RED ROSE RACING SURGES TO OWNERS’ TITLE WITH 19 WINNERS

OPELOUSAS, LA – Evangeline Downs concluded its scheduled 84-day Thoroughbred season this weekend and the jockey and trainer standings featured familiar names leading the way in 2016, Colby Hernandez and Karl Broberg.

While Hernandez repeated as the leading rider in 2016, this summer’s season was far different than his title in 2015. Hernandez was dominant last year with a track record 174 victories for the season. For the 2016 season, Hernandez managed 90 wins from 420 mounts for an overall winning percentage of 21%. His horses earned a total of $1,484,890 in purse money. His riding championship was in doubt until the final night of the season, as Diego Saenz closed strongly to finish second with 86 victories from 390 mounts for a winning percentage of 22%. Saenz’s mounts earned a total of $1,464,244 for the season.

Saenz was one of three jockeys that achieved a milestone victory during the 2016 Evangeline Downs season. In addition to Saenz winning his 1,500th race, two Louisiana natives made history with Gerard Melancon becoming one of just 45 jockeys in history to reach 4,500 wins for his career and Steve Bourque picking up his 4,000th win during the meeting. Both of these jockeys also finished in the top 10 for the season. The full top 10 jockeys’ list was comprised of Colby Hernandez (90 wins), Diego Saenz (86), Ashley Broussard (71), Roberto Morales (65), Gerard Melancon (48), Alfredo Contreras (45), Steve Bourque (41), Kerwin Clark (37), Emanuel Nieves (32) and Alexis Batista (25).

The 2016 trainers’ race also came down to a familiar name leading at Evangeline Downs as Karl Broberg topped the standings with 49 victories from 191 starts for a winning percentage of 26%. Broberg’s horses earned a total of $657,910 in purse money. Like Hernandez, Broberg tailed off from his victorious 2015 pace, when he won the title with 98 winners and a winning percentage of 43%.

Broberg’s total of 49 wins was still more than enough to triumph over his former assistant trainer, Eduardo Ramirez, who finished second with 38 wins from 134 starts for a winning percentage of 28%. The remainder of the top 10 trainers for the season were Sam Breaux (33 wins), Brett Brinkman and Ron Faucheux (20), Danny Pish (18), Allen Landry (16) and a four-way tie for eighth between Howard Alonzo, Steve Flint, Al Stall Jr, and Lee Thomas at 14 wins each.

There was a new leading owner for the 2016 Thoroughbred season at Evangeline Downs as Red Rose Racing improved from their sixth-place finish in 2015 to take down the title with 19 wins from just 45 starts for a strong winning percentage of 42%. Red Rose Racing earned $163,285 in purse money. Tigertail Racing finished second in the standings with 16 winners, but did earn the most purse money of any owner for the season with $352,655.

Finishing third in the owners’ standings for the season were Circle H Farms with 14 wins; Elite Thoroughbred Racing, LLC and Whispering Oaks Farm, LLC tied for fourth with 12 victories; End Zone Athletics, Inc. and John Duvieilh, Keith and Earl Hernandez were deadlocked for sixth with nine wins; Dream Walkin Farms, Inc. finished eighth with eight wins and there was a six-way tie for ninth at seven wins.

Live racing will resume at Evangeline Downs when the 46-day American Quarter Horse season begins on Wednesday, September 28. The highlight events of the season will be the $1,000,000 LQHBA Breeders Futurity (RG1) for 2-year-old Louisiana-breds and the $150,000-added LQHBA Breeders Derby for 3-year-old Louisiana-breds on Saturday, November 19. In addition, the $100,000-added Evangeline Downs Futurity for 2-year-olds and the $50,000-added Evangeline Downs Derby for 3-year-olds will take place on Closing Night, Saturday, December 17. Post time for the American Quarter Horse season at Evangeline Downs will be 5:35 pm Central Time.

For more information on the American Quarter Horse season at Evangeline Downs, visit the track’s website at http://www.evdracing.com. Evangeline Downs’ Twitter handle is @EVDRacing and the racetrack is also accessible on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/EvangelineDownsRacing.