Delaware Park Casino, the Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association (DTHA), the Delaware Jockeys’ Health and Welfare Benefit Fund and the Delaware Park Jockeys Association teamed up to donate $20,000 to the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) today.  

The check was presented after the tenth race on the special eleven race Owners Day card today. 

Delaware Park developed a unique funding mechanism for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund donation.  Over the course of the live racing season each jockey donates a dollar from each mount fee and Delaware Park Casino, the Delaware Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association and the Delaware Jockeys’ Health and Welfare Benefit Fund each match the dollar. 

“I am so proud of our riders and our community for coming together to help such an important organization,” said Kevin DeLucia, Chief Financial Officer at Delaware Park. “We are blessed to have a great jockey colony at Delaware Park.  They risk so much to bring us exciting racing and this our small way of saying ‘thank you’ for not only being exceptional riders, but being leaders in our industry.”

For more information on the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund (PDJF) or to donate, visit www.pdjf.org.
 

This press release has not been edited by BloodHorse. If there are any questions please contact the organization that produced the release.

It’s one of the (many) wonderful things about fall − the changing of leaves.

From lush, green canopies to beautiful reds, yellows and oranges, trees in Delaware can put on a pretty spectacular show.

While state residents still have several more weeks − or perhaps longer if the warm weather continues − before the foliage changes become widespread, especially impatient Delawareans may be able to see an early show at two state parks.

Trap Pond State Park in Sussex County and Brandywine Creek State Park in New Castle County were recently voted among the top 100 locations nationwide to view early fall foliage. (Sorry, Kent County.)

ALL THINGS AUTUMN: 🍂🏈🎃 Welcome to our 2024 Delaware Fall Guide 🎃 🏈🍂

Trap Pond came in at No. 32, while Brandywine Creek ranked 64th.

Why Trap Pond State Park for fall foliage?

According to the 3,000-person survey, which was conducted by a Florida Volkswagen dealership in August, the cypress trees in Trap Pond start changing color earlier than most. This gives viewers a “unique early fall experience in southern Delaware,” a news release said.

This isn’t the first time Trap Pond State Park has been named a top spot for foliage.

Last year, Mixbook, a photo book brand, surveyed 3,000 people for their favorite “under-the-radar” destinations where they would like to see fall foliage this year. Out of 150 fall foliage hot spots, three from Delaware made the list − including the Sussex park.  

Brandywine Creek State Park also makes early foliage list

Perhaps unsurprisingly, New Castle County’s Brandywine Creek State Park also made the list.

The nearly 1,000-acre park is home to many vibrant maples and oaks, which typically start changing in late September.

The park also made Mixbook’s list of top spots.

Best early leaf viewing nationally

Unsurprisingly, the top three spots for early fall foliage were locations that are nationally known as peak leaf-viewing locales.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee topped the list, followed by Shenandoah National Park in Virginia. Third on the list was the Catskill Mountain region in New York.

While Tennessee might be more of a hike for Delawareans to get to, Shenandoah and the Catskills are within driving distance from the First State. Both spots can be reached in three to four hours.

To view the full list of early leaf spots, visit gunthervw.net/the-first-fall.htm.

AUTUMN SHOW: Try Poconos, Catskills for leaf viewing

Got a story tip or idea? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com. For all things breaking news, follow her on X at @izzihughes_

Many people pride themselves on their survival skills, assuming they would easily make it out of a zombie apocalypse alive. 

But how well you’ve prepared yourself may not mean much if your location is working against you, especially in Delaware.  

Is Delaware a good state to survive a zombie apocalypse in? 

Casino.org, an online gaming website, compiled data for each state to determine which offered the highest and lowest chances of survival during a zombie apocalypse. They first asked ChatGPT to create general criteria for their Zombie Apocalypse Survival Index and then grouped some of the suggested factors into different weighted categories.

Environmental, weighted at a total of 36%, features:  

• Population density per square mile, weighted at 7%. 

• Firearm ownership rates, weighted at 10%. 

• Freshwater accessibility (Water surface area per square mile), weighted at 9%. 

• Crime rate per 100,000 people, weighted at 4%. 

• Number of gas stations, weighted at 6%. 

Hiding spots, weighted at a total of 25%, features: 

• Number of farms, weighted at 7%,  

• Number of army bases, weighted at 10%. 

• Number of prisons, weighted at 8%. 

Valuable professions, weighted at a total of 49%, features: 

• Number of military and law enforcement workers per capita, weighted at 10%. 

• Number of healthcare professionals per capita, weighted at 12%. 

• Number of scientists and engineers per capita, weighted at 10%. 

• Number of farmers per capita, weighted at 7%. 

Each state was then scored on a scale from 0 to 100 to find the states where residents are most likely and least likely to survive a zombie apocalypse. 

According to the findings, the First State is one of the places you don’t want to be when catastrophe strikes.  

Delaware ranked No. 4, with a score of 17.64, for the worst states for zombie apocalypse survival nationwide. 

Only 5% of Delaware population consists of valuable apocalyptic professions. With Delaware reporting the sixth highest population density and a low firearm ownership rate at 38.7%, Casino.org found that it would be “too crowded and impossible to defend yourself against zombies and traitors.” 

Aside from the factors hindering the survival of Delawareans, the Small Wonder has the second lowest freshwater availability in the nation, along with only 2,300 farms, four army bases and four prisons available for 1.08 million residents to potentially hide in.  

ICYMI: Need a cool down? Check out these caves and caverns near Delaware

Best and worst states to survive a zombie apocalypse in 

Along with Delaware, the other states in the bottom five for apocalypse survival are: 

• Rhode Island at No.1, with a score of 0.  

• New Jersey at No. 2, with a score of 10.12   

• Connecticut at No. 3, with a score of 10.97.   

• Nevada at No. 5, with a score of 21.47.   

The states where you will have the best chances of apocalypse survival are: 

• California at No. 1, with a score of 100.   

• Texas at No. 2, with a score of 88.39.   

• Florida at No. 3, with a score of 73.28.   

• Virginia at No. 4, with a score of 66.31.   

• Michigan at No. 5, with a score of 64. 51.   

Got a tip or a story idea? Contact Krys’tal Griffin at kgriffin@delawareonline.com.