Delta Downs Unveils $2.7-Million Stakes Schedule

Delta Downs Racetrack has released its stakes schedule for its 46-date Quarter Horse meet, which opens April 22.

© Coady Photography

VINTON, LA—FEBRUARY 17, 2015—Pending approval from the Louisiana Horse Racing Commission, Delta Downs Racetrack released its proposed stakes schedule for its 46-date Quarter Horse meet, which opens April 22.

Delta Downs’ 26-race stakes schedule will offer approximately $2.7 million to horsemen -- subject to approval by the Louisiana Racing Commission -- and is topped by the track’s richest Quarter Horse race, the 350-yard, $650,000-est. Lee Berwick Memorial Louisiana-Bred Futurity (RG1) on closing night, July 11. The stakes is named in honor of the late Lee Berwick, a past American Quarter Horse Association president who founded Delta Downs in the early 1970s.

Past winners of the Lee Berwick Futurity include champion Vals Fortune (2004) and Jet Black Patriot ('08).

Other prominent Louisiana-bred stakes include the 330-yard, $275,000-est. Louisiana Breeders’ Lassie Futurity (RG2) for fillies on May 15, the 330-yard, $275,000-est. Louisiana Breeders’ Laddie Futurity (RG2) for colts and geldings on May 16, and the 440-yard, $100,000-guaranteed Louisiana Classic Stakes (RG2) for older sprinters on closing day.

Delta Downs’ open stakes schedule is topped by the 350-yard, $275,000-est. Firecracker Futurity (G2), appropriately scheduled for the Fourth of July, and the 400-yard, $100,000-added Firecracker Derby on July 3.

Stall applications are due to racing secretary Chris Warren on Friday, March 6. For more information on the meet, visit Delta Downs’ website at Deltadowns.com.

All Delta Downs races can be seen at Q-RacingVideo.com.