Delta Jackpot purse back to $1 million

Delta Downs has raised the purse of the Delta Jackpot back to $1 million, Boyd Gaming, which owns the track, announced Tuesday. The race had been worth $750,000 since 2008.

The Delta Jackpot, at 1 1/16 miles, has also been repositioned on the calendar, and will be run about two weeks earlier than usual, on Nov. 20. It will also be held in the afternoon, after being run at night for the majority of its seven previous editions.

The Jackpot will be the second-richest 2-year-old stakes in the country behind the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile on Nov. 6.

“We are committed to making the $1 million Delta Jackpot one of the most important 2-year-old stakes on the national racing calendar,” said Paul Chakmak, chief operating officer of Boyd Gaming. “The late-November date and the $1 million purse will provide a path for a run at the 2011 Triple Crown.”

The Delta Jackpot will again be the centerpiece of an eight-stakes card that will include the Grade 3, $500,000 Delta Princess for 2-year-old fillies. In all, purses for the card will total $2.4 million. Delta will open its 88-date meet on Oct. 27.

Last year, the Delta Jackpot offered an additional $250,000 in purse money to any Grade 1 or Grade 2 winner who started in the race. None of the horses in the field were eligible for the bonus. The race was won by Rule.