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Month: January 2018

Applications Now Open for The Jockey Club’s Academic Scholarships

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The Jockey Club has announced that it will again be awarding $21,000 in college scholarships for the academic year that begins in the fall of 2018.

The Jockey Club Scholarship, which is being offered for the second year, will provide $15,000 ($7,500 per semester) to a student who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree or higher at any university and has demonstrated interest in pursuing a career in the Thoroughbred racing industry.

The following criteria will be considered for The Jockey Club Scholarship: career aspirations, activities involving the equine or Thoroughbred industry, and high academic achievement.

That scholarship complements The Jockey Club Jack Goodman Scholarship, which was created in 2007 and is awarded annually to a student or students at the University of Arizona’s Race Track Industry Program (RTIP). The annual $6,000 ($3,000 per semester) Jack Goodman Scholarship is based on academic achievement, a proposed career path in the Thoroughbred racing industry, and previous industry involvement.

The deadline for both applications is March 31, 2018.

“The Jockey Club strives to facilitate the involvement of young individuals in horse racing,” said James L. Gagliano, president and chief operating officer of The Jockey Club. “These scholarships will reward students who are passionate about the sport and interested in working in the industry upon graduation.”

Goodman, a resident of Tucson, is a longtime member of The Jockey Club and is one of three founders of the RTIP. To date, there have been 11 recipients of The Jockey Club Jack Goodman Scholarship, and nine of them are working in the racing industry.

Applications and other pertinent information about both scholarships are available at jockeyclub.com under Advocacy/Promotion, Education. The recipients of each scholarship will be announced this summer.

The Jockey Club, founded in 1894 and dedicated to the improvement of Thoroughbred breeding and racing, is the breed registry for North American Thoroughbreds. In fulfillment of its mission, The Jockey Club, directly or through subsidiaries, provides support and leadership on a wide range of important industry initiatives, and it serves the information and technology needs of owners, breeders, media, fans and farms. It is the sole funding source for America’s Best Racing, the broad-based fan development initiative for Thoroughbred racing. You can follow America’s Best Racing at americasbestracing.net. Additional information is available at jockeyclub.com.

Oppenheim: An In-Depth Look at APEX Ratings

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In My Opinion

Rating sires objectively is a tricky business.

There are three methods which have historically been used: progeny earnings; average-earnings indexes; and percentage of black-type winners from named foals of racing age. The limitations of progeny earnings are easy to understand: sires with the most foals and runners have the best chance of topping these lists, and possibly better sires with limited runners are penalized. Percentage of black-type winners went out the window when sire crop sizes doubled and virtually no sires could reach the 10% BTW/foals threshold which identified the top sires.

Now there is a variation in vogue, especially among advertisers, which is BTW/runners. The trouble with this is, the statistic actually favors sires with lower percentages of winners to runners, and thus potentially rewards unsoundness.

The average-earnings index is a simple concept: dividing a sire’s total earnings by his number of runners that year, and comparing that figure to the average earnings that year for all sires. It can be done for any jurisdiction (i.e. North America), and consecutive years can be added together to create a ‘cumulative’ average-earnings index. The trouble with the average-earnings index is this: let’s say one horse by the sire earns $8 million, and 99 other runners by the same sire earn $10,000 each. The sire’s average earnings per runner would be $89,900 (about a 2.25 AEI), whereas, really, only one out of 100 runners by that sire was actually any good.

For this reason a group of us at Racing Update in the late 1980’s devised what we called APEX ratings—Annual Progeny Earnings IndeX. It is a variation, or we would say, an enhancement of the average earnings index, because APEX ratings measure the frequency with which sires get runners which achieve certain earnings thresholds. So, like the average earnings index, we start with the population of all runners in a year in a racing jurisdiction, for example North America.

We then calculate (well, The Jockey Club Information Services does the calculations for us) three earnings thresholds which represent class gradations. The top 2% earners from runners are designated as ‘A Runners,’ the next 2% are ‘B Runners,’ the next 4% are ‘C Runners,’ and the top 8% are then designated ‘ABC Runners.’ You’ll find the specific thresholds in a table accompanying this article: in North America, in 2017, A Runners earned a little over $135,000; B Runners $94,000; and C Runners $64,000. One sobering fact is that only the top 8% of runners in North America in 2017 earned $64,025 or more.

