Delaware
They’re off! New Delaware Derby highlights 2025 horse racing season at Delaware Park
Honor D Lady gallops to win in Delaware Handicap with Jose Ortiz up
Jockey Jose Ortiz ties record with fourth DelCap win.
It’s time to pull back the curtain on the 88th season of live thoroughbred racing at Delaware Park.
A nine-horse field is scheduled to go to the post at 12:35 p.m. on May 14, the first of eight races scheduled on the opener of 75 live racing days through Oct. 11.
A lot of familiar faces will be returning among the jockeys and trainers scheduled to compete, but there are some schedule changes and a new stakes race that should add some excitement at the Stanton oval.
Racing schedule
Racing will be held weekly on Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday for most of the meet, although there will be no racing on May 15.
Friday racing will be added on May 30, June 6 and 13, and each Friday from July 4 through Aug. 15. Two Sunday cards – on Sept. 14 and Sept. 28 – will also be held.
First post time will be 12:35 on each racing day.
Big new race: The Delaware Derby
It won’t rival the big one in Kentucky, but Delaware Park is finally throwing its hat – in this case a derby – into the ring with a new race that could attract some of the horses who ran in America’s most famous race on May 3.
The inaugural $200,000 Delaware Derby will be held on Saturday, June 14 as part of a card including the Grade III, $300,000 Delaware Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile test for 3-year-old fillies that is traditionally the track’s second-biggest race.
The 1 1/16-mile Delaware Derby could potentially attract some colts who ran in the Kentucky Derby and/or Preakness who could see a win in Delaware as a springboard to bigger 3-year-old summer targets, like the Haskell Stakes in July at Monmouth Park or the Travers Stakes at Saratoga in August.
The track will have several promotions on Delaware Derby Day, including T-shirt and hat giveaways while supplies last, a Delaware-themed derby and bonnet hat contest, special Delaware-themed cocktails served in commemorative cups, and kids activities including pony rides, balloon sculptures and face painting in the grove.
Delaware Handicap moves to fall
The Grade III Delaware Handicap, which has traditionally been run in early July, will be contested on Sunday, Sept. 28. The track’s biggest race will have a purse of $400,000.
The DelCap has also been shortened to 1 ⅛ miles for only the second time in its 88-year history. The race was contested at 1¼ miles – known as a rarely long distance for fillies and mares – in every year but one from 1951-2022.
Delaware Park officials shortened the race to 1 3/16 miles two years ago, and cut another 16th of a mile this year.
The new date and distance could position the Delaware Handicap as a prep race for the Breeders’ Cup Distaff, which is also 1 ⅛ miles and will be run five weeks later, on Nov. 1, at Del Mar in southern California.
Leading trainer returns
The race for leading trainer may end on the opening day of the meet.
Jamie Ness has led in wins in each of the last 10 years, and 12 times overall. He has horses entered in five of the eight races on the May 14 card, while no other trainer has more than three entered.
“We have been doing this for 25 years and we have slowly built this up,” Ness told Delaware Park racing information coordinator Chris Sobocinski. “We are in a region that allows me to have strings at multiple tracks and still be able to manage it right. Delaware Park is the central spot, which is why it’s pretty much our home base.”
Ness has won at nearly a 25 percent clip over the last five years at Delaware Park, with an average payoff of $5.50. Last year, his entries won at a 30 percent rate on both the dirt and turf courses. He won 49 percent of the time with favorites, 23 percent with 2-year-olds, 31% with 3-year-olds and 28% with maidens and claimers.
In other words, every time he sends one out, pay attention.
Don’t sleep on this trainer
Greg Compton doesn’t have the sheer number of horses to compete with Ness, but he finished a career-high sixth in the Delaware Park trainer standings last year and is returning to Stanton after finishing fifth at the ultra-competitive meet at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas, this spring.
“We should be coming to Delaware with between 40 to 50 horses that we think will help the program from top to bottom pretty well,” Compton told Sobocinski.
