A G’s Charlotte with Marcelino aboard wins the 48th running of the Red Camelia Stakes at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir
Tom Galvin’s homebred A G’s Charlotte toyed with her six statebred rivals before taking over in the homestretch to win the $100,000 Red Camela at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Saturday. Sensing her dominance over the field, the 6-5 favorite shifted from tracking the leader to a fierce stalk, making her run at the eighth pole and drawing away to win by 2 1/2 lengths.
Trained by Patricia West, the daughter of Mo Tom received the services of Marcelino Pedroza Jr. With the day’s races taken off the turf, A G’s Charlotte went 1 mile 70 yards in 1:44.78 over a main track labeled “muddy.”
“I wasn’t disappointed that the race was taken off the turf,” West said. “I think she is better on the dirt. It seems like she just keeps getting better with age, so we’ll keep going with her.”
Speedy Dudette gained control of the lead out of the gate set :24.28 and :47:84 opening quarters. A G’s Charlotte dropped to the rail in tracking position as Vale Male stalked the leader. Looking to assert herself, A G’s Charlotte began moving up the rail to split those two forward foes and begin breathing down Speedy Dudette’s throatlatch. Keeping her measured up through the far turn, A G’s Charlotte set down a run and bid past Speedy Dudette at the eighth pole. The front runner was able to hold on for second as Spirited Beauty came charging up the rail late for third.
“Thank you to Patricia West for this mount,” Pedroza said. “It was a perfect trip. I was right where I wanted to be, behind the speed. She took me to the front earlier than I wanted to. I know how she is, she likes a little competition in the end, but it all worked out.”
Three of A G’s Charlotte’s four stakes wins have come at Fair Grounds and she boasts the proud title of having earned West her first career stakes victory in the 2022 Big World Stakes. With a career record of 25-9-8-3, the 5-year-old mare has $458,410 in the bank.
Touchuponastar wins the Louisiana Premier Championship at Delta Downs. Coady Photography.
VINTON, LA. – Delta Downs hosted its richest program of the season on Saturday evening as the 21st edition of Louisiana Premier Night took center stage. The 11-race program featured 10 stakes races and over $900,000 in total purse money for Louisiana-bred horses.
The featured race on the program was the $150,000 Louisiana Premier Night Championship and it was won for the second straight year by Set Hut, LLC (Jake Delhomme)’s Touchuponastar under jockey Tim Thornton. The Jeff Delhomme trainee defeated five rivals in the 1 1/16-mile affair over a muddy sealed racetrack. Touchuponastar is now five-for-five at Delta Downs and has won three stakes races this season.
After breaking sharply from post position three, Touchuponastar went to the lead and dictated the pace throughout, covering the opening quarter mile in 24.35 seconds and the half mile in 49.61. He hit the ¾ mile timer in 1:14.08 and had yet to be asked for his best run by Thornton. In the upper-stretch he drew clear from Play Mo, who had been chasing the leader since the start and wound up second. The winning margin was 6-3/4 lengths on the wire. Wise Verdict rounded out the top three finishers another 1-1/4 lengths behind the runner-up. Touchuponastar covered the distance in a time of 1:45.03.
“This horse is all class; I’m thankful to be on him”, Thornton said in the winner’s circle. “He makes it look easy. He just keeps getting better and better and that’s what makes him so special.”
Overall, Touchuponastar has won 11 of his 14 career starts. He earned $90,000 on Saturday night which raised his lifetime bankroll to $708,100.
“We are blessed to have him,” said owner Jake Delhomme after the race. “There was no pace in the race so Timmy just loped him along. This horse takes his racetrack with him, but he really likes Delta Downs.”
Bred in Louisiana by Coteau Grove Farms, Touchuponastar is a 5-year-old bay gelding by all-time Louisiana-bred earner Star Guitar. He is out of the Lion Heart mare Touch Magic. Touchuponastar was sold for just $15,000 in Texas as a yearling in 2020.
Fans made Touchuponastar the lowest of favorites at odds of 1-9. He paid $2.10 to win, $2.10 to place and $2.10 to show. Play Mo returned $4.80 to place and $2.40 to show. Wise Verdict was worth $3 to show.