APEX ratings are then created by adding together the calculations each year for a seven-year period in five racing jurisdictions including seven countries, and divided into three regions: North America, including the U.S. and Canada (earnings calculated together); ‘Europe,’ which for these purposes includes the U.K. and Ireland (earnings calculated together), France, and Germany; and Japan. If it didn’t happen in those countries we don’t count it, with the exception of the group 1 races run on Dubai World Cup night.

We restrict the time period to seven years (the ratings always cover the previous seven years), so the current ratings cover 2011-2017. This does tell us when once-great sires are not the forces they once were, and there have been some notably demonstrable historical cases where this has happened. Restricting the data to seven years keeps it more current.

We only rate sires once they have 3-year-olds, meaning the youngest group now rated had their first foals in 2014: Frankel and Union Rags ‘ sire crop, which in 2018 have their first 4-year-olds racing. And we only rate sires who had 10 or more 3-year-olds in the last year rated. So older sires who have died off go off the list, and also it eliminates any super small-crop freaks.

The average-earnings index, for example, uses all runners by all sires, which is mathematically ‘pure.’ APEX ratings are not mathematically pure in that sense; we restrict the sires, but our argument (by ‘we’ and ‘our’ I mean myself and our APEX team) is that we are trying to create statistics which are of practical use to participants in the $1.5 billion auction marketplace. It’s our observation that a sire with a 1.00 average-earnings index is actually below average commercially. By knocking out sires with fewer than 10 foals, we believe a sire with a 1.00 APEX A Runner Index really is an average sire.

There are actually 17 different APEX ratings: A, B, and C Indexes for North America, Europe, Japan, and Total (12), plus Total ABC Index; and ABC Age Ratings (these are really interesting) for 2-year-olds; 3-year-olds; 4-year-olds; and 5-year-olds and up. Current APEX ratings for 735 sires and further explanation of APEX, as well as other articles detailing leading APEX sires, can be found in the APEX section of my website, www.billoppenheim.com.

There were, as noted, 735 sires assigned 2018 APEX ratings; 102 of these were in Japan, which we don’t mix in with the North American and European sires as their market is overwhelmingly domestic. For the purposes of devising leaders’ lists we use only sires with 200+ “year-starters” (in annualized figures, a horse is counted as one ‘year-starter’—and potentially one A Runner—each year it starts). There were 407 North American and European sires with 200+ year-starters 2011-2017. Here are the top ten in four key categories:

A Runner Index: The world’s top sire, Galileo (IRE), is the number one sire by 2018 A Runner Index, with a 4.60 Index. This is quite remarkable in that he had 2,119 year-starters 2011-2017—over 300 a year; he really is a class-producing machine. Uncle Mo  (4.49) ranks second, which is also very impressive as the trend for most young sires is diagonally down, so this rating means his second and third crops of 2-year-olds have not materially knocked his success rate down.

War Front  (4.20), Dubawi (IRE) (3.54), and Medaglia d’Oro (3.50) complete the top five, followed by Sea The Stars (3.28), Ghostzapper  (3.26), Dansili (GB) (3.03), Into Mischief  (2.91), and Tapit  (2.86), who rounds out the top 10 North American and European sires by A Runner Index. Frankel had 161 year-starters at the end of 2017, so doesn’t qualify for these ‘top 10’ lists; but he has a 5.59 A Runner Index, and will definitely qualify this year.

Number of A Runners: With more year-starters than any other sire and the highest A Runner Index, Galileo (195) was a certainty to lead this list, and does he ever. Tapit (112) is a distant second, ahead of Medaglia d’Oro (105), Kitten’s Joy  (100), and Dubawi (94). Golden oldie Giant’s Causeway  (93) leads the second five, ahead of War Front (85), Dansili, and Speightstown (83), and the late, great Smart Strike (79). These are the stallions which have sired the highest quantity of the highest quality.

ABC Runner Index: This metric describes the most consistent stallions for siring what we call ‘break-even or better’ runners; in North America in 2017, for instance, as we’ve noted, that figure is $64,025 or higher. War Front (2.53) tops Galileo (2.43) in this category, with Dubawi (2.42) third. Since 8.00% equals a 1.00 ABC Runner Index, this tells us that 20.24% of War Front’s year-starters become ABC Runners. You could say it’s a little scary that even the very best sires only get one out of five runners which pay their way, but that just shows what a tough game this racing horses is.

