Horseplayers will enjoy Saturday’s stakes races at Delta Downs

I know a lot of horseplayers who focus their main plays on stakes races. The logic is pretty simple. In 99.9 percent of the time, they don't have to worry about deception. Horses are in a stakes race to win it.

With that type of thinking, they will love the daytime card at Delta Downs on Saturday. The Vinton, La., track will host eight stakes races including the $400,000 Delta Downs Princess and the $1-million Delta Downs Jackpot.

I think it's neat to see two stakes named after local casinos, the Orleans and the Sam's Town. That is because the track's owner is Boyd Gaming. So not only are they reinvesting some of the Delta Downs slot profits into the horse racing program, they are also publicizing two local entities that they own.

The Princess, for 2-year-old fillies, has a big favorite in La Appassionata (3-5). The daughter of Bernardini is trained by Steve Asmussen. She has won both her starts by daylight and clearly has the pedigree to win at longer distances too.

While La Appassionata looks nearly unbeatable, as we saw with Rhonda Rousey, even Superman has his Kryptonite. I will include Learning Curve (12-1) and Above Fashion (9-2) with the chalk.

The Jackpot for 2-year-old colts has yet to produce a Kentucky Derby winner. But it has showcased some promising young talent, including a Breeders' Cup champion in Goldencents.

The Jackpot favorite is Exaggerator (2-1) for trainer Keith Desormeaux. He ran fourth last time in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. But in two other graded stakes starts, he won the Saratoga Special and was second in the Breeders' Futurity at Keeneland.

His biggest threats include Found Money (6-1) and Sunny Ridge (7-2). Found Money is trained by Doug O'Neill who also trained Goldencents. Found Money has Southern California speed so expect him to lead or be forwardly placed throughout.

Sunny Ridge last out ran second in the Champagne at Belmont Park. He passed on the Breeders' Cup to point for this rich pot.

An interesting sidebar on Jackpot Day is the return of jockey Pat Valenzuela. He has a mount in the Jackpot on Memories of Winter (10-1) for trainer Anthony Margotta. This Hard Spun colt cost a measly $8,000 at the 2014 Keeneland September sale and now has a chance to dance with the big boys.

Meanwhile, Valenzuela has not ridden since January 2014. He will ride first call for Karl Broberg, the leading trainer at Delta Downs. There will be some races where they will be conceding a lot of weight.

The 53-year-old Valenzuela will tack 118 pounds, so he will be overweight quite often. No one has ever questioned his talent. It is his battles with substance abuse that has been his own worst enemy.

DARREL MCHARGUE – Riding great Darrel McHargue has been named Chief Steward in California. His duties begin on Dec. 26, opening day of the Santa Anita meet. McHargue has been a steward since 1990.

Many decisions by the Southern California stewards over the years have come under great scrutiny. The most high profile case was the 2014 Breeders' Cup Classic. The eventual winner, Bayern, made a left turn leaving the starting gate. He wiped out many horses including the race favorite Shared Belief. After a lengthy steward's inquiry, they let the result stand.

Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @richeng4propick