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Voters Approve Racetrack Casinos in Nebraska

The Nebraska horse racing industry, which has struggled for years to offer competitive purses, got a major boost Tuesday when voters overwhelmingly approved three constitutional amendments that legalize casinos at the state’s racetracks.

In other gambling related matters on the ballot across the country Tuesday, Marylanders voted in favor of legalizing sports betting in the state and voters in South Dakota approved sports betting, which would be restricted to the town of Deadwood, which already has a casino. In Louisiana, 55 of 64 parishes approved sports betting, including the four parishes that are home to the state’s racetracks, Fair Grounds, Evangeline Downs, Delta Downs and Louisiana Downs.

In order for casinos to pass in Nebraska, voters had to approve three initiatives. All three passed with nearly two out of every three voters voting in favor of the gambling expansion. Proponents of the initiatives argued that Nebraska was losing out because residents were traveling across state lines to gamble at casinos in Iowa, Kansas, South Dakota and Missouri. Supporters of the initiatives have said that the state will take in $65 million annually from taxes on the casino revenue. Money from the casinos will be used to reduce property taxes.

There are several racetracks in the state, a list that includes Lincoln Race Course, Horsemen’s Park, Fonner Park, Columbus, Atokad and Fair Play Park. Some of the tracks have been reduced to running one race a year, which is required to maintain a license. At Lincoln, the entire 2020 meet consisted of racing last Sunday and Monday, with each program consisting of one one-furlong race for Nebraska breds.

“We’re overwhelmingly thrilled and I couldn’t be happier,” said Lynne McNally, the executive vice president of the Nebraska HBPA. “This was a long time in the works. And what makes me even happier is that there was a clear mandate that people wanted casinos here and wanted the money to stay in the state to lower their property taxes. There are still a lot of moving parts, but once this is fully operational we will be seeing a very healthy increase in purses.”

McNally said that under current rules the Nebraska tracks are required to offer a combined 53 days of racing. She speculated that that number could double once the casino money begins to come in.

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Delta Downs Kicks Off ’20-’21 Season Nov. 24

Delta Down’s 2020-21 season Thoroughbred season, which had been set to begin Oct. 6, has been rescheduled for Nov. 24 because of the damaging storms that have rolled through the area over the past two months. Hurricane Laura, which struck the Vinton, Louisiana area Aug. 27 as a Category 4 storm with winds of nearly 150 miles per hour, caused extensive damage to the facility before Hurricane Delta struck nearly the same area as a Category 2 storm Oct. 9.

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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Fair Grounds Releases 2020-21 Stakes Schedule Worth $7.055 Million

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has announced that 51 stakes worth a combined $7.055 million will be offered during the upcoming 76-day 2020-21 Thoroughbred racing season, which is set to begin Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26.

“We are proud to once again continue our growth and support of the Thoroughbred racing industry with our purse allocations and this diverse and dynamic stakes schedule,” said Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots president Doug Shipley. “We look forward to our 149th racing season and the continuation of bringing many of the best horsemen and jockeys from around the world to enjoy the high caliber racing at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.”

The “Louisiana Derby Day” card on March 20 will feature eight stakes worth a total of $2.425 million, including the 108th running of the Grade II $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby for 3-year-olds.

Previously run over nine furlongs on dirt, the distance of Louisiana Derby was extended to 1 3/16ths miles last season. The third and final local prep on the Road to the Grade I $3 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, the race is worth 100-40-20-10 points to the top four finishers. Run at 1 1/16 miles, the 53rd running of the Grade II $400,000 Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks for 3-year-old fillies offers the same number of points en route to the Grade I $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks.

“Lengthening the distances of all three of our Road to the Derby races proved to be quite popular with the horsemen,” said Fair Grounds racing secretary Scott Jones. “The Lecomte drew 14 entries, the Risen Star had 23 entries and was split into two divisions, and the Louisiana Derby had an overflow field. Our progressive schedule of 3-year-old races for both the boys and girls gives horsemen a great opportunity to develop their horses and compete for excellent purses.”