An interesting aspect of the APEX ratings is they do sometimes reval horses that are doing better than maybe the market gives them credit for, and one such case could be F2013 Twirling Candy , who is number four by ABC Runner Index (2.36), just ahead of his F2013 contemporary, Uncle Mo (2.33). Twirling Candy is a $25,000 sire who is proving to be a very consistent sire of ‘break-even or better’ runners; he’s mixing it with some sires who cost a lot more money to breed to. The second five in this category are: Curlin  (2.29), Ghostzapper  (2.21), Speightstown (2.17), and—tied for ninth—Medaglia d’Oro and the long-time leading California sire Unusual Heat (2.09), just ahead of Tapit (2.08).

Number of ABC Runners: Galileo (412) had an average of 303 runners, 28 A Runners, and 59 ABC Runners a year; he’s not as far ahead as second-placed Tapit (326) as he was by number of A Runners, but he’s still a fair way clear. Giant’s Causeway (281) is third in this category, ahead of Speightstown (275) and Dubawi (257). The second five is headed by Medaglia d’Oro (251), followed by Kitten’s Joy (246), Smart Strike (238), Malibu Moon (237), and Candy Ride (ARG) (235).

For the complete list of 735 sires with 2018 APEX ratings, and more information about APEX, please visit www.billoppenheim.com.

Lasix Study Backs Four-Hour Administration Time

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Pair of Lasix studies of interest outline results.

A study that has some potential to reshape the timing of Salix administration ahead of racing determined that the current four-hour timeframe is more effective than administering 24 hours out in reducing the severity of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage.

The study, led by Dr. Heather Knych, was one of two studies on Salix (furosemide, commonly referred to as Lasix) with results outlined at the American Association of Equine Practitioners convention in late November. The other study, led by Dr. Warwick Bayly, found some potential for a low dosage of Salix 24 hours out combined with controlled access to water in reducing EIPH in racing.

The Paulick Report first posted a story on the results of both studies Jan. 30.

According to the AAEP’s 2017 Convention Proceedings document, the study by Dr. Knych of the Ken L. Maddy Equine Analytical Chemistry Laboratory looked at the efficacy of administering Lasix 24 hours out, instead of the current four hours out called for in racing’s model rules. The study concluded that administering furosemide four hours before a race was more effective in reducing the severity of EIPH than going to 24 hours out.

The Knych study saw 15 Thoroughbreds administered furosemide either four or 24 hours prior to a five-furlong simulated race. Blood samples were collected before and after the simulated race for determination of furosemide, lactate, hemoglobin, and electrolyte concentrations.

One hour after the race, an endoscopic exam and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed. Horses were assigned an EIPH score based on previously published criteria. The number of red blood cells in in BAL fluid was also determined.

“There was a statistically significant difference in EIPH scores between the four-hour and 24-hour furosemide administrations,” the study determined. The study noted that none of the treatments prevented EIPH in the horses but that reducted red blood cell counts in bronchoalveolar fluid post-race indicated that administering furesomide four hours before a race was the most effective.

According to its introduction, the study came together following anecdotal reports that suggested furosemide administration 24 hours prior to strenuous exercise could be equally effective at decreasing EIPH.

The United States is one of the few countries that allows the raceday administration of Lasix. A study showing efficacy in preventing EIPH at 24 hours or beyond had potential to reshape current raceday policy of administration four hours before the race.

In the study led by Bayly, it was determined that a 0.5 mg/kg administration of furosemide 24 hours before strenuous exercise combined with controlled access to water shows potential for reducing the severity of EIPH.

The study used six horses who underwent treadmill exercise to fatigue after seven different protocols that adjusted the dosage amount of the Lasix and timing of the administration. The study concluded that, “Furosemide, 0.5 mg/kg, combined with controlled access to water, significantly reduced the severity of EIPH,” adding that, “No ill effects were detected in the horses.”

In its AAEP presentation outline, the study noted that “Although the findings were promising, the number of horses used was small. The effects of furosemide on water and ion excretion were evident for 24 hours but did not adversely affect the horses, likely because of increased absorption of wager and ions from the colon.”

In September 2015, Grayson Jockey Club Foundation announced it had launched funding of the two projects. The AAEP also played a prominent role in funding the projects, along with a number of racetracks.