All eyes were on Louisiana millionaire and 1-9 wagering favorite Free Like a Girl in the $125,000 Distaff but 23-1 longshot Wholelottamo had other ideas.
The race unfolded as it appeared it would on paper with Free Like a Girl stalking the early pace set by Vale Male, who covered the opening quarter mile in 23.34 seconds and the half mile in 47.91. As the field of eight fillies and mares entered the second turn of the one-mile affair, Free Like a Girl under jockey Vicente Del Cid used a quick turn of foot to go by the leader and open a four-length lead at the top of the lane after going three quarters of a mile in 1:13.27.
Another win for Free Like a Girl looked to be in the cards before Wholelottamo and jockey C. J. McMahon launched a furious rally from far behind to run down the accomplished mare and win by ¾ of a length at the wire. Thetruthisthetruth finished another 5-3/4 lengths behind the runner-up. The final time for Wholelottamo was 1:41.20.
The win by Wholelottamo was the sixth of her 28-race career. She earned $75,000 for her connections of owner Thompson Racing LLC (Stephen Thompson) and trainer Jayde Gelner. Overall, she has taken home $383,865 during her career.
Bred in Louisiana by Cloyce C. Clark, Jr., Wholelottamo is a 5-year-old mare by Mo Tom, out of the A. P. Jet mare Jet’s Tradition. She was purchased as a yearling for $17,000 in 2020.
Wholelottamo paid $48.20 to win, $6.20 to place and $3.60 to show. Free Like a Girl was worth $2.10 to place and $2.10 to show. Thetruthisthetruth returned $3.20 to show.
The Mark Casse trainee Bron and Brow ($3.40) returned to Delta Downs and defended his title in the $100,000 Sprint this year under jockey Reylu Gutierrez. The Gary Barber-owned gelding used a dazzling late kick to slip through at the rail late and win the five-furlong dash going away. It was the seventh win from 17 career starts for Bron and Brow.
Bred in Louisiana by J. Adcock & Hume Wornall, Bron and Brow is a 5-year-old gelding by Gormley, out of the Changeintheweather mare Changing Vista. He was a $200,000 purchase as a 2-year-old in 2021.
TAV Enterprises, LLC’s El Dinero ($6) used a strong late kick to get by Good and Stout and win the $100,000 Prince on Saturday under jockey Juan Vargas. The Patrick Devereux, Jr. trainee has now won three stakes races during his seven-race career. The dark bay or brown runner broke his maiden last August in the D. S. ‘Shine’ Young Futurity at Evangeline Downs.
Bred in Louisiana by J. Adcock & Hume Wornall, El Dinero is a 3-year-old gelding by El Deal, out of the Forestry mare Money for Makeup. He was purchased for $36,000 as a 2-year-old in 2023.
Longshot Lightofmaine ($34) held off a late charge by Magnolia Avenue to capture this year’s $100,000 Starlet under jockey Jansen Melancon. The W. Bret Calhoun trainee has now won three of six career starts for owners Maury Harrington and Christopher Harrington. The Starlet was her first stakes tally.
Bred in Louisiana by Baronne Farms LLC, Lightofmaine is a 3-year-old filly by Tapwrit, out of the Deputy Minister mare Pontiana. She was purchased for $45,000 at the Keeneland September Sale in 2022.
Charlie T ($17.80), under jockey Carlos Lozada, proved best in the $100,000 Matron on Louisiana Premier Night. The Lee M. Thomas trainee held off several challengers in the five-furlong test and reported home ¾ of a length in front of runner-up Blessed Assurance. It was the seventh win for the homebred and she earned $60,000 for the effort.
Charlie T is a 5-year-old mare by My Pal Charlie, out of the Roger That mare That Real World. She was bred in Louisiana by her owner Elite Thoroughbred Racing LLC (Michelle Rodriguez).
Muchmorethanready ($3) was an easy winner in this year’s $60,000 Ladies Starter under jockey Juan Vargas. The Juan Larrosa trainee came from far behind to win by 9-¾ lengths going away for owner Laurence Jones and Evans Thoroughbred Racing, LLC. The win was her fifth from 16 career starts and her fourth in the last five trips to the starting gate.
