Evangeline, Louisiana Downs meets get under way

The racing action in Louisiana gets a little spicy this week, with Evangeline Downs opening Wednesday night, Louisiana Downs launching its meet Saturday, and native son Gerard Melancon nearing 5,000 career riding wins in North America.

Evangeline will pop the top on its meet with new announcer Rob Tuel calling an eight-race card. Evangeline is scheduled to run 84 dates on a Wednesday-through-Saturday basis through Sept. 18. First post is 5:50 p.m. Central.

The card Wednesday drew 78 horses, for a strong average of 9.8 head per race. The numbers are reflective of a full stable area, which has 1,052 stalls.

“We could have probably put away a couple of hundred more horses pretty easy,” said Chris Warren, director of racing for Boyd Gaming, the parent company of both Evangeline and Delta Downs.

Warren said overnight purses are projected to average $125,000 per program.

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Evangeline’s stakes schedule of 14 races worth more than $800,000 is led by the Louisiana Legends program of six divisional Louisiana-bred stakes on June 5. Each race is worth $60,000.

The Evangeline Mile’s conditions have changed for 2021, with the $50,000 race for 3-year-olds and up restricted to nonwinners of a stakes race other than statebred, auction, or restricted. It will be run Aug. 7. The same restrictions are in place for this year’s $50,000 Spotted Horse for fillies and mares at a mile on Aug. 6. The $60,000 John Henry for 3-year-olds and up at 1 1/16 miles on turf is July 3.

Warren said Evangeline is adding an early pick five to its wagering menu, with the 50-cent minimum bet to run on the first five races.

Tuel takes over for Michael Chamberlain, who is now calling at Hoosier Park. Tuel is a Nebraska native who started his career in 2004 at Eureka Downs in Kansas and also has called at various tracks in his home state, according to a press release.

Those active in the entries include trainer Karl Broberg and jockey Timothy Thornton, who won their respective titles at the recently concluded meet at Delta.

Louisiana Downs starts Saturday

Louisiana Downs opens its 84-date meet Saturday with a strong contingent of stables. Trainers with horses on the grounds include Steve Asmussen, Karl Broberg, Joey Foster, Shane Wilson and Ron Faucheux, who is coming off the title at Fair Grounds.

“I feel really good about the meet,” said David Heitzmann, director of racing for Louisiana Downs. “We had a very successful Quarter Horse meet. Of course, we have quite a few more tracks to compete against now, but with the quality of our trainers, bettors will take a look at Louisiana Downs.”

Heitzmann said the track’s 1,250 stalls are allocated for the season.

“That would be a good number for us compared to the last few years,” he said.

Louisiana Downs will put on seven-race cards, and overnight purses are projected to average $90,000 per day, Heitzmann said. The opener has two allowances, with the feature a first-level race for 3-year-olds and up at 7 1/2 furlongs on turf.

Louisiana Downs previously announced the Super Derby would not be run in 2021. The track has no other stakes scheduled, but could add some during the season.

“We’ll see how the meet progresses,” Heitzmann said. “We wanted to maintain overnight purses for the people that support us day in and day out.”

The Louisiana Cup card of stakes is one series that the track hopes to bring back in partnership with the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association.

Louisiana Downs will race Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesdays through May 26, then shift to a Saturday-through-Tuesday schedule for the remainder of the meet, which runs through Sept. 21.

First post is 2:45 p.m. Central.

Melancon’s march to 5,000

Jockey Gerard Melancon, a 53-year-old native of Rayne, La., will come into the Evangeline Downs meet 16 wins from 5,000 Thoroughbred victories in North America through Monday, according to Daily Racing Form statistics.

“Over the last couple of years, I kind of set it up as a goal,” Melancon said. “I know how the game is – if nothing bad happened and if I kept going as I’ve been going, I thought we should achieve it.

“My health has been good, thank God.”

Melancon has 4,984 wins from 31,797 Thoroughbred mounts, and they’ve earned $87,669,882. He won the Grade 1 Vosburgh in 2002 with Bonapaw, the Grade 2 Super Derby in 2004 with Fantasticat, a pair of Grade 3 runnings of the Delta Downs Jackpot, and the Grade 3 Lukas Classic in 2019 with Mocito Rojo.