Compton has the potential to have two strong entries – Kinzie Queen and G W’s Girl – in the Delaware Oaks. He also trains Auto Glide, who won the $175,000 Battery Park Stakes at Delaware Park last year.
Other prominent trainers expected to compete in Stanton this year include Edward Allard, Lynn Ashby, Brett Brinkman, Keri Brion, Gary Capuano, Gary Contessa, Cathal Lynch, Graham Motion, Kerri Raven, McLean Robertson, Andrew Simoff, Michael Stidham and Karin Wagner.
Jockeys to watch
Five of the top seven finishers in last year’s jockey standings – Jaime Rodriguez, Julio Hernandez, Carol Cedeno, Jose Batista and Daniel Centeno – are scheduled to ride at least once on the opening day card.
A new rider to watch is Martin Chuan, who finished 14th with 13 winners at Oaklawn Park this spring and has been riding recently at Laurel and Penn National.
Contact Brad Myers at bmyers@delawareonline.com. Follow on X: @BradMyersTNJ. Follow us on Instagram: @DEGameDay
Delaware
Delaware County prison warden resigns after just months on the job
From Delco to Chesco and Montco to Bucks, what about life in Philly’s suburbs do you want WHYY News to cover? Let us know!
Willie Bonds has tendered his resignation as warden of the George W. Hill Correctional Facility in Delaware County after less than six months running the prison.
“The resignation was submitted due to a personal family matter and an opportunity to pursue other career interests,” said Michael Connolly, communications director of Delaware County, in a written statement.
The Delaware County Jail Oversight Board named Bonds the warden in February. He took over for interim warden David Mascollino, who spent five months on the job.
Mascollino had stepped in following the resignation of warden Laura Williams in August 2025. Bonds will remain in his current role until the county implements a succession plan.
“While the County was looking forward to his continued good service, County leadership respects his personal decision and is immensely grateful for his work on behalf of our residents, the incarcerated population, and the dedicated staff of George W. Hill,” Connolly said.
The county will name an interim warden and work with the prison’s leadership to identify a permanent replacement, Connolly said.
“As this process moves ahead, Delaware County remains committed to continuing its efforts to build George W. Hill into a facility that every resident can be proud of and continuing the major investments and upgrades to the facility already well under way,” he said.
Delaware
Delaware closer to allowing public campaign expenses to cover security
When will Delaware’s 2026 midterm elections take place?
Delaware’s midterm elections are coming up. Here’s what voters need to know before heading to the polls.
Delaware candidates and elected officials may soon be able to use campaign funds to protect themselves on and off the campaign trail.
A House bill introduced June 4 would allow funding for security costs for Delaware officials and candidates. Lawmakers said those expenses would be covered through voluntary contributions, not taxpayer dollars.
Nationally, the bill arrives during a fraught period for public officials. In recent years, several lawmakers in other states have been targets of politically motivated violence, resulting in serious injuries, property damage and, in some cases, deaths.
In Delaware, lawmakers didn’t point to any local examples, but said many legislators are on edge. A 2024 research report from the Brennan Center for Justice found that 43% of interviewed state lawmakers experienced threats, as well as 18% of local officials.
Some public officials in that research said they were less likely to hold public events, work on contentious topics or even run for higher office.
The Delaware bill mirrors similar proposals introduced across the country aimed at improving safety. At the federal level, candidates and officeholders — along with their families and staff — are already allowed to receive such protections.
To advance, the bill will need to clear its final committee and the Senate floor before June 30. Otherwise, lawmakers start all over again next session, after the midterms.
‘A responsibility to act’
Campaign expenditures in Delaware are currently limited to mostly advertising, food and refreshments, as well as attendance at political events and travel expenses.
If passed, House Speaker Melissa Minor-Brown’s bill would cover several security-related expenses, include:
- Electronic security systems located in a candidate’s home or office
- “Personal security,” a category the Delaware Department of Elections said it would further define if the bill passes.
- Cameras, fences or “other comparable security-related equipment”
These funds can also be used to help protect their families in certain circumstances, Minor-Brown told Delaware Online/The News Journal.