Bred in Louisiana by T & G Farm of KY LLC, Muchmorethanready is a 4-year-old filly by Tom’s Ready, out of the Street Sense mare Astarte. She was originally sold for $20,000 at the Keeneland September sale in 2021 and was claimed by her current connections for $5,000 in November at Delta Downs.
Heza Pickle ($16.40) was victorious in the $60,000 Gentlemen Starter under jockey Corey Lanerie. The property of Terrell Jarrett, Jr. and Lara Racing Stables, LLC (Jorge Lara) used a strong late kick to gain his fifth career win from 20 overall starts. The Jorge Lara trainee was claimed for $7,500 at Delta Downs earlier this season.
Bred in Louisiana by Gerald L. Averett, Jr., Heza Pickle is a 5-year-old gelding by Yellow Meadow, out of the Planet Earth mare I Love Pickles.
The $50,000 Bon Temps Starter was won by Larry J. Romero’s Myfriendsawinner ($7) under jockey Vicente Del Cid. The Jonas B. Gibson trainee won the five-furlong sprint by three lengths over Commercial Flash. It was her eighth win from 17 career starts.
Bred in Louisiana by Penny Scarberry, Myfriendsawinner is a 6-year-old mare by Silent Pleasure, out of the Musket Man mare My Girl Max.
The closest finish of the night came in the nightcap, the $50,000 Ragin Cajun Starter when Sharp Charlie ($7.20) nosed out Double Barrel Man in a dramatic finish of the five-furlong sprint. Sharp Charlie was ridden by Joel Dominguez, who got a leg up from trainer Jorge Lara. The winner is owned by Terrell Jarrett, Jr. and Lara Racing Stable.
Sharp Charlie is a 6-year-old gelding by My Pal Charlie, out of the Rodeo mare Chic Jolie. He was bred in Louisiana by Michelle Rodriguez.
Delta Downs has three weeks left in its 2023-24 season, which wraps up on February 24. First post time each night for the remainder of the season is at 5:15 pm.
For more information about racing at Delta Downs visit the track’s website at www.deltadownsracing.com. Fans can also get information about through Facebook by visiting the page ‘Delta Downs Racing’. The track’s Twitter handle is @deltaracing.
Delta Downs Racetrack Casino Hotel, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation, is the premier racing and gaming entertainment venue in Vinton, LA. Named “America’s Best Horse Racing Track” by readers of USA TODAY 10Best for 2023, Delta Downs features a six-furlong oval track, 15,000 square feet of casino space and more than 1,500 of the most popular slot machines. Amenities include two restaurants, chart-topping entertainment at the Delta Event Center and the FanDuel Sportsbook.
Magnum with Corey Lanerie aboard wins the 2nd running of the Jacob V. Morreale Stakes at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir
Set-Hut’s Mangum Battles Back Who Took the Money in the Morreale
New Orleans, La (Nov. 18, 2023) – Three thrilling Louisiana-bred stakes rounded out opening weekend at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, but the most heroic performance came from Set-Hut’s Mangum. Winner of the $75,000 Jacob V. Morreale Memorial, the 3-year-old had his hooves full late as the 6-time stakes-winner Who Took the Money came flying from behind. The two went eyeball-to-eyeball in the final stages before Mangum put his older foe away, surging through the wire to win by a neck.
Getting the call from trainer Jeff Delhomme, veteran pilot Corey Lanerie guided Mangum the 1 mile 70 yards over the fast main track in 1:43.60. With four-wins in a row, the gelded son of Mo Tom is now 11:6-1-3 with $255,360 in the coffers. The public priced him at 4.50-1.
El Dinero Rallies to Win Joseph R. Peluso Memorial. Hodges photo
Overcoming Early Trouble, El Dinero Snags Peluso Purse with Late Rally
It would take a rail rally for the ages for Tav Enterprises’ El Dinero to win the $75,000 Joseph R. Peluso Memorial on Saturday at Fair Grounds. As the juveniles fought for early position, the son of El Deal took the worst of several bumps and struggled for footing. Soon trailing the field of nine males, in the far turn of the 5 1/2-furlong sprint the colt began to find his stride. By the 1/8th pole, jockey James Graham had El Dinero flying up the rail and with half the field still to pass, the Patrick Devereux trainee kept finding to be the first to cross the finish line. One length was the margin of defeat for Pop’s Peppysteper, who finished full of run himself. The final time of El Dinero’s phenomenal comeback clocked in at 1:05.56 and he rewarded his faithful at 2.70-1.
