Hurricane Aftermath: 'A Lot Of Damage' Will Delay Opening Of Delta Downs' Thoroughbred Meet
Significant damage from Hurricane Laura will force Delta Downs to delay the start of its Thoroughbred meet, scheduled to begin Oct. 6, director of racing operations Chris Warren told the Thoroughbred Daily News. The Vinton, La. track was part of the mandatory evacuation order issued Tuesday, but nearly 600 Quarter Horses and a number of workers remained on property with nowhere else to go.
No horses or people were reported injured in the hurricane, which made landfall around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, but the facility itself was a different story.
“There’s debris and sheet metal everywhere,” Warren told the TDN. “The tote board got demolished. It collapsed and is completely gone. Our camera towers are gone, so is our holding barn. The starting gates got completely turned over and the light poles are torn up. The whole backside rail is pretty much ruined. There’s just a lot of damage and it is everywhere.”
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Track announcer Don Stevens posted several photos of the damage on social media: