About Delaware Park

As well as being a casino and golf course these days, Delaware Park still keeps to its roots in great fashion as a well-established thoroughbred racetrack.

Having used their new found casino revenue wisely from 1995 onwards, Delaware has managed to increase purse sizes for racing meaning a better class of horse turning up at the track which is to their great credit.

Such stars of the game as Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro as well as Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Afleet Alex have started their careers around here with Delaware now used as a permanent base for well bred horses running around New York and Florida, as well as Kentucky of course.

In mid-July Delaware hosts its most famous races, the Grade 2 Delaware Oaks and Delaware Handicap as part of the Del Cap Festival with the handicap worth a cool $750,000.

As for location, the track is in a handy spot within easy access of the I-95 just 20 minutes from Wilmington and an hour from Philadelphia although out of town race goers come in less frequently these days.

Delaware Park History

Delaware Park, one of twenty-three racetracks designed by William du Pont Jr., opened its doors officially on June 26, 1937 in order to host racing each year from May to October although it was in the planning for some time before this.

Its roots arguably go back as far as 1933 when legislation was passed to create the Delaware Racing Commission on the back of the state legalizing racing, this despite opposition at the time from conservatives.

Having bought up a large chunk of land a Stanton, du Pont Jr. set about building a facility specifically for thoroughbred racing and this Delaware Park was born.

When Delaware Park first opened its doors back in ’37 the facilities consisted of an open-air, 7,500 seat grandstand which included a clubhouse on the upper deck – a far cry from today’s sprawling stands, marquees and huge crowds on Del Cap weekend.

Aside from a brief closure during World War II, racing took off in the forties in Delaware and went from strength to strength over the subsequent decades until financial troubles forced the track’s closure in the fall of 1982.

By the spring of ’84 however we were back in business at Delaware and, despite the reduced amount of visitors from out of state due to the opening of tracks around New York and Maryland, the track flourished and today stands as a good breeding ground for potential Triple Crown stars with many permanently based there.

Delaware Park Track Details

The dirt track is a one mile oval with six furlong and 1¼ mile chutes. A short, 900-feet run-in comes after the final turn towards the finish line with the turf track inside and measuring seven furlongs round.

The track was reworked in 2005 after concerns over the old surface forced the cancellation of a fixture, though it rides great these days.

Wager at Delaware Park With TVG!

Now you know all about this location, don’t forget you can wager on races there with TVG. Head to our schedules page to check out the latest race times then bet and watch live!

Address

777 Delaware Park Bvd, Wilmington, DE 19804, USA.

Contact

Kevin Delucia (Kevin.delucia@delawarepark.com)