AAEP Updates Infectious Disease Guidelines, Addresses Rhodococcus equi

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Guidelines now more readily accessible in the field

 

Updated Infectious Disease Control Guidelines, including newly created guidelines for Rhodoccocus equi, have been published by the American Association of Equine Practitioners and are available on the AAEP’s website.

 

Most of the changes to established guidelines pertain to updated sampling and control measures. The AAEP’s Infectious Disease Committee also amended suspected case guidelines for respiratory, neurologic and clostridial diarrhea to outline appropriate actions and steps for suspected cases; and several resource documents for sampling and equine herpesvirus.

 

Rhodococcus equi has been added to the existing list of available infectious disease guidelines. According to Dr. Peter Morresey, 2017 chair of the Disease Guidelines Subcommittee, “Rhodococcus equi remains a significant disease of growing foals despite considerable research into its treatment and prevention. These new guidelines incorporate current thinking and a systematic approach balancing diagnostics, therapeutics and economics.”

 

All of the guidelines have been reformatted for improved consistency and navigation. The guidelines documents are now available as PDFs, enabling practitioners to save the guidelines to their portable devices for access offline in the field. They also contain links to other resources on all disease conditions for those wanting additional reference material.

 

Visit https://aaep.org/guidelines/infectious-disease-control/using-guidelines to view the new and updated guidelines or to save them to your phone or tablet for future reference.

 

The American Association of Equine Practitioners, headquartered in Lexington, Ky., was founded in 1954 as a non-profit organization dedicated to the health and welfare of the horse. Currently, AAEP reaches more than 5 million horse owners through its over 9,000 members worldwide and is actively involved in ethics issues, practice management, research and continuing education in the equine veterinary profession and horse industry.

EHV-1 Quarantine Lifted At Belmont Park

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by

 

The quarantine of Barn 44 at Belmont Park for Equine Herpesvirus-1 has been lifted, after a subsequent test has come back negative on one horse that had tested positive two weeks ago.

Officials at the New York Racing Association and New York State Gaming Commission have removed the quarantine, effective immediately. Horses in Barn 44 are now able to run and enter races, as well as train among the general horse population during regular training hours.

All horses in Barn 44 were monitored daily for fever and other signs of illness. No other horses showed any symptoms of the disease.

The affected horse, an unnamed, unraced 3-year-old male, had tested positive for EHV-1 on Tuesday, January 9, after being sent to the Cornell Ruffian Equine Hospital near Belmont Park after developing a fever and a mild respiratory issue. Last week, follow-up testing returned a second EHV-1 positive on the same horse.

The horse, trained by Linda Rice, was tested for a third time on Wednesday, January 24. Officials received the negative results Thursday evening.

Since leaving the Ruffian Equine Hospital, the affected horse was quarantined in isolation in a separate barn on the Belmont grounds, where he has remained afebrile and asymptomatic. As an additional precaution, the horse will remain in isolation through the coming days.

Jamie Theriot Plans Tack Shift to Mauritius

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Jockey will ride for two-time champion trainer Ramapatee Gujadhur.

 

In more than 20 years of riding races, jockey Jamie Theriot has had some incredible experiences. Perhaps the best experience is awaiting him following the conclusion of the winter meet at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, when he moves to the Southern Hemisphere to ride full-time at Champ de Mars Racecourse in Port Louis, Mauritius.

Theriot, 38, will ride for Ramapatee Gujadhur, the champion trainer on the island off of South Africa in 2012 and 2015.

“I’m very excited and it’s very humbling to get this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go experience something like this,” Theriot said. “(Ramapatee Gujadhur) is on the same level as Chad Brown here in the United States. His operation is nothing but family. It came from his father to him and his sons are involved, but one is a lawyer and one is a doctor. I’m going to be around some great people.”

Theriot explained how the opportunity was presented to him.

“The trainer and (Lane’s End Farm owner) Bill Farish are really good friends, from what I understand,” Theriot said. “Bill Farish sent (jockey) Robby Albarado an email and said, ‘Try to find us a good American rider,’ and Robby talked to me about it, called Bill, and told him, ‘Jamie would go.’ So they mentioned my name to the guy and he looked up my stats and he said, ‘I want him.'”

The plan for Theriot is to ride in Mauritius for seven months and return to the United States to possibly ride at Fair Grounds.