El Dinero’s two career wins have both been stakes and he has never finished out of the money, tallying a 5:2-1-2 record with $118,990 in earnings. Devereux reported after the race that the end goal is the Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile on December 9 at Fair Grounds.
Autumns Strong Man with Angel Suarez aboard wins the 2nd running of the Larry D. Robideaux Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Amanda Hodges Weir
Autumns Strong Man Flexes at a Price to win the Robideaux
As the front runners began to tire, Autumns Strong Man began to flex the best run of his 21-race career to steal the $75,000 Larry D. Robideaux Memorial at odds of 32-1. Owner and trainer Gary Husak called upon jockey Angel Suarez to guide the gelded son of Strong Mandate, and he couldn’t have asked for a better trip. After saving ground, Suarez waited until the 1/8th pole to tip Autumns Strong Man out into the clear, and the 4-year-old responded in kind by kicking home with just enough to hold off the late-flying Langs Day by a diminishing head.
Making his third stakes attempt count, Autumns Strong Man’s bank bulged to $164,275. The new face on the Louisiana-bred stakes sprinting scene sports a 21: 4-3-2 career record.
Racing at Fair Grounds resumes on Thursday, Nov. 23. With ten races slated kicking off at noon central, the centerpiece 99th running of the $200,000 Thanksgiving Classic will go as Race 9.
Mangum holds off Free Like A Girl to win the inaugural Louisiana Stallion Stakes at EVD. Coady Photography.
OPELOUSAS, LA –Mangum outdueled Free Like a Girl to capture the $100,000 Louisiana Stallion Stakes presented by Coteau Grove Farms. The race was contested over a track rated as fast for the evening.
Breaking sharply from post three, Mangum went to the front with Free Like a Girl tracking his every move from her outside post. The early tempo was controlled with fractions of 25.42 seconds for the opening quarter mile and a tepid 49.77 seconds for the half-mile split. Double on the Red and Behemah Star were traveling just behind the leaders as the field made their way into the far turn.
Mangum was under pressure as Free Like a Girl moved to challenge as they traveled six furlongs in 1:14.50. In the sprint to the finish, Mangum would not let Free Like a Girl get by and held on for the victory by a head. It was a gap of eight lengths back to third place finisher Behemah Star. The winner stropped the timer in 1:39.44.
Trained by Jeff Delhomme, Mangum wins for the third time from eight career starts and earns $63,600 in the victory. His career bankroll now stands at $159,960.
Owned by Set-Hut LLC (Jake Delhomme), Mangum is a 3-year-old bay gelding sired by Mo Tom and out of the Graeme Hall mare Bovell Road. He was bred by Adcock’s Red River Farm, LLC & J. Adcock.
Mangum returned $10 to win, $3 to place and $2.10 to show. Favored Free Like a Girl paid $2.10 to place, $2.10 to show and Behemah Star paid $2.10 to show.
DAUGHTER OF MO TOM OUTLASTS MISS JANA TO GET THE NARROW VICTORY
Wholelottamo wins the Take Charge Brandi Stakes at Delta Downs. Coady Photography.
VINTON, LA. – Delta Downs hosted the $75,000 Take Charge Brandi Stakes on Friday afternoon and it turned out to be a very special race for Thompson Racing LLC’s Wholelottamo, who gave trainer Jayde Gelner the first stakes win of his career. Jayde is the son of longtime Delta Downs trainer Scott Gelner and the grandson of late trainer John Charles Gelner.
Under jockey Thomas Pompell, Wholelottamo stalked an early pace set by Roll Baby and Miss Jana, who covered the opening quarter mile of the seven-furlong affair in 23.38 seconds. As the field approached the second turn it was Miss Jana who drew clear by two lengths while going a half mile in 48.66 seconds. At that point Wholelottamo began to rally and the pair reached the top of the homestretch side by side.
