LOUISIANA-BRED MARE WINS HER THIRD CONSECUTIVE STAKES RACE
OPELOUSAS, LA. � Tensas Harbor justified the public�s faith in her to win the $60,000 Matron Stakes, tonight�s featured race at Evangeline Downs. Tensas Harbor is owned by Cantrell Family Partnership Limited, trained by J. Keith Desormeaux and Diego Saenz was the winning rider.
Tensas Harbor needed the entire stretch to prevail over Hot Tempo, who had taken the lead on the far turn with an aggressive three-wide charge. Saenz had also sent Tensas Harbor into contention on the turn and eventually got past her foe to win by a length. Hot Tempo finished second, two and a quarter lengths ahead of Synapse, who was third.
The win by Tensas Harbor was her ninth in 25 lifetime starts and put her over the half-million dollar mark in lifetime earnings. The $36,000 first-place purse makes her career total $515,450. She covered the mile distance in 1:37.88. The Matron Stakes was taken off the turf and run on the sloppy main track after heavy rain had fallen in the Opelousas area during the afternoon.
Tensas Harbor is a 5-year-old mare by Private Vow, out of the Boston Harbor mare, Harbor Princess. The bay runner was bred in Louisiana by Curt Leake.
Tensas Harbor was sent off as the 3-2 favorite by the wagering public, paying $5.00 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.80 to show. Hot Tempo returned $8.00 to place and $6.80 to show, while Synapse paid $5.00 to show.
Evangeline Downs continues live racing on Saturday night with a 10-race program. The featured event on the Saturday card will be the $60,000 John Henry Stakes. String King, winner of the Grade 3 Colonel E.R. Bradley Handicap at Fair Grounds last time out, is the 2-1 morning line favorite. Post time for the Saturday program is 5:40 pm Central Time.
For more information about the upcoming season at Evangeline Downs visit the track�s website at www.evangelinedownsracing.com <http://www.evangelinedownsracing.com> . For more details regarding this year�s $300,000 Evangeline Downs Turf Sprint race go to www.evdracing.com/turf-sprint <http://www.evdracing.com/turf-sprint> .
Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino and Hotel, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD), features exciting casino action, live horse racing and fun dining experiences. Evangeline Downs is located in Opelousas, Louisiana, just off I-49 at exit 18.
