Category: Roger Heitzmann

Breeders Sales of Louisiana Holds Mixed Sale Oct. 1

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The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association is hosting Oct. 1 a yearling sale followed by a mixed session under the banner of the Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana.

“We have a very strong catalog of quality Louisiana-accredited yearlings in this year’s catalog,” said Breeders Sales of Louisiana director Tom Early. “Louisiana has one of the best breeders incentive programs in the United States. It rewards the breeders of these young horses and encourages quality breeding for race horses.

“I expect this year’s sale to continue the momentum that started with the sale last year and anticipate an increased interest from buyers,” he added. “The increase in purses is due to be evident by the time this year’s yearling crop reach racing age.”

The sale will be held at the Equine Sales Co. auction house at 372 Harry Guilbeau Road, Opelousas, La. All horses in the sale will be on the grounds by noon Sept. 30.

“Louisiana-breds have been very popular at the sales around the country. Now with the introduction of sports betting and the coming of Historical Horse Racing machines, we anticipate that purses for accredited Louisiana-breds will increase dramatically. We expect the value of, and demand for Louisiana Bred-yearlings to increase substantially as well,” says LTBA secretary/treasurer Roger Heitzmann III.

A Link to the sortable catalog can be found here

A pdf of the catalog can be downloaded here

A digital catalog can also be found on the Equineline Sales Catalog app

The sale will be livestreamed starting at 10:00 a.m. the day of the sale

 

More information is available at the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association website: www.louisianabred.com

Louisiana-breds Shine at Texas 2YO Sale

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Accredited Louisiana breds sold exceptionally well at the Texas Two-Year-Olds In Training Sale which was held Wednesday, April 6, 2022, at Lone Star Park at Grand  Prairie. 

A Louisiana-bred filly from the first crop of Spendthrift Farm’s stallion Free Drop Billy consigned by Carl Deville as Hip 134 topped the sale at $200,000. The filly attracted attention after she breezed a quick 10.2 over the Lone Star Park dirt Monday afternoon. Out of the Half Ours mare Solo Buena, she’s a half-sister to stakes-placed Swot Analysis, who was second in the Louisiana Futurity at two. The filly previously sold as a yearling in the 2021 Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana Yearling Sale for $10,500. 

A total of 30 accredited Louisiana breds sold for $1,137,500 with an average of $37,917, above the sale average of $34,667. The median price for Louisiana breds sold through the ring was $30,000 also above the sale median of $28,000.

Other Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana Yearling Sale graduates showed significant bumps over their yearling sale prices. Hip 133, a filly by Star Guitar out of the Hard Spun mare, Well Spun also consigned by Carl Deville, sold for $30,000 an increase of $21,500 over her yearling sale price of $8,500. And Hip 100, a colt by Guilt Trip out of the stakes winning Milwaukee Brew mare Hometown Gossip, sold for $24,000 out of the Benchmark Training Center Consignment, up $20,500 from his yearling sale price of $3,500. 

Following the sale, Roger Heitzmann, Secretary/Treasurer of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association said “Louisiana breds offer pinhookers a terrific return on their investment. With purses on the rise in Louisiana, I expect the demand for accredited Louisiana breds to rise as well.”

LOUISIANA DOWNS ANNOUNCES THAT LOUISIANA CUP DAY WILL TAKE PLACE ON SATURDAY, AUGUST 21

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Six Black-Type Stakes Offered for Louisiana-Breds

 

Bossier City, LA – Quality Louisiana-bred horses will take center stage on Saturday, August 21 when Louisiana Downs presents Louisiana Cup Day.  Post time will be 2:45 pm (CT) for the annual event that will include main track and turf stakes.

 

Louisiana Cup Day continues to be an excellent afternoon of racing for breeders, owners, trainers and jockeys with an esteemed list of past winners receiving recognition from the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association (LTBA) when they announce their annual champions. Ivery Sisters’s Racing’s Monte Man, Tri-Star Racing’s Our Lost Love, Rodney Verret’s Laughingsaintssong, Barrone Farms LLC’s Is Too and Tin Roof Farms LLC’s Snowball are just a few of the Louisiana Cup Day stakes winners who have been honored by the LTBA.

 

“Louisiana Cup Day is a great day for the breeders in our state and fans at Louisiana Downs to see some of the top Thoroughbreds in Louisiana,” said David Heitzmann, Director of  Racing. “The day would not be possible without the support of Ed Fenasci, Executive Director of the HBPA and Roger Heitzmann, Executive Director of the LTBA. We look forward to presenting an excellent card on August 21.”