Through the final strides the outcome was still in doubt as Miss Jana dug in at the rail while Wholelottamo stayed right by her tenacious rival until the finish, when she got a narrow lead and prevailed by just a head. Wholelottamo covered the distance over a muddy racetrack in a time of 1:29.89.
The win by Wholelottamo was the third of her career and the second in stakes company. Her previous stakes tally came in the Louisiana Cup Juvenile at Louisiana last August when she was saddled by Scott Gelner. Friday’s paycheck of $45,000 raised Wholelottamo’s bankroll to $148,845 through eight overall starts.
Bred in Louisiana by Cloyce C. Clark, Jr., Wholelottamo is a 3-year-old filly by Mo Tom, out of the A. P. Jet mare Jet’s Tradition.
Sent to the gate as the 3-2 wagering favorite, Wholelottamo paid $5 to win, $2.80 to place and $2.40 to show. Miss Jana was worth $4.80 and $3.80. Taylors Babe returned $10.20 to show.
Delta Downs will wrap up its next-to-last race week on Saturday with another nine-race program starting at 12:55 pm. The featured race is the $75,000 Big Drama Stakes for 3-year-olds competing at seven furlongs.
For more information about the current season visit the track’s website at www.deltadownsracing.com. Fans can also get information about the track through Facebook by visiting the page ‘Delta Downs Racing’. The track’s Twitter handle is @deltaracing.
Delta Downs Racetrack Casino and Hotel, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD), features exciting casino action, live horse racing and fun dining experiences. Delta Downs is located in Vinton, Louisiana, on Delta Downs Drive. From Lake Charles, take Exit 7 and from Texas, take Exit 4.
Mo Tom and El Deal, both freshman stallions standing at the Adcock family’s Red River Farms in Coushatta, La., were represented by their first black-type winners Aug. 21 at Louisiana Downs.
In the second race of the day, Wholelottamo took the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies Stakes for Mo Tom, and two races later True Deal eked out a victory in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Stakes to represent El Deal. Both 2-year-olds were bred in Louisiana by Cloyce Clark Jr.
Bossier City, LA – Temperatures rose into the upper 90’s Saturday afternoon at Louisiana Downs but excellent efforts were on display in each of the six black-type stakes on Louisiana Cup Day.
Wholelottamo with jockey Timothy Thornton aboard pulls away to win the 11th running of the Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies Stake at Louisiana Downs. Hodges Photography / Ann Switalski
Driving Finish By Wholelottamo in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies
Stakes action began with the running of the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies. A very competitive field of eight accredited 2-year-old Louisiana-bred fillies entered the gate for the six furlong contest with a confident score by Wholelottamo.
Owned by Thompson Racing LLC, the daughter of Mo Tom made her Louisiana Downs debut after two starts at Lone Star Park. Tim Thornton, who is just one win away from his 2,500th career victory, guided the chestnut filly to the wire in 1:12.97, winning by a margin of 2 ½ lengths. Trainer Scott Gelner was not surprised at her victory, citing the tough company she faced in her June 5 debut.
“She ran against two really nice fillies in that race,” said Gelner. “One of them (Wicked Halo) won a Grade 2 at Saratoga. I have to give credit to my son (assistant trainer, JJ). He’s not here; he;s on vacation in the Bahamas!”
Early pacesetter Streak of Silver hung on for second under Lindey Wade, followed by Free Like a Girl and Buckely Bunny.
Bred by Cloyce C. Clark, Jr., Wholelottamo ($5.20) has now won two of her three starts and banked $57,925.
Net A Bear wins the 36th running of the Louisiana Cup Distaff at Louisiana Downs. Hodges Photography / Ann Switalski
Net a Bear Turned Back Five Rivals in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Distaff
The first turf stakes of the card, the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Distaff, drew six fillies and mares who traveled a mile and one-sixteenth over the Franks Turf Course. Due to heavy rain earlier this week, it was listed as good and proved no obstacle for Net a Bear.
The 5-year-old filly by Awesome Bet out of the Eddington mare Edacious Reality, owned by Maximo Lamarche and Federico Deltoro, was the 3-2 morning line favorite. The multiple-stakes winner for breeders Lora Pitre and Elaine Carroll exited a victory in the $60,000 Opelousas Stakes at Evangeline Downs on July 2.
