Evangeline kicks off season with stakes double
Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., will open a 61-date meet Friday night with a stakes double, turf racing, and large fields. The season will run through Aug. 12.
Majestic Ways will be going for her fifth straight win when she makes her Evangeline debut in the $60,000 Spotted Horse. The one-mile race is for fillies and mares. Majestic Ways began her streak in October with a first-level allowance win at Remington Park and added three more allowance victories during the Delta Downs meet.
Lane Luzzi has the mount from post 3 for trainer Jayde Gelner.
The jockey-trainer team also has a top contender in the $60,000 Acadiana in Taylors Tap. The six-furlong race is for 3-year-old fillies. Taylors Tap is cutting back to one turn, and her last win came at this distance in an entry-level allowance at Fair Grounds.
Evangeline’s opener is made up of nine races, which drew 78 horses for an average of 8.7 runners a race. The fourth race is a maiden special weight for 3-year-olds and up over 1 1/16 miles on turf, a rare race on the grass early in the season. Turf racing will be more frequent in May.
“It’s our first year to try to use the turf course from Day One,” said Chris Warren, director of racing for Evangeline.
In another change, the $100,000 Evangeline Mile has been moved to an earlier spot on the calendar, with the race for 3-year-olds and up set for Saturday night. It’s one of the richest offerings on a stakes schedule that has some purse increases and new features.
Warren said each of the six stakes for the Louisiana Legends Night program on June 3 has been boosted in value from $75,000 to $100,000.
He also said there are two new $75,000 races for Louisiana-breds, each a division of the Louisiana Stallion Stakes. The division for fillies and mares is on July 7 and the division for 3-year-olds and up at a mile is on July 8. Both will be run at one mile and are sponsored by Coteau Grove Farms.
“The horses have to be by a certified, domiciled stallion standing in Louisiana when bred,” Warren said.
Other highlights of the stakes schedule include a pair of turf routes for open-company runners, the $60,000 John Henry and $60,000 Opelousas. The races will share a card July 1.
Purses for the meet are projected to average $175,000 per card, Warren said. Warren said Saturday’s program will honor Doris Hebert, a perennial leading trainer in Louisiana who died in February.
Evangeline will race Wednesdays through Saturdays until May 13, then shift to Thursdays through Saturdays. First post will be a uniform 5:30 p.m. Central.
Evangeline is not operating under the jurisdiction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, but its signal will be simulcast out-of-state due to court rulings in Louisiana.
Warren said Evangeline has added an early pick five to its wagering format. It is a 50-cent minimum bet.
Jockey Vicente Del-Cid, who won last season’s title at Evangeline, is back for the new season and comes off the title at Delta Downs. Trainer Karl Broberg is back after winning last year’s title, and he, too, comes off a title at Delta.
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