Delaware to cut seven days from schedule

Delaware Park announced Saturday that it would drop seven days from its current live meet because of a decline in purse subsidies from its nearly 3,000 slot machines.

Delaware Park will now conclude its meet Oct. 26, rather than the originally scheduled Nov. 7. The decline in purse subsidies is due to a drop in slot play attributed to the national economy and the state of Delaware reducing the amount of video lottery revenue earmarked for purses by 10 percent, according to a news release issued by the track.

"With a smaller pool for purses, we were forced to ask for the reduction in the number of live racing dates to keep our daily purse structure intact," said Mike Vild, senior vice president of Delaware Park.

The change will be presented to the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission at its upcoming meeting.