Early start and post time for Delta meet

It’s the early bird meet at Delta Downs.

The Vinton, La., track is opening its season a week earlier than usual this Tuesday night. It also is rolling out an earlier post time for the new meet, with the races starting at 4:55 p.m. Central.

“We’re just trying something different,” said Chris Warren, director of racing for Delta.

Warren said the hope is the earlier post will lead to California simulcasting more races from Delta.

Delta also is closing its meet a little earlier, on Feb. 29, instead of racing into March.

In another schedule change, the track will run just two dates the week of Christmas, on Dec. 27-28.

“Everything else is the same,” Warren said.

Delta is again racing 84 dates, he said, and the schedule largely will be Wednesday through Saturday nights. The only other Tuesday card of the meet is Nov. 26, and it will have a special first post of 1:35 p.m., as will the Wednesday card, Nov. 27. There will be no racing on Thanksgiving, Nov. 28.

Delta’s richest program remains the $895,000 Louisiana Premier Night on Feb. 8. The card features a number of divisional stakes for Louisiana-breds, led by the $150,000 Championship. Delta will have a total of 26 stakes this meet worth a combined $2.2 million.

Warren said purses for open-company stakes have been raised to $100,000 from $75,000, including the Delta Mile on Nov. 16. Last year’s Delta Mile winner, Mocito Rojo, recently won the Grade 3 Lukas Classic at Churchill Downs.

Purses for the new meet are projected to average $250,000 a program, according to Warren.

“That’s on par with last season,” he said.

The stable area houses a number of familiar names. Karl Broberg will be bidding for his ninth consecutive Delta training title. Last year, he set track records for trainer wins and stable earnings. Robertino Diodoro, who was new to the meet last season, has returned with a division, as has Joey Foster, who is coming off the training title at Louisiana Downs.

Tim Thornton, who won his first Delta riding title last meet, is back for the new season. He is part of a riding colony that includes Carlos Lozado, who won the recent title at Louisiana Downs.

Warren said the wagering format is unchanged, but he is talking to Louisiana Racing Commission officials about the possibility of introducing a jackpot pick six.

Delta, which operates a casino and hotel, puts on a 10-race card Tuesday night topped by a pair of allowances. The first stakes race of the meet, the $100,000 Magnolia for Louisiana-breds, is Friday night. It has drawn 10 fillies and mares, including stakes winners Is Too, Hyper Piper and Special Blessing. The feature Saturday night is the $100,000 Gold Cup.