A pair of nine furlong, high-impact stakes for older horses are also scheduled on the Louisiana Derby Day program – the Grade II $400,000 New Orleans Classic and the Grade II $300,000 Muniz Memorial Stakes, to be run over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course. In addition, four undercard stakes are slated for the lucrative card, including the $100,000 Tom Benson Memorial for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on grass and a trio of Louisiana-bred events – the $75,000 Costa Rising Stakes, a 5½-furlong turf sprint, the $75,000 Crescent City Derby for 3-year-old males at 1 1/16 miles and the $75,000 Crescent City Oaks for females at 1 mile and 70 yards.

On January 16, the “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day presented by Hotel Monteleone” features a pair of key 3-year-old events — the Grade III $200,000 Lecomte Stakes, which was extended from a mile to 1 1/16 miles last season, and the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for fillies at 1 mile and 70 yards. The top four finishers in each race receive 10-4-2-1 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks respectively.

Four stakes for older horses will also be presented on the January 16 program, including the $125,000 Louisiana Stakes, which was elevated to Grade III status and received a $25,000 purse increase, at 1 1/16 miles, the $125,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes at 1 1/16 miles over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course, the $100,000 Duncan F. Kenner Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf and the $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on grass.

On February 13, “Louisiana Derby Preview Day presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln” features a pair of key 3-year-old stakes — the Grade II $400,000 Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln, which was extended from 1 1/16 to 1 1/8 miles last season, and the Grade II $300,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes presented by Fasig-Tipton, for fillies to be contested over 1 1/16 miles. The top four finishers receive 50-20-10-5 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks respectively.

The Rachel Alexandra has produced the last two of the last three Kentucky Oaks winners in Monomoy Girl and Serengeti Empress and 2014 victress Untapable also took down the Run for the Lilies. Our 2020 third place finisher Swiss Skydiver has gone on to win five graded stakes, including the Alabama (G1) in advance of a runner-up finish in in the Oaks, and the Preakness (G1) against the boys. With such a stellar history of recent participants, Fair Grounds remains hopeful the Rachel Alexandra will soon achieve Grade I status is deserves.

Four stakes for older horses will also be presented on the February 13 program — the Grade III $200,000 Mineshaft Stakes at 1 1/16 miles, the Grade III $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes for at nine furlongs on turf, the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes at 5½ furlongs on turf and the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

The December 19 “Santa Super Saturday presented by Coca-Cola” card offers a six-pack of $75,000 stakes. Four of the races are for older horses — the Tenacious Stakes at 1 1/16ths miles, the Richard R. Scherer Memorial Stakes at 5 ½ furlongs on turf, the Blushing K.D. for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf, and the Buddy Diliberto Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf. The other two are six furlong events for juveniles – the Sugar Bowl Stakes for the boys and the Letellier Memorial Stakes for the girls.

Louisiana Champions Day presented by Acadian Ambulance will be held on December 14. With the races run over various divisions and distances on both dirt and turf, the program features ten stakes restricted to Louisiana-breds. Each Louisiana Champions Day stakes is worth $100,000 with the exception of the Louisiana Champions Day Classic, which carries a $150,000 purse.

The purse for the opening day Thanksgiving Classic for older male sprinters has been increased $25,000 to $125,000. The $60,000 Shantel Lanerie, to be run on March 21, has been repurposed as a route race for older Louisiana-bred fillies and mares.

The 76-day, 2020-2021 Fair Grounds racing season runs through Sunday, March 28. Regular post time will be 1 p.m. CT. The exceptions are Louisiana Derby Preview Day (February 13 at noon CT) and Louisiana Derby Day (March 20 at 11 a.m. CT).

Condition Book #1 – https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=CB-FG-20201126-20201213D

Pocket Calendar & Stakes Schedule – https://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/2020-2021-THOROUGHBRED-RACING-AND-STAKES-CALENDAR.pdf

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Repairs Continue at Delta Downs, Racing Could Resume Late November

Officials at Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel in Vinton, Louisiana, which suffered widespread damage during Hurricane Laura Aug. 27, report that they are working towards issuing a revised schedule for its 2020-2021 racing season and that live racing could resume by the end of November.

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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