Ronnie Virgets, a thoroughly rounded, freewheeling writer who could hold forth in a distinctive New Orleans accent on such diverse topics as modern literature, horse racing and the foibles of his fellow citizens, died Monday night (May 20) at Ormond Nursing Home in Destrehan. He was 77.
The cause of death has not been determined, said Lynne Jensen, his longtime companion.
Mr. Virgets, awarded for his writing and television work, never shed the distinctive accent of his native 3rd Ward. “He was a walking, talking paradox,” Jensen said. “He was a genius y’at. How much more of a paradox can you get?”
Louisiana-bred Wild About Star wins The Very One Stakes at Pimlico on the Preakness undercard. Steve Queen photo.
Brittlyn Stable’s Wild About Star, racing for the first time outside of her native Louisiana, came with a sweeping move on the outside and stormed down the center of the track to pass favored Jo Jo Air to win Saturday’s $100,000 The Very One at Pimlico Race Course.
Evelyn Benoit, makes her way to the winners circle following the victory of her homebred Wild About Star in The Very One Stakes. Steve Queen photo.
“I am wild about Star!” said winning owner Evelyn Benoit. “It took me about 40 years to get a stallion. Star Guitar is the Louisiana stallion of the year, and I own the mare and we have a lot of babies. This is what I’ve been trying to do, not only promote Louisiana racing but horse racing for everyone, to show that Louisiana and women and women in my position can do this. It was very difficult. I never had a horse super enough to be a stallion. Gosh, it’s just a dream. To win an open stakes here in this beautiful state of Maryland, it means everything to me. I’m so thrilled, couldn’t be any happier if I won the Preakness. You have no idea, this is like the biggest dream in my life come true.”
The 20th running of the five-furlong The Very One for fillies and mares on the grass was among nine stakes, five graded, worth $2.8 million on a 14-race program highlighted by the 144th Preakness Stakes (G1), the Middle Jewel of the Triple Crown.
Ridden by Daniel Centeno, Wild About Star ($13) won in 56.93 seconds over a firm turf course.
It was the first career stakes win for Louisiana-bred Wild About Star, a 5-year-old Star Guitar mare making her first start for trainer Jose Camejo. Wild About Star chased even-money favorite Jo Jo Air through a quarter-mile in 22.88 seconds before forging a short lead on the turn and pulling away to a 1 ¾-length triumph. Jo Jo Air stayed up for second, three-quarters of a length ahead of Misericordia. Eye On Berlin finished fourth.
Wild About Star has six wins from 15 career starts and is 5-for-11 lifetime going five furlongs on grass.
“(Benoit) wanted to promote the stallion all over the place, so she decided to run (Wild About Star) here after she worked,” said Camejo. “She was feeling really good. She was ready for this race.”
Benoit said the mare’s success is a big boost for Star Guitar, who stands at Clear Creek Stud in Louisiana, where his 2019 fee was $7,500.
“She’s out of his first crop, and I’ve wanted to have this opportunity in front of a large crowd to show that in Louisiana we can breed nice horses,” the owner/breeder said.
Senate Bill 153 on Sports Gaming is scheduled to be heard in the House Committee for the Administration of Criminal Justice on Tuesday May 21, 2019 at 9AM. This bill does not currently dedicate any portion of the revenue to purses or breeders awards. Please contact members of the Administration of Criminal Justice Committee (listed below) and ask them to support the Horse Racing Industry by dedicating a Fair Share of the Sports Gaming Revenue at the Race Tracks to Purses and Breeders Awards. Ask them to please support the Horsemen’s amendment.
Thank you,
Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association
Louisiana House of Representative
Administration of Criminal Justice
Shreveport Resident Tops 200 Contestants in the Four Month Contest
Bossier City, LA – Opening day of the 2019 Harrah’s Louisiana Downs Thoroughbred meet got underway on Saturday, May 4. A packed house was on hand for the return of live racing and a full afternoon of Kentucky Derby festivities.
Jennifer Sokol, Harrah’s Louisiana Downs Racing Office Manager, contest winner Rodney Clements and Eric Halstrom, Harrah’s Louisiana Downs Vice President of Operations. Photo courtesy of Michael Greer/ Harrah’s Louisiana Downs.
Rodney Clements of Shreveport, was hoping that his final contest entry in the Road to Kentucky Handicapping Contest would snare him the $1,000 grand prize. However, he was one of countless horseplayers who selected Maximum Security to capture the Run for the Roses. After the lengthy steward’s inquiry and subsequent disqualification, Clements headed home and had to wait until the following week before getting the call from Eric Halstrom, Harrah’s Louisiana Downs Vice President of Operations, that he was the winner.
Clements was honored in between races on Saturday, May 11.
“It was pretty exciting and I enjoyed walking around carrying my big check,” said Clements. “I made it to the Winner’s Circle without a horse!”
