Delaware Park at a glance
William du Pont Jr. built Delaware Park with the course designer Donald Ross, and the first card ran on June 26, 1937. The grandstand faces both a dirt oval and a turf course. Arabian races were part of the program until 2021; today the meet is thoroughbred only, governed by the state’s thoroughbred commission.
The casino side came in December 1995, after Delaware’s 1994 Horse Racing Redevelopment Act allowed video lottery machines at the state’s three tracks. That law is the reason Delaware Park is described as a racino and not simply a casino: the machines are lottery terminals, and a fixed share of their net proceeds goes back into purses for the horsemen.
The 2026 Delaware Park racing schedule
The 89th season opened on May 13 and ended on October 17, for 75 days of live racing. The racing schedule shifted with the summer: Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday in May and June, Wednesday through Saturday in July, then Thursday through Saturday from August to the close, with a few special Wednesday cards.
| Period | Racing days |
|---|---|
| May and June | Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday (special Friday card May 29) |
| July | Wednesday to Saturday |
| August to October | Thursday, Friday, Saturday (no racing Friday, September 4) |
| Special cards | Wednesday, September 9 and Wednesday, October 14 |
The June 13 card pairs the $300,000 Delaware Derby with the Grade III Delaware Oaks, and the Grade III Delaware Handicap, at $500,000 the richest race of the year, comes on September 26. Twenty-eight stakes worth about $4.3 million fill the 2026 racing schedule, and the closing weeks overlap with the Parktober Fest weekend on October 17.
Betting follows the standard pari-mutuel pools: win, place and show plus exotics such as exactas and trifectas. When the live meet is dark, the simulcast area carries races from other tracks year-round, so the betting windows never fully close. Free programs and race-day details appear on the track’s site, and the horse racing schedule page compares meets across the region.
Inside the Delaware Park casino
The casino floor spreads over two levels with more than 1,900 slot machines, from penny games to $25 reels. An outdoor slot terrace added over 250 of those machines. Delaware Lottery counted 2,023 terminals at the property in June 2026, and the track says nearly 1,000 machines were installed or converted in the twelve months to May 2026.
A $10 million renovation brought new slot titles, a high-limit table area and new dining, and the main slot floor now stays open around the clock. The pit offers blackjack, craps, roulette and poker variants, the poker room runs its own games, and the sportsbook covers professional and college sports. Only guests aged 21 and over may play.
Delaware Park produced about $174.5 million in video lottery net proceeds in fiscal 2026, the largest total of the state’s three tracks according to Delaware Lottery figures. It also holds one of the three state-run online casino licenses tied to the racinos. Setting a budget before walking onto the casino floor is sensible, and the state’s helpline is 888-850-8888.
Restaurants, golf and events
The track’s own dining list currently names Del Cap Bar & Grill, High Steaks Brewery, Picciotti’s, Foo Noodle, RBar, Moneyline, The Cove, Rooney’s, On a Roll Deli, The Grove and Terrace Dining. Choices run from a quick deli roll at On a Roll to a sit-down steak, and the terrace is the natural spot for a long racing afternoon.
White Clay Creek Country Club, an 18-hole, par-72 course, sits on the same property, so golf and a race card can share one trip. Seasonal events in 2026 include Parktober Fest on October 17, a visit by the Vietnam Traveling Memorial Wall in mid-October, and a Festival of Lights on weekends from late November.
Getting to Delaware Park and nearby racinos
The track is at 777 Delaware Park Boulevard, just off Route 7 and close to Interstate 95 at Stanton, about 30 miles from Philadelphia and a short drive from Newark and Wilmington. Parking is on site. Travelers from Pennsylvania often pair a visit with Harrah’s Philadelphia in Chester, the nearest racino across the state line.
Within Delaware the other two racinos run harness racing in different seasons, so they fill the gaps in the calendar. Bally’s Dover races from November into April, and Harrington Raceway runs spring and late-summer meets. The Delaware racinos overview explains how the three tracks share the state’s video lottery system and its purse money.