John Franks Memorial sale catalogs 93 juveniles

A slimmed-down catalog of 93 horses will be offered on March 17 at the John Franks Memorial 2-year-olds in training sale at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La.

The one-day sale will begin at 10 a.m. Central, with the pre-sale under-tack show scheduled for March 16 at noon.

"We have made a concerted effort with local breeders and reached out to several out-of-state people in an attempt to significantly upgrade the quality of our sale," said Charlotte Stemmans Clavier, president of Stemmans, Inc. "This year's catalog will once again feature predominately accredited Louisiana-bred horses but also includes promising youngsters from sires such as Stormy Atlantic, Big Brown, El Corredor, and Montbrook as well as a colt from the recently pensioned Holy Bull."

The sale is named in honor of the late John Franks, who was a four-time Eclipse Award winner as champion owner and collected another Eclipse with champion 2-year-old male Answer Lively.

Graduates of the John Franks Memorial sale will be eligible for one of two $50,000 stakes races to be run at Evangeline Downs on Sept. 7. The 5 1/2-furlong races will be split into divisions for males and females.

"We don't have any million-dollar youngsters but a solid group of attractive racing prospects in the mid-level range that we feel should appeal to both the local horsemen and to those from other racing jurisdictions," Clavier said.

A total of 124 horses sold at last year’s auction for total revenues of $1,125,700 and an average price of $9,078.

To access an online catalog, click here.