Harrah’s Louisiana Downs is Clement’s “home track” and he enjoys watching and wagering with family members, including his wife and brother. Finding his personal game plan for picking winners has been an enjoyable challenge.
“I wanted to understand the mechanics of handicapping,” he explained. “I bought one book, which turned into two, then three and now I have a library. I have created my own ‘matrix system’ where I print my DRF early past performances and mark all over them. Maybe I am old school in that way, but I come to the track with my notebook.”
He had several longshots throughout the weekly contest that began on January 19. He selected Maximum Security to win the Florida Derby on March 30 at Gulfstream Park.
“He stuck out in my mind,” recalled Clements. “In the beginning stages of the race, it looked like he wasn’t even paying attention; then he got going and left them in the dust.”
The Road to the Kentucky Derbv Handicapping Contest at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs was open to the public. There was no entry fee and fans were asked to make selections on major stakes races as well as the key Kentucky Derby prep races. Each participant earned points with weekly and monthly prizes were awarded.
“The response from our horseplayers for this contest was outstanding,” said Halstrom. “We appreciate the loyalty of our local race fans and 2 we plan to be more active in the contest market. A Caesars Entertainment contest is slated for late June with information forthcoming.”
Future contests and racing promotions will be well-received by Clements and other loyal Harrah’s Louisiana Downs racing patrons.
“It was a great contest,” added Clements. “Offering free entry with daily, monthly and a grand prize gets a lot of people interested in racing. I greatly appreciate the efforts of Eric Halstrom and the marketing team to support horseplayers. Anything to bring new fans to horseracing has to be applauded!”
About Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
Located near Shreveport in Bossier City, Louisiana, Louisiana Downs opened in 1974 and was purchased by Caesars Entertainment in December, 2002. With annual Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing seasons, the track is committed to presenting the highest quality racing programs paired with its 150,000 square foot entertainment complex offering casino gambling, dining and plasma screen televisions for sports and simulcast racing.
OPELOUSAS, La. – Louisiana Legends Night will take place on Saturday, May 25, at Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel in Opelousas, 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 Fall 2019.
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 Legends Night:
Registration: 4:40 p.m. – 5:40 p.m. at the designated booth
Races begin: 5:50 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.
“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 (504) 947-4676.
The 2-year-old Lady George, one of three named foals by the sire, came from just off the pace to sweep to the front in the stretch of the 4 1/2-furlong test, winning by 2 1/2 lengths in a final time of :52.13 for trainer Carla Morgan.
In the hubbub of the Kentucky Derby disqualification drama, replays and still images have been analyzed and watched thousands of times as viewers try to get a handle on Maximum Security’s path of travel and the resulting domino effect. One thing people probably weren’t looking at closely, however, was the whips the jockeys were carrying. All riders in this year’s Kentucky Oaks and Kentucky Derby went to the post with the new 360 Gentle Touch (360 GT) riding crop, engineered by retired Eclipse Award-winning jockey Ramon Dominguez. Riders at Laurel Park adopted the crop’s use in April.
Until the DQ of Maximum Security took center stage, the use of the whip (often referred to as a “riding crop” in an attempt at rebranding) was one of the central debates in racing, prompted by The Stronach Group’s suggestions earlier this year it would do away with the whip for any purpose other than safety or correction of a drifting horse. That declaration, which became a rule unanimously approved by the California Horse Racing Board, was met with displeasure by the Jockeys’ Guild, which claims its members need the whip. Horseplayers weighed in to suggest they preferred riders to use them for encouragement. On the opposite side of the aisle, animal rights groups have long demonized use of the whip, adding it in a long list of perceived abuses in the sport.
One of Several Horsewomen at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs Who Balance Training Thoroughbreds With Raising Children
Bossier City, LA – Sarah Davidson is a third-generation horsewoman and certainly knows her way around a shedrow. Her father, M. Brent Davidson, has been in the Thoroughbred racing industry, breaking 2-year-olds and conditioning horses,since 1983. Her uncle, John Buchanan is a veteran Quarter Horse trainer, who won the prestigious All American Futurity (G1) with Elans Special in 1987.
Sarah was always part of the family’s racing operation, and was a big part of the success of some of the barn’s top runners including Another Bond Girl, an Oklahoma-bred stakes winner and Miss Photogenic, who captured the Dixie Miss Stakes here in 2001. She lovingly cared for the hard-knocking Texas-bred gelding Bullet Crane, who made 84 starts, winning 17 races.
“We focus on good feed, rest and keeping them happy,” Davidson stated. “Horseracing has so many ups and downs. When it’s good, you’ve got to enjoy it.”
Even though her parents encouraged her to attend college, but she was determined to open her own stable. After many years of assisting her family at Lone Star Park, and Sam Houston Race Park in Texas as well as Remington Park and Will Rogers Downs in Oklahoma, she went out on her own last August.