“It works out perfect;” Theriot said. “I’ll leave at the end of the meet and be back in November for Fair Grounds, if I want to ride (or) if I want to take off. It will be (emotional) leaving everyone here and going there, (but) it’s not right around the corner. I know I’m not going there for years. I’m going for seven and a half months and back. (Gujadhur) said something about riding the jockey challenge while I’m there. It could open up opportunities in other areas and you never know what’s waiting.

“I’ll ride one day a week, all turf racing. This man is taking very, very good care of me, and I’ll be bringing my boys and put them in school down there. I’ll have to ride the other way, which is something that I’m going to get to experience. I think it’s just like riding a bike. … After I work a couple of horses going the wrong way and change a couple of tactics here and there, I think that I’ll be fine.”

Theriot is just four wins shy of reaching the 2,500 mark. He has been based at numerous circuits across the United States and has won riding titles at Evangeline Downs (2001) and Oaklawn Park (2003). His career highlights include victories in the 2010 Sentient Jet Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1) aboard Dubai Majesty and the 2010 Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint (G2T) on Chamberlain Bridge, both for trainer Bret Calhoun.

AHC’s 1st Quarter Webinar to Discuss ELD Mandate

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(Washington, DC)– The American Horse Council (AHC) will host its 1st Quarter 2018 webinar on Monday, February 12th at 3:00 pm ET and will address the recent Electronic Logging Device (ELD) Mandate that has caused much confusion and a lot of questions throughout the equine industry.

“We have been getting quite a few phone calls and emails with questions about the ELD Mandate and how it is going to not only affect the industry, but individuals as well,” said AHC President, Julie Broadway. “We hope that holding a webinar addressing the mandate would be a compliment to the brochures we have already put together on this issue.”

The webinar will address the details of what the ELD Mandate includes, and who is required to have an electronic logging device.  We will also discuss requirements for Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), as well as what the AHC is doing to mitigate the effects of the proposed changes on the equine industry.

Both AHC members and non-members are encouraged to attend the webinar. The webinar will also be recorded and posted on the AHC website for those that could not attend. Please register online here, and you will receive an email with login instructions two days before the webinar date.

 

View on AHC Website

 

 

About the American Horse Council

 

As the national association representing all segments of the horse industry in Washington, D.C., the American Horse Council works daily to represent equine interests and opportunities. Organized in 1969, the AHC promotes and protects the industry by communicating with Congress, federal agencies, the media and the industry on behalf of all horse related interests each and every day.

The AHC is member supported by individuals and organizations representing virtually every facet of the horse world from owners, breeders, veterinarians, farriers, breed registries and horsemen’s associations to horse shows, race tracks, rodeos, commercial suppliers and state horse councils.

Fair Grounds: Maryland Horses Cleared To Enter After EHV-1 Quarantine Lifted; New York Horses Still Disallowed

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Fair Grounds released the following statement late Thursday regarding a recent ban on entries from horses shipping from Maryland:

Following negative tests for equine herpes virus-1 involving a horse based at Laurel Park, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots have announced that, as of Thursday, January 25, all horses based in the state of Maryland are all clear to enter the backside. Meanwhile, those that are based in New York are still disallowed to enter the premises until further notice.

