Delahoussaye could be next for In the Forecast

BOSSIER CITY, La. - There is a good chance of stakes participation forecast for at least one statebred after his impressive effort in last Thursday's feature race at Louisiana Downs.

In the Forecast defeated a field full of stakes regulars in the third-level optional claiming sprint that was not restricted to Louisiana-breds but contained nothing but.

"He's a racehorse," trainer Eric Guillot said Friday morning from his base of operations in south Louisiana. "I can't believe he paid $27. His numbers looked as good as the others in there."

Guillot said that In the Forecast is likely to start next in the $100,000 Junius Delahoussaye Memorial Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on Legends Night, July 4 at Evangeline Downs.

"Sixteen days [between starts] might be a little tight, but that is probably what we are going to do," said Guillot. "He will walk for a couple of days and we will see how he is. That last win was his fourth, so he is out of conditions and we will need to do something with him."

In the Forecast won his maiden at the Del Mar meeting last summer. The 4-year-old Yankee Victor colt won in allowance company at Fair Grounds in February of this year and has now won two consecutive races at Louisiana Downs.

Guillot was also pleased with another of his charges on Thursday. Cajun Persuasion rallied from well off the pace under Jason Eads to account for a Louisiana-bred first-level optional affair at five furlongs on the turf.

"I thought the jock might have gone to sleep a bit," he said. "Then all of a sudden the leaders started to come back to him and he finished up big."

Guillot went on to say that black type is not in the immediate plans for Cajun Persuasion.

"There is not really much out there for a 3-year-old sprinter on the grass," he said. "We will probably try and find another optional spot for him."

* Senate Bill 231, which mandates minimum date requirements for the state's four racetracks and which has passed the state Senate by a vote of 31-3, has emerged from a House committee and is scheduled to be debated on the House floor on Monday. The bill was amended by the committee to increase the number of Thoroughbred days each track must run from 80 to 84. The minimum of 46 Quarter Horse dates for Louisiana Downs, Delta Downs, and Evangeline Downs remains the same, while Fair Grounds Quarter Horse dates were reduced from 12 to 10.