The 32-year-old Davidson has 17 horses in training. She is based in Shreveport, but ships to Lone Star Park and Delta Downs. In addition to tending to the horses, managing her grooms, exercise riders, overseeing morning works six days a week and four days of racing, Davidson has another very special obligation. She is a mother to her 11-year-old son, Emerson. As with all working moms, there is considerable juggling involved in running a racing operation and creating a stable lifestyle for her son.
“It’s funny; I was just thinking about the timing in getting Emerson home from school in time to saddle for the fifth (race),” she admitted.
Balance is the key and she credits her mom, Colleen, who deftly handled assisting Brent with the racing operation and caring for Sarah and her brother, Michael.
“She is a very positive person,” stated Davidson. “Maybe ‘bubbly’ is more like it! She’s always very encouraging and she’s helped me to realize that patience is the key. You have to keep trying, even when its frustrating and never give up.”
Sarah has faith in her stock and looks forward to winning some races at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs.
“We started a little slowly,” she acknowledged. “But the horses are training well and I feel it will pick up soon.”
In addition to Davidson, several other horsewomen who run at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs combine running a racing stable with raising kids and grandchildren. They include Beverly Burress, Kathleen Mordenti, Kelly Myers, Jamie Pastor and Rhonda Snodderly. We wish each of them a very happy Mother’s Day!
Mother’s Day Diamond Dig This Saturday
Harrah’s Louisiana Downs will celebrate Mother’s Day on Saturday, May 11. Live racing gets underway at 12:55 pm. Mothers can swipe their Total Rewards card in to the Diamond Dig drawing at the Racing Kiosk located across from Racing Publications. Ten entrants will be drawn for a chance to dig on the racetrack for a Cubic Zirconia Ring valued at $2,500! The Mother’s Day Diamond Dig is scheduled to take place between the 5th & 6th race of the day.
2019 Thoroughbred Post Times
Live racing will be conducted Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday with a 3:15 p.m. post time with the card each Saturday beginning at 12:55 p.m. For more information on the upcoming racing season, which runs through September 25, visit https://www.caesars.com/harrahs-louisiana-downs/racing. The 84-day meet will include 14 stakes highlighted by two major stakes programs, Louisiana Cup Day on Saturday, August 3 and Super Derby Day on Saturday, September 7.
Daily Racing Promotions and Daily Offers
Harrah’s Louisiana Downs welcomes patrons four days a week for live racing and daily simulcast wagering on racetracks across the country. Promotions and food and beverage specials include:
Mobile Mondays | Enjoying the races? Check-in on the Caesars Rewards app from your smart phone to receive an entry into the weekly “Day at the Races” drawing. Winner will receive a dining experience for two to the Harrah’s Club (max value of $100).
2X Tuesdays | Present your Caesars Rewards card when making a wager and receive a 2X racing reward credit multiplier each Tuesday.
Watch & Wager Wednesdays | Enjoy hotdogs, popcorn, beer and racing programs for only $1.00!
$5.00 Free Bet | Saturdays, May 4 & 18 |Opt in and receive a ticket at the Racing Kiosks between 11am and 5pm. Saturdays, May 11 & 25| Redeem your Free Bet at the Mutuel Counter.
Super Saturdays| Race to more Rewards by presenting your Caesars Rewards card when making a wager and receive up to a 7X Racing Reward Credit Multiplier.
Saturday Pick 4 Family Day| Enjoy a box seat for 4 with food and drinks for only $16 on select Saturdays.
Bet & Earn| Check out Harrah’s new Bet & Earn offered through Racing by Caesars Rewards. Guests wagering using a Caesars Rewards card will now receive one Tier Credit and one Reward Credit on a three dollar bet.
About Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
Located near Shreveport in Bossier City, Louisiana, Louisiana Downs opened in 1974 and was purchased by Caesars Entertainment in December, 2002. With annual Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing seasons, the track is committed to presenting the highest quality racing programs paired with its 150,000 square foot entertainment complex offering casino gambling, dining and plasma screen televisions for sports and simulcast racing.
Cargill has initiated a voluntary recall of select Southern States® feed due to aflatoxin levels that exceed FDA’s standards. The affected products, which were manufactured in North Carolina and sold throughout the eastern United States, were removed from retail shelves throughout February, March, and April 2019. Aflatoxin is a byproduct of a mold, and exposed horses are at risk of several health hazards and even death. Aflatoxicosis affects the liver and horses suffering from aflatoxicosis show signs of cough, depression, fever, tremor, ataxia and lack of appetite.
The recall effects “Southern States Triple 10 (CN)”, 50 lb. feed bags with Lot Code “N9043” and Product Code”554270”. The feed was made in February and has a 60 day shelf life. The affected products were recalled from retail outlets and distributors, but consumers who have any of the affected product in their possession should return it to their local dealer or retailer for a replacement or full refund. For more information, call 800-822-1012 (Monday through Friday between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time).
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