Horse racing in the United States Horses and inspired their name. With the exception of the longer, distance contests, Quarter Horse races are run flat out, with the horses running at top speed for the duration. There is less jockeying for position, as turns are rare, and many races end with several contestants grouped together at the wire. The track surface is similar to that of Thoroughbred racing and usually consists of dirt. The traditional high point of US horse racing is the Kentucky Derby, held on the first Saturday of May at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. Together, the Derby; the Preakness Stakes, held two
Delta Jackpot Stakes Delta Jackpot Stakes The Delta Jackpot Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana. A Grade III stakes open to two-year-old horses, it is raced in November over a distance of miles (8.5 Furlongs) on dirt. The inaugural running of the Delta Jackpot took place in 2002. Run over a distance of one mile (1.6 km), it carried a purse of $500,000. For the following year, the race was lengthened to its present miles and the purse was increased to $1 million to make it the second-richest race for two-year-olds in North America