Tim Thornton patiently saved ground, tracking familiar foe Offspring in splits of :24.47; :49.51 and 1:14.18 before taking the lead and finishing in 1:45.01.
“She’s such a nice filly to ride,” said Thornton. “I have always ridden her with a game plan, but know she will be there when I call on her. I let her settle and when I called on her, she was game. Allen’s done a great job with her.”
Net a Bear (4.40) improved her record to seven wins from 25 starts. Her check for $30,000 increased her earnings to $352,070.
Oak Tree Stable’s Offspring completed the exacta with Fort Polk running third and Freda’s Smooth Air running fourth.
Jockey Joe Stokes guides True Deal to victory in the11th running of the Louisiana Cup Juvenile at Louisiana Downs. Hodges Photography / Ann Switalski
True Deal Resurgent in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile
The fourth race of the afternoon was the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile for Louisiana-bred 2-year-old colts and geldings.
Morning line favoritism in the six furlong stakes went to Norman Stables LLC True Deal, a colt by True Deal out of the Big Brown mare Hilarious Brown. Although he did not leave the gates as the favorite, he would not be denied as he closed gamely under jockey Joe Stokes to win his first career stakes.
Sent off as the third choice in the nine horse field, True Deal (12.60) finished by a neck over Family Creed in a final time of 1:12.97.
Trainer Lonnie Briley has been pleased with efforts of his colt who is sired by leading first crop Louisiana stallion El Deal.
“I’ve liked him a lot,” said Briley. “He’s easy to train and doesn’t make any mistakes. His sire is by Munnings, so even though he ran well today, I think he can go faster and should do very well either stretching out or on the turf.”
The victory marked the second win for breeder Cloyce C. Clark Jr.Tambourine Star finished third behind Family Creed with longshot Son Carlos completing the superfecta.
Chu Chu’s Legacy wins the 42nd running of the Louisiana Cup Sprint at Louisiana Downs. Hodges Photography
Chu Chu’s Legacy Earns His Second Louisiana Cup Day Score Taking the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Sprint
Allen Landry’s Chu Chu’s Legacy is no stranger to success on statebred racing stakes days. He won the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile last year and turned back a very tough field of sprinters today as he captured the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Sprint.
It was the second 2021 Louisiana Cup victory for owner/trainer Landry, who was reached by phone following the win.
“He’s just amazing,” said Landry who purchased the colt for a modest $4,000 at the Equine Sales Mixed Sale. “I was a little leary of running him against older horses, but he does everything I have asked him to do.”
Rider Joe Stokes took control at the top of the stretch and drew off to finish 1 ½ lengths ahead of Scarlettsblackjack in 1:10.79.
“He broke well and sat behind the speed,” said Stokes. “When I asked him, he just responded. He’s a hell of a horse!”
Landry’s wife Sandra named the colt after Chu Chu Perez who worked for the couple as a groom, but passed away last year.
Monte Man, who won the 2018 Louisiana Cup Sprint, ran a game third under Gerard Melancon, followed by Half Again..
Sent off at odds of 7-1, Chu Chu’s Legacy paid $15.80 for the win, which was his sixth in ten starts. With today’s winner’s share of $30,000, his earnings stand at $206,350.
Lindsey Wade aboard Carlea’s Dream wins the Louisiana Cup Turf Classic. Hodges Photography / Ann Switalski
Carlea’s Dream Splits Rivals in an Exciting $50,000 Louisiana Cup Turf Classic
The $50,000 Louisiana Turf Cup Classic an excellent group of turf specialists competing a mile and one sixteenth over the good turf course.
Carlea’s Dream, was installed as the 5-2 morning line choice, lived up to his billing for owner Carl Moore Management. Lindey Wade made the trip to Louisiana Downs to pilot the 4-year-old son of Lea out of the Corinthian mare Beat The Street. Bred by Time Will Tell LLC, Carlea’s Dream won in 1:44.37.
“It was so nice to come home and I am grateful to Karen for bringing me in to ride,” said Wade. “I knew this horse had it in him and could win a Louisiana-bred stakes.
