Louisiana racing switches to nights with Evangeline Downs opening

Night racing is back in Louisiana.

The state’s circuit of Thoroughbred racing shifts to Evangeline Downs in Opelousas on Wednesday night, following the end of meets at both Delta Downs and Fair Grounds. During those meets, most cards had afternoon post times.

Evangeline will race 84 nights through Aug. 27. The track is running Wednesday through Saturday.

Evangeline will be rolling out a new post time of 5:30 p.m. Central after long having a start time of 5:50 p.m., said Chris Warren, the director of racing for both Evangeline and it’s sister track, Delta Downs.

He also said the track’s signal will be broadcast in high definition in an update for the new meet. In addition, Warren said turf racing for the new season is scheduled to start at the end of April.

Evangeline will feature a stakes schedule of 16 races worth a total of $1.3 million. Highlights include the Louisiana Legends Night program of six divisional stakes for Louisiana-breds on June 4. Each is worth $75,000, making the program the richest of the meet with total purses of $450,000.

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In a twist, Evangeline is asking for name suggestions for the races that currently have titles like Sprint, Turf Distaff and Turf. Any suggestions with ties to Louisiana can be submitted to the track’s racing office.

“We’re asking for opinions on what we should rename the races,” Warren said. “We want to rename them for people – like people from a long time ago, legends of the game.”

Among the many names expected to be suggested are the late Eclipse Award winner John Franks and Oran Trahan, a past president of the Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association, who trained for 50 years. Trahan died last fall and was influential in the career of Hall of Fame jockey Eddie Delahoussaye.

Other highlights of the Evangeline stakes schedule include a pair of turf events for open company: the $60,000 Opelousas for fillies and mares at a mile July 2 and the $60,000 John Henry at a mile and a sixteenth July 2.

The stakes action starts with a pair of open races for 3-year-olds at six furlongs: the $60,000 Acadiana for fillies April 15 and the $60,000 Lafayette on April 16.

Purses for the meet are projected to average more than $140,000 a program, said Warren. The track has eight races on the Wednesday card. There are another eight for Thursday, including an allowance that drew stakes winner Speaktomeoflove and the multiple stakes-placed Rightandjust.

Jockey Tim Thornton, who his coming off the title at Delta, is back to defend his title at Evangeline. He is part of a colony that includes Gerard Melancon.

The trainer ranks include Karl Broberg, who won the recent title at Delta, and Eduardo Ramirez, who won the Evangeline title in 2021.

Evangeline opens with some momentum from Delta, which handled $3.3 million on March 3, said Warren. It was the largest handle for the track outside of cards that featured the Delta Downs Jackpot, which was last run in 2016.

◗ Warren said there is a new sportsbook located in the middle of the casino at Evangeline.