They cannot be used to pay for firearms, however.
House Minority Whip Jeff Spiegelman raised a concern about this during the bill’s June 11 hearing in his chamber, calling guns another matter of defense.
Fellow sponsor House Majority Leader Kerri Evelyn Harris said the choice was not to include firearms in the bill, saying this could lead to discomfort for many, and potentially do more harm than good.
Minor-Brown also said candidates covered in this bill must have filed for office and currently be campaigning. Additionally, the New Castle Democrat said money must come from voluntary contributors.
No officeholder or candidate is required to abide by this measure, Harris told lawmakers, as the use of funds will remain “entirely optional.”
The bill comes as lawmakers nationwide have faced rising intimidation and violence in recent years.
This includes former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, who, alongside her husband Mark, were shot and killed in what officials described as “a politically motivated assassination” last year, as reported by USA TODAY.
In Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro’s home was the target of an arson attack last April.
And just a few weeks before, New Mexico Republican Party headquarters in Albuquerque was vandalized, almost a year after it was damaged in an arson attack.
Minor-Brown also pointed toward the 2022 attack on former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, the assassination of conservative politico Charlie Kirk last year, as well as the attempts on the life of President Donald Trump.
“This is not about politics. It’s not about partisanship,” Harris said ahead of the floor vote. “It’s about safety.”
Minor-Brown said lawmakers should not have to choose between their safety and performing their elected responsibilities. As such, lawmakers have “a responsibility to act” now, she said.
Several other states – including New Jersey and Maryland – have proposed similar legislation, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Other states have also enacted laws on the safety of candidate families and staff, cybersecurity and using campaign funds to pay for home security systems. Minor-Brown told Delaware Online/The News Journal she expects to see measures regarding cybersecurity in Delaware.
This bill passed the House on June 11. It is now scheduled to be heard in Senate committee on June 25.
Olivia Montes covers state government and community impact for Delaware Online/The News Journal. If you have a tip or a story idea, reach out to her at omontes@delawareonline.com.
Delaware
Comcast Xfinity cable down: TV streaming outage hits New Hampshire, Texas, Delaware, Wyoming and Maine
Comcast’s Xfinity cable service is down for thousands of people in the United States on Monday afternoon.
More than 12,000 users are reporting the outage with the cable service run by NBC’s parent company, according to Down Detector, a platform that tracks such outages based on users’ reports.
Much of the outages seemed to be concentrated in New Hampshire, Texas, Delaware, Wyoming and Maine, according to the outage map shown on Down Detector.
According to Down Detector, 77% of the customers reported issues with the cable TV services, 12% with the broadband internet and 8% with TV streaming.
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Comcast Xfinity Outage Map
The map of Comcast’s Xfinity outage showed that urban centers across the country were affected. It included cities in the east and west cost, north and southern states and well as parts of central US.
The map showed outage reports concentrated in Boston, New York City, Atlanta, Jacksonville, Miami and large parts of Florida.
In the north, Minneapolis and Chicago reported the most outages. While in the South, Houston was affected. Customers from Denver also reported a significant number of outages.
In the east coast, most outages were reported up north. Portland Salem and Seattle reported a large number of outages. Additionally, the areas around San Francisco and Carson City reported outages.
Here’s the map of the Comcast outage per Down Detector, as of 4:28pm ET.
Comcast’s Response
As of now, Comcast or Xfinity has not acknowledged that the issue is widespread. The X account of Xfinity support is replying to queries on social media, asking customers to message them their service ID.
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For instance, one such post on X read: “Hello! Thank you for contacting the Xfinity support team. We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience due to the service interruption. Please DM us with your first and last name and your complete service address, so we can assist you further.”
Thus, those seeking a solution to the problem may send their service details and the disruption that is happening to Xfinity.
Comcast’s Xfinity is one of the largest cable and broadband services in the US. It serves around 11.27 million traditional cable TV customers in the Unites States. Its broadband user base is approximately 31.25 million strong.
This is a developing story.
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