Hurricane prompts Evangeline to cancel

Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., has canceled its racing program for Monday, the meets final day, in anticipation of the arrival of Hurricane Gustav. The track sits at the intersection of Interstate 49 and U.S. Highway 190, two of the primary evacuation routes out of southeastern Louisiana, which includes the cities of New Orleans and Baton Rouge. There are no plans to make up the scrapped program, which included the $100,000 Lafayette Stakes as well as the tracks first-ever turf event.

Also canceled was a Quarter Horse qualifying session scheduled for Sunday at 11 a.m. for the upcoming Quarter Horse meeting, which is slated to begin on Sept. 18. There were no immediate plans for when those races would be made up, according to officials in the Evangeline racing office Saturday morning.