The bay gelding had won two turf races this year in Texas. Trainer Karen Jacks said that he will stay in Louisiana and run in an upcoming turf stakes.
“He’s just like his name, a dream to train,” she said. “He loves the turf, like all horses sired by
Lea. His only two bad efforts were races taken off the turf.”
Britts a Closer, who broke his maiden on the Franks Turf Course last year, was in contention and held for second under leading rider Joel Dominguez. Mangelsen was third with Unrestricted completing the superfecta.
Strong Beauty with Carlos Marquez aboard wins the 39th running of the Louisiana Cup Filly and Mare Sprint. Hodges Photography / Ann Switalski
Strong Beauty Won Her First Stakes in the $50,000 Louisiana Cup Filly and Mare Sprint
Trainer Ron Faucheux had a full group of stakes entrants, but had to wait until the final feature of the day, the $50,000 Louisiana Filly and Mare Sprint, to visit the winner’s circle.
Strong Beauty, owned by Golden Rock Thoroughbreds, defeated a highly competitive group of distaffers, including defending champion Tin Roof Farms LLC’s Snowball, and LTBA champion 4-year-old filly Our Lost Love.
Ridden by Carlos Marquez, the daughter of Overanalyze, earned her first stakes score, closing from off the pace to win the six furlong contest in 1:11.69.
“We got her at the Fair Grounds and she has just continued to progress,”said Faucheaux. “She is now in her top form and I expect good things from her as we move forward. Carlos rode a perfect race. This was very exciting!”
Crescentcitypretty ran second, followed by Snowball and Dance Away.
Strong Beauty ($10.80) will be pointed to Louisiana Champions Day at Fair Grounds, according to her trainer.
Registration Still Open for the Annual Charity Golf Tournament
Louisiana Downs will host its annual Charity Golf Tournament at Northwood Hills Golf Club in Shreveport, Louisiana on Wednesday September 1.The event will benefit The Winner’s Circle Church and Chaplain Jimmy Sistrunk for his many programs to assist the Louisiana Downs racing community and backstretch workers.
Sign in for the event’s Four Person Scramble kicks off at 10:00 a.m. with tee off at 10:30 a.m. The fee is $80 per personor $320 for a four-person team. The fee includes green fees, golf cart, lunch, and Super Derby t-shirt/cap. Trophies will be presented to the first, second and third-place teams.
The deadline to enter is Wednesday, August 25th. Attendees can register in person in the Louisiana Downs Racing office, or by mail. Checks should be payable to The Backside Benevolence Fund and mailed to: Jennifer Sokol, Harrah’s Louisiana Downs, 8000 East Texas Street, Bossier City, Louisiana, 71111. For further information, please contact Jennifer Sokol at (318) 741-2512 or (318) 573-5830.
Louisiana Downs Live Racing Schedule
Live racing takes place Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday until the conclusion of the 2021 Thoroughbred meet on Tuesday, September 21. For more information on the 84-day racing season and special events, visit https://www.caesars.com/harrahs-louisiana-downs/racing.
Mo Tom’s first starter, 2-year-old Louisiana-bred filly Wholelottamo, won a maiden special weight June 20 at Lone Star Park defeating eight other fillies, with the nearest competitor 1 1/2 lengths behind. She completed the five furlongs in :59.70 on a fast track
This was the second asking for the filly owned by Stephen Thompson’s Thompson Racing and trainer Scott Gelner after coming in third her first time out June 5 at Lone Star.
Bred in Louisiana by Cloyce Clark Jr., Wholelottamo is out of the A. P Jet mare Jet’s Tradition, the dam of 10 foals, with six to race and six to win, including stakes-placed Jet Majesty. She was purchased for $17,000 at the 2020 Equine Sales Company’s Consignor Select Yearling and 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale by Thompson.
Mo Tom, an 8-year-old son of Uncle Mo, was a winner of the Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Ohio Derby at Thistledown, and Street Sense Stakes at Churchill Downs. He retired to stud duty in 2018 with total earnings of $665,356 for owner GMB Racing and trainer Tom Amoss.
Mo Tom stands at Red River Farms in Coushatta for $2,000.
