Seventeen 2-year-olds including My Adonis, winner of the Jean Laffite Stakes, and Drill , unplaced in the Nov. 5 Grey Goose Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (gr. I), were pre-entered for the $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot Stakes (gr. III) set for Nov. 19.
The 1 1/16-mile Jackpot is part of a special afternoon racing program at Delta Downs Racetrack & Casino in Louisiana. First post will be 1:15 p.m. CST for a program featuring eight stakes and about $2.2 million in purses.
The Jackpot will be broadcast live at 4:15 p.m. (CST) as “The Race of the Week” on Sirius XM Radio. The two-hour program, which will air live on Sirius Channel 93 and XM Channel 209 from 3-5 p.m. (CST), will be co-hosted by Dave Johnson and Bill Finley. The broadcast will also include the live call of the $500,000 Delta Downs Princess (gr. III) for 2-year-old fillies.
The Jackpot, with a $600,000 first-place prize, basically guarantees the winner a berth in the following year's Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (gr. I). Horses with the highest graded-stakes earnings have first preference in the Derby.
George and Lori Hall’s My Adonis, by Pleasantly Perfect, has been pointed to the Jackpot by trainer Kelly Breen. My Adonis shipped to Delta Downs for the $200,000 Jean Lafitte Oct. 22 and won by 5 1/4 lengths.
My Adonis will try to become the second horse win the Jean Lafitte and Jackpot; Rule did so in 2009.
Drill, owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram, and Paul Weitman, finished 11th in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile for trainer Bob Baffert but earlier this year won the Del Mar Futurity (gr. I). The Lawyer Ron colt is based in California.
Stephen Brown’s Jake Mo (Giacomo), fifth in the Nov. 4 Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Sprint, also was pre-entered in the Jackpot.
Entries will be taken and post positions drawn for the Jackpot Nov. 16. Preference is given to horses with the highest graded-stakes earnings and highest lifetime earnings overall. Drill and My Adonis top that list.
The Jackpot field is limited to 10 starters on the three-quarter-mile racing surface at Delta Downs.