, a refusal by management at the Fair Grounds to open up stabling as a precaution before the hurricane hit Delta Downs is allegedly also playing a role in racehorses being caught with nowhere to go. TDN could not immediately reach Fair Grounds officials for comment prior to deadline for this story.

“Two days prior to the storm making landfall, attempts were made by the LAHBPA to relocate approximately 700 Quarter Horses and their caretakers that were located at Delta Downs to Fair Grounds,” Chatters wrote. “This attempt was unsuccessful. As a result, these horses and their caretakers endured the storm at Delta Downs, which fortunately did not result in loss of life to horses or people.

“At first opportunity following landfall, Delta Downs management advised the LAHBPA that its barn area and facility sustained significant damage which required the immediate removal of all horses and personal from the backside for their safety and so that repairs could begin. Delta Downs advised the LAHBPA that they had contacted representatives of the Fair Grounds requesting their assistance to accept the horses and personal that needed to be evacuated. This request was denied.”

Chatters continued: “Immediately, the LAHBPA worked with its horsemen in attempting to relocate these Quarter Horses throughout the state of Louisiana. Simultaneously, benevolent funding was set up to assist for the payment of stall rental and bedding for all these horses as well as to assist its members in need.”

The sales stables in Opelousas took in 227 horses (the capacity for that facility), and the receiving barn at Evangeline Downs took in 53 Quarter Horses, Chatters wrote. A Louisiana farm took in an additional 50 horses; Sam Houston race track opened up stall space for over 120 Quarter Horse evacuees, and approximately 200 other Quarter Horses that were stabled at Delta Downs have been removed from the backside to various small stables throughout the state.

“Currently, approximately 120 quarter horses remain at Delta Downs with no place to go,” Chatters wrote. “Except for the 50 horses at the Evangeline Downs receiving barn, none of the Quarter Horses are at a location where they can train. To compound the problem further, the stalls at the sales barn are only 10′ by 10′ which is significantly smaller than LSRC guidelines.”

Chatters wrote that 800 Thoroughbreds remain at Evangeline Downs, which just finished its Thoroughbred meet Aug. 29. Ordinarily, those Thoroughbreds would mostly move on to Delta Downs for the Oct. 6-Feb. 27 meet, but the track and its racino are currently closed to assess and fix damage. Quarter Horse racing is scheduled for Evangeline Downs Sep. 17-Dec. 19.

“Accordingly, the relocation of these Thoroughbreds is critical and immediate relief is needed,” Chatters wrote. “As of this date, it is unknown exactly when Delta Downs’ backside will be repaired for Thoroughbred horses to be stabled there for the hopeful resumption of the 2020-2021 Delta Downs Thoroughbred meet.

“Attempts have been made to relocate the Thoroughbreds at Evangeline to various locations which also allow for training,” Chatters wrote. “Sam Houston race track is unable to assist [any further]. Louisiana Downs has advised that they have approximately 350 stalls available spread throughout the barn area without continuous stalls and with no room for personnel. Louisiana Downs is currently conducting its 2020 Thoroughbred meet which concludes on Sep. 23. Louisiana Downs has advised that after that date, stalls will be made available for rental which includes training on the race track.”

In addition to asking for a mandate of emergency stabling to be opened at Fair Grounds and Louisiana Downs, the LHBPA is asking for “customary living quarters” at those tracks to house stable personnel. The LHBPA also wants access to Monday-through-Saturday training hours.

Chatters proposed that “Horses stabled at the Fair Grounds will be allowed to remain until Oct. 15, at which time they will depart the Fair Grounds and return to Delta Downs or in the alternative, Louisiana Downs.

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To provide immediate aid, The Foundation is donating $5,000 total to two groups it has worked with previously: the Texas A&M University Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) and the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association's Equine Committee.

Veterinarians within these groups are actively helping horses that are being evacuated or which may have to endure the hurricane in place. Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences is currently taking in and sheltering animals, and its VET will be deployed as needed to impacted areas. Similar efforts are underway in Louisiana as well.

The Foundation will work with agencies and veterinary members in Texas and Louisiana to identify the needs of the equine community. Supplies are not being accepted currently because the catastrophic storm is still occurring. Once the Foundation receives an assessment of need and distribution protocols from the agencies and veterinary members in the afflicted areas, The Foundation will work to support them with monetary and other resources as needed.

“The Foundation and the equine veterinary community know the tragic loss of life and incredible destruction and flooding that can and will be caused by Hurricane Laura,” said Foundation Advisory Council Chair Dr. Rick Mitchell. “We are compelled to reach out, together with our members, horse owners and industry leaders, as part of the effort to proactively support the disaster's equine victims.”

To make a gift to The Foundation in support of disaster relief or another area benefiting equine welfare, click here and navigate to the “Donate” button.

Learn more here.

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“There's debris and sheet metal everywhere,” Warren told the TDN. “The tote board got demolished. It collapsed and is completely gone. Our camera towers are gone, so is our holding barn. The starting gates got completely turned over and the light poles are torn up. The whole backside rail is pretty much ruined. There's just a lot of damage and it is everywhere.”

Track announcer Don Stevens posted several photos of the damage on social media:

Delta Downs starting gate. Photographer unknown. pic.twitter.com/VTHe4xnKJn

— Don Stevens (@horsemandon) August 27, 2020

Someone posted this pic on Facebook from Delta Downs this morning. It was taken from the covered patio looking out to the infield. The tote board is gone. But the barns appear to be standing. pic.twitter.com/yoMulhoCaE

— Don Stevens (@horsemandon) August 27, 2020

While the impact of Hurricane Laura cannot be denied, we find ourselves incredibly grateful for the support of our communities and the compassion and commitment of our team members as we begin to examine the toll. Thank you all for your unwavering strength, and please stay safe. pic.twitter.com/c6WE0QOQlN

— Delta Downs Casino (@DeltaDowns) August 27, 2020

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