 

The six Louisiana Cup Day Stakes are as follows:

                                   

$50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile                    2 YO LA-Bred                        Six furlongs

$50,000 Louisiana Cup Juvenile Fillies          2 YO Fillies LA-Bred             Six furlongs

$50,000 Louisiana Cup Filly & Mare Sprint  3 YO & Up F&M, LA-Bred  Six furlongs

$50,000 Louisiana Cup Sprint                        3 YO & Up LA-Bred              Six furlongs

$50,000 Louisiana Cup Turf Classic              3 YO & Up LA-Bred              1 1/16 miles (T)

$50,000 Louisiana Distaff                              3 YO & Up F & M LA-Bred  1 1/16 miles (T)

 

Nominations for Louisiana Cup Day will close on Saturday, August 7. Contact David Heitzmann at dheitzmann@caesars.com or by calling (318) 741-2511.

 

Scholarship Drawings Offered on Louisiana Cup Day

The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association will award two (2) scholarships, each valued at $1,000 on Louisiana Cup Day.

 

The drawings will take place between the fourth and fifth races. Students must register in person between 1:45 p.m. and 2:45 p.m.at the designated registration booth.

The requirements for the scholarship are as follows:

 

Must be a college student enrolled full-time for Fall 2021.

Must be in good standing with the college or university.

Must be present at the drawing location to win.

Must have university ID number or Social Security number.

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.

Handicapping Preview Show Set for Saturday, August 21

Louisiana Downs track announcer John McGary and regional racing publicist Martha Claussen will team up for a pre-race handicapping preview at 1:30 pm in the Inside Rail, located on the first floor of the grandstand. They will offer analysis and their selections for each of the races on the Louisiana Cup Day card. The seminar is free and open to all racing fans.

 

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.

 

LTBA Office Open with Limited Service

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The LTBA office is open today, August 25, 2020. However, with Hurricane Laura looming in the Gulf of Mexico, our computers remain out of service in order to protect the breeders’ data.

LTBA Executive Director Roger Heitzmann is in the office today to take care of any business that can be handled strictly by phone. He is monitoring the weather situation and plans to re-install computer operations as soon as he can be confident that Hurricane Laura is no longer a threat. All computers are backed up and the servers are in secure locations. With the unpredictability of hurricanes, the LTBA believes it is in everyones best interest to keep the computers offline at this time.

While Hurricane Marco has been thankfully downgraded, we encourage all to keep your guard up and continue to prepare for Hurricane Laura which is currently predicted to make landfall on the Texas/Louisiana border as a Category 2 or 3 hurricane. This can still have serious weather hazards all across the state.

The LTBA will update our status as conditions change. Thank you for your patience, and continued prayers for the safety of our members.

LTBA Earmarks $100,000 Contribution to Enable Running of Louisiana Cup Day at Louisiana Downs

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The Board of Directors of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association, voted at their June 16th meeting to earmark $100,000 dollars to be used for Louisiana Cup Day at Louisiana Downs in hopes that a card will be put together.

Louisiana Cup Day is a day of racing designed to showcase accredited Louisiana bred thoroughbreds at Louisiana Downs.  The event  includes multiple Louisiana bred stakes races.

Due to the COVID 19 pandemic, and its effects on racing, Louisiana Downs cut the stakes program from its condition book this year in order to keep overnight purses at a solid level. Consequentially, Louisiana Cup Day was suspended for 2020.

Not satisfied with this turn of events, Roger Heitzmann, Executive Director of the LTBA; Ed Fenasci, Executive Director of the HBPA and David Heitzmann, director of Racing at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs, put their heads together to work on a plan to revive the Louisiana bred stakes day.  “We have been working on possible ways to bring back Louisiana Cup Day,” said Roger Heitzmann. “I believe we can get there, but a lot depends on handle. We can’t count on the funds we normally receive from slots and video poker. Hopefully field size remains at a good number. Larger fields will help entice the patrons to wager on Louisiana Downs.”

“Roger presented us with a plan which we believe will work,” said Warren Harang III, President of the LTBA. “We will be creative and work outside the box to accomplish this. We will be utilizing funds that we don’t normally use for purse supplements. Helping the horsemen of Louisiana is always our mission. Adding back six black-type races helps the the breeders, the horsemen participating in the races, as well as the track itself.”

Each  of Louisiana’s four racetracks has a day designated for Louisiana bred thoroughbred stakes. In addition to Louisiana Cup Day at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, there is Louisiana Premier Night at Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana Legends Night at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, as well as Louisiana Champions Day at Fair Grounds in New Orleans.

Louisiana Downs has opened the meet with good number so far. If Louisiana Cup Day is added back to the schedule, it will likely be run near the end of the meet in late September.