William du Pont, Jr. was an active proponent of horse racing in Delaware. He was one of the organizers of the Delaware Steeplechase and Race Association, Inc., in 1936, and he became its largest stockholder and director. The same year, the association made a proposal to the Delaware Racing Commission to build a race track at Stanton, New Castle County.

The track was designed by William du Pont, Jr. He had previously designed twenty-three race courses throughout the country and he had authored the brochure, How to Build a Track-Plans for the Flat Track. Du Pont hired Edward Burke, the general manager of the race track at Havre de Grace, Maryland, to oversee the development of the race track at Stanton. In addition to the flat race track, a huge racing plant was constructed: two steeplechase courses, stables, administrative buildings, club house, paddock, roads, and parking lots. The construction was under the direction of Delaware Steeplechase and Race Association engineer Bernard T. Converse, who at the same time was engineer for the Delaware Title Insurance / Delaware Land Development Company and Shapdale, Inc.

The race track held its grand opening on June 26, 1937, with a thirty-day meet. Pari-mutuel sales and admissions were the main source of income for the new facility named Delaware Park. In 1962, the Delaware Steeplechase and Race Association merged into a non-profit corporation named Delaware Park, Inc.

Information on the Delaware Steeplechase and Race Association and Delaware Park was obtained from the Web sites www.delawarecasinos.com/history.php and www.delawarepark.com/about_history.php and from the book Delaware Park. Winners, Losers and Long Shots, by Kenneth Baumgardt; Charleston, SC: History Press, 2008.

For additional materials on the Delaware Steeplechase and Race Association see William du Pont, Jr. General Correspondence (Series I).