by Tom De Martini

Delaware Park officials remain optimistic that weekend race cards will fill despite drawing enough entries to fill only seven Thoroughbred races on Monday and four on Tuesday.

Racing Secretary Ismael Trejo has dealt with a light entry box since the beginning of the 136-day Delaware Park meet on April 19. A majority of fields have averaged between six and seven horses.
 
The track carded nine Thoroughbred races on March 26, including the $72,750 Francis “Jock” LaBelle Memorial Stakes, which drew a field of four following two scratches.

The nine-race March 26 card at the Stanton, Delaware, track offered $213,500 in purses, which marked the largest day of the meet thus far.

Delaware Park chief operating officer Bill Fasy said the track, which provided winter stabling, opened with approximately 1,000 horses on the grounds.

“The horsemen wanted to open the meet early. We knew this was going to be a tough go, and this is the result. The purse money is here,” Fasy said. “I don’t know whether it’s the backlash of the steroids ban or horses just aren’t ready to run. All I know is my people are putting in way too many hours to fill just [four Thoroughbred] races.”

In March, the Delaware Thoroughbred Racing Commission unanimously adopted rules that ban the use of anabolic and androgenic steroids in Thoroughbreds. Fines begin at $500 and escalate up to $2,500 and 90-day license suspensions for multiple violations.

Fasy said canceling Wednesday’s card was not considered.

“The question is, do you cancel the card and do it another day, but we’ve prepared as staff and the product is ready,” Fasy said. “The racetrack just can’t cancel the card. We’re going to conduct business and move on.”

Fasy did not speculate about gasoline prices nearing $4 a gallon that might be hindering the amount of shippers. Fasy said between 25% and 35% of the racing cards are entered by horses shipping from other locales.

“I can’t answer that. Other racetracks in the region are telling horsemen right on the overnights not to leave the grounds,” Fasy said. “My feeling is if that we have a condition for your horse within ten days, don’t take it elsewhere.”

Entries for Saturday will be taken Tuesday. Entries for Sunday are taken Wednesday. Delaware will begin racing five days a week move from late May through the first week of August.

Fasy said the scheduled opening of the turf course next week and the closing of Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs meets should help fill the entry box going forward.

The racing office filled its Monday and Tuesday Arabian races.

Tom De Martini is a New Jersey-based Thoroughbred Times correspondent