LOUISIANA LEGENDS NIGHT AND THE $100,000 EVANGELINE MILE HIGHLIGHT THE NEW MEET
OPELOUSAS, LA – The 53rd season of Thoroughbred racing at Evangeline Downs will begin on Wednesday, April 4 with a nine-race program. It will be the first of 84 racing days conducted on a Wednesday through Saturday weekly schedule. Post time for each live racing night will be 5:50 pm Central Time.
There will be a 20-race stakes schedule at Evangeline Downs in 2018 with purses totaling $1,375,000. Highlighting the stakes schedule are Louisiana Legends Night on Saturday, May 26 and the $100,000 Evangeline Mile on Saturday, June 23. Louisiana Legends Night is a celebration of the Louisiana-bred Thoroughbred with eight stakes races restricted to Louisiana-breds and purses totaling $600,000. The $100,000 Evangeline Mile is for three-year-olds and up at one mile on the main track. The 2017 Evangeline Mile winner, Iron Fist, went on to become a graded-stakes winner taking the Grade 3 Cornhusker Handicap at Prairie Meadows in July.
There are two new barns that have been constructed on the backside at Evangeline Downs for the 2018 season. These barns will be able to house an additional 84 horses on the property. This addition increases the total number of horses that can be on the backside at Evangeline Downs to 1,052.
The leading owner, trainer and jockey from the 2017 season will all be on hand at Evangeline Downs in 2018 to try and defend those titles. End Zone Athletics, Inc. of Karl Broberg and Matt Johanson was the leading owner with 52 victories and a winning percentage of 39%. Broberg also doubled as the leading trainer at Evangeline Downs in 2017 with 86 winners and a winning percentage of 35%. Tim Thornton, a Louisiana native, won the 2017 riding title with 119 wins and a winning percentage of 28%.
While the defending champions are all returning to Evangeline Downs in 2018, there will be some new faces on the scene as well. Notable trainers Allen Milligan, Tracy Norris, Gilbert Perez, Jeffrey Reeves and Kenneth Wesley will all have horses this season at Evangeline Downs.
Additionally, patrons will notice some changes at Evangeline Downs this season. Silks Clubhouse will be serving a new ‘a la carte’ menu, a new bar has been installed in the grandstand for patrons and horsemen alike, and numerous new televisions for fans to watch racing action across the country are among the upgrades that are being introduced.
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 at www.prnewswire.com. Additional news and information can be found at www.boydgaming.com, or www.evangelinedowns.com.