Two Scholarships to be Awarded at Louisiana Premier Night

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Louisiana Premier Night will take place on Saturday, February 10, at Delta Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel in Vinton, La. The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association will award a total of two scholarships, each valued at $1,000, during the event.
The requirements for the scholarship are as follows:
  • Must be a college student enrolled full-time for Spring 2018.
  • Must be in good standing with the college or university.
  • Must be present to win at the Winner’s Circle when the announcement is made.
  • Must have college ID and government-issued ID.
For Louisiana Premier Night:
  • Registration: 4:40 p.m. – 5:40 p.m. at the designated booth
  • Races begin: 5:40 p.m.
  • Drawing Time: The scholarships will be awarded after the fifth race. The scholarship will be deposited directly into the student’s account at the college or university. The student is asked to know the name and address of the college that they are attending.
           Delta Downs has hosted this event for the past seven years. This year there is $850,000 dollars in total purse money. The featured championship race has a $170,000 guaranteed purse, with Tigertail Ranch’s Mobile Bay winning last year’s race. This annual event features ten races with the first race starting at 5:40 p.m.
“The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association continues to make an investment in the future of our state by investing in our students and the education process,” said Roger Heitzmann, secretary/treasurer for the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association. “This type of investment is for our future, the state, as well as the organization. Our hope is that these scholarships get the younger generations invested in LTBA so that our organization stays the top breeding incentive program in the United States.”
Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association manages the best incentive program for breeding thoroughbreds in the United States. Since the organization formed, this has led to increased purses, better quality horses, and increased interest in racing and breeding horses. The thoroughbred racing and breeding industry generates over $1 billion and employs over 60,000 people in the state of Louisiana.
For more information about Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association visit louisianabred.com or call 1-800-772-1195.
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP
Purse $170,000 Guaranteed
Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT BON TEMPS STARTER HANDICAP
Purse $60,000 Guaranteed
Fillies and Mares
Four Year Olds and Upward
Five Furlongs
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT RAGIN CAJUN STARTER HANDICAP
Purse $60,000 Guaranteed
Four Year Olds and Upward
Five Furlongs
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT LADIES STARTER HANDICAP
Purse $70,000 Guaranteed
Fillies and Mares
Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT GENTLEMEN STARTER HANDICAP
Purse $70,000 Guaranteed
Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile and One Sixteenth
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT STARLET
Purse $120,000 Guaranteed
Fillies Three Year Olds
One Mile
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT PRINCE
Purse $120,000 Guaranteed
Three Year Olds
One Mile
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT MATRON
Purse $120,000 Guaranteed
Fillies and Mares
Four Year Olds and Upward
Five Furlongs
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT SPRINT
Purse $120,000 Guaranteed
Four Year Olds and Upward
Five Furlongs
LA. BRED PREMIER NIGHT DISTAFF
Purse $145,000 Guaranteed
Fillies and Mares
Four Year Olds and Upward
One Mile

STALL APPLICATIONS FOR UPCOMING EVANGELINE DOWNS SEASON DUE FEBRUARY 16

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2018 THOROUGHBRED SEASON WILL BEGIN ON WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4

 

OPELOUSAS, LA – The 2018 Thoroughbred season at Evangeline Downs will feature 84 days of live racing and will begin on Wednesday, April 4 continuing through Saturday, August 25. Racing will be conducted on a Wednesday through Saturday schedule with post time for the 2018 season set at 5:40 pm Central Time.

 

Stall applications are due by Friday, February 16, 2018. Horsemen may obtain an application by visiting the websitewww.evdracing.com and clicking on the “Horsemen’s Info” tab on the home page. Horsemen may also contact the Evangeline Downs racing office by calling 337-594-3000.

 

The stakes schedule at Evangeline Downs will consist of 20 stakes races with purses totaling $1,375,000. Among the highlights on the stakes schedule are Louisiana Legends Night on Saturday, May 26, with eight Louisiana-bred stakes offering purses of $600,000, and the $100,000 Evangeline Mile for 3-year-olds and up at one mile on the main track on Saturday, June 23.

 

Louisiana Legends Night, which celebrates the Louisiana-bred Thoroughbred, features the $100,000 Classic for 3-year-olds and up at 1-1/16 miles on the main track. There are six $75,000 races on Legends Night: the Distaff for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up at 1-1/16 miles on the main track, the Sprint for 3-year-olds and up at 5 ½ furlongs on the main track, the Mademoiselle for fillies and mares 3-year-olds and up at 5 ½ furlongs on the main track, the Turf for 3-year-olds and up at 1-1/16 miles on the turf, the Cheval for 3-year-olds at one mile on the main track, and the Soiree for 3-year-old fillies at one mile on the main track. The $50,000 Starter will also take place on Legends Night for 3-year-olds and up at one mile on the turf.

 

The Evangeline Mile program on Saturday, June 23 will also feature the $50,000 Lafayette Stakes for 3-year-old Louisiana-breds at seven furlongs on the main track.

 

The full 2018 stakes schedule is still pending official approval from the Louisiana Racing Commission.

 

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

 

 

About Evangeline Downs

Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel is owned by Boyd Gaming Corporation, a leading diversified owner and operator of 22 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana and Mississippi.  Boyd Gaming press releases are available atwww.prnewswire.com.  Additional news and information can be found at www.boydgaming.com, or www.evangelinedowns.com.

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