Evangeline Quarter Horse meet will offer nearly twice as many stakes as last year

Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., will open for a 46-date Quarter Horse meet on Wednesday night, with the centerpiece of the season the $1 million Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeders Association Futurity. The track’s season will run through Dec. 20.

The LQHBA Futurity is part of a program of 13 stakes worth a cumulative $1.5 million. The 400-yard race is restricted to 2-year-olds bred in Louisiana, and it will be run over 400 yards. Trials are Nov. 7, with the finale to be held Nov. 29. The LQHBA Futurity is the richest race run at Evangeline, which also has a meet for Thoroughbreds.

Evangeline has nearly doubled the number of stakes it is running this meet compared with the Quarter Horse season in 2013. Other highlights of the expanded program include the $100,000 EVD Futurity and $75,000 EVD Derby, which will share a card on Dec. 20.

“We are excited about the upcoming meet and hope our bulked-up stakes program is well received by the horsemen,” said Chris Warren, director of racing operations for Evangeline and its sister track, Delta Downs. “Our closing night promises to be a tremendous evening of racing with a total of five stakes races, including the EVD Futurity and Derby.”

Warren said business has been solid at Evangeline, with figures up for both the Thoroughbred meet that ended in August as well as last fall’s meet for Quarter Horses.

David Alvarez is the defending riding champ at the meet, while Ken Roberts has returned in search of his eighth Evangeline training title. The track is scheduled to race Wednesday through Saturday nights, with a first post of 5:45 p.m. Central.