Tom Benson, a Louisiana sports icon who took his football and his basketball with a healthy side of horse racing, died March 15 at Oschner Medical Center in Jefferson, La., with his wife Gayle Marie Benson at his side. He was 90, and was hospitalized with the flu Feb. 16.
For all his success as owner of the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans, including the Saints’ Super Bowl XLIV victory and a plaque in the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame, there was one sports trophy the Louisiana native joked he might not want to claim. As much as he loved Thoroughbreds, as a savvy businessman Benson recognized how horses pull you in.
Greg Bensel, general manager of the Benson family’s GMB Racing—who confirmed Benson’s death through his role as senior vice president of communications and broadcasting for the New Orleans Saints and New Orleans Pelicans—spoke Wednesday at the National Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association convention in New Orleans. He recalled how Benson approached the morning of the 2016 Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (G1), just two years after GMB Racing was formed.
“We’d rented a home in Louisville. At breakfast he said, ‘You know, Greg, I don’t know that I really want to win the Kentucky Derby today.’ I said, ‘Why is that, Mr. Benson? He said, ‘If we do win, we have to buy more horses, a farm, and really get into this,” Bensel said.
While they dabbled in racehorse ownership in the 1970s and 1980s, the Bensons returned to the sport after a multi-decade absence with renewed vigor in 2014, inspired by the rags-to-riches story of two-time Horse of the Year California Chrome.
“He said, ‘Greg, what would it take for us to get in the business?’ I said, ‘Why don’t you give me a check for $2 million—that will be a start—and we’ll go out and hit the Keeneland September sale and we’ll buy some horses,'” Bensel said.
From their first modern crop of yearlings, they campaigned not one, but two starters in the 2016 Kentucky Derby—graded stakes winner Mo Tom (eighth for trainer Tom Amoss) and multiple graded stakes winner Tom’s Ready (12th for trainer Dallas Stewart).
“We finished eighth and 12th, which I thought was respectable, but he ended up buying more horses and one of the most beautiful farms I’ve ever been on,” Bensel said, mentioning Benson Farm at Greenwood Lodge in Paris, Ky., home to a broodmare and boarding operation.
“We had tremendous, uncanny success. He realized that was not the norm in this business,” Benzel said. “It started out as a hobby for us, and now it’s nearly a $21 million business.”
Benson was born Thomas Milton Benson Jr., on July 12, 1927, in New Orleans. The son of Thomas Milton Benson Sr. and Carmelite Marie Pintado Benson, he was raised in the 7th Ward neighborhood of New Orleans and graduated from St. Aloysius High School (now Brother Martin High School) in 1944.
Benson enrolled at Loyola University New Orleans to study business and accounting. He interrupted his education to enlist in the U.S. Navy, where he was assigned to the USS South Dakota. Upon the conclusion of World War II, he returned to New Orleans and continued his business administration studies.
In 1948, Benson went to work as a bookkeeper for the Cathey Chevrolet Company in New Orleans, and by 1956, at age 29, was on his way to managing a Chevrolet dealership as a junior partner. Six years later, he took full control of the company and established a multi-dealership organization, with outlets throughout the New Orleans area and South Texas. In 1972, Benson entered the banking business and eventually took his banking network public as Benson Financial World.
In 1985, Benson purchased the New Orleans Saints after learning that the NFL franchise was on the verge of being sold to parties interested in relocating the team. He purchased the Saints on May 31, 1985. In 2012 Benson purchased the New Orleans Hornets NBA franchise and renamed it the New Orleans Pelicans the following season.
Through his sports teams, business interests, and the Gayle and Tom Benson Foundation, Benson was dedicated to assisting myriad charitable, faith-based, and educational causes in the New Orleans and South Texas communities. Under Benson’s direction, his businesses and sports teams annually have put millions of dollars back into the community in financial support, in-kind donations, charitable appearances, and the donations of goods and services.
“It is a sad day for Louisiana. Thank you for everything you have done for our state, our country, and the sport of horse racing,” Amoss said of Benson, in a statement posted on his Twitter account. “It is hard to put into words what you have meant to all of us. I am honored to have been a small part of your story.”
Details regarding public visitation and funeral will be forthcoming.
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