LRC denies transfer of funds from Delta to Evangeline

The Louisiana Racing Commission denied both a purse-transfer request for Thoroughbreds and the movement of a meet for Quarter Horses during a five-hour meeting Wednesday at Evangeline Downs.

The purse-transfer request came from the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. The organization asked the commission to reconsider its August decision to deny the transfer of some purse funds from Delta Downs to the Evangeline Downs meet for Thoroughbreds that opens next April. Both tracks are owned by Boyd Gaming.

The commission denied the initial request to move $3.2 million in purse funds and, on a 6-5 vote Wednesday, denied the second request, which was to move up to $2 million.

“The commission’s position is that although the transfer may be good in some aspects, it could potentially affect the best interest of racing,” said Charles Gardiner, executive director of the Louisiana Racing Commission.

The Evangeline meet runs at the same time of year as the Louisiana Downs meet for Thoroughbreds.

Gardiner said there was a great deal of discussion on the transfer, with a public-comment period featuring voices for and against the move.

The commission later denied a request from Fair Grounds to move its Quarter Horse meet from the summer to the spring for 2019. The track asked for a 10-date stand from March 26 to April 8. Gardiner said Fair Grounds presented safety concerns for wanting to move the meet run during hurricane season. He said a large contingent of Quarter Horse industry members voiced opposition to the move, and all but one commissioner voted to deny the request.

Louisiana state law mandates that Fair Grounds run a meet for Quarter Horses. The track has not yet submitted to the commission another dates request for 2019.

Also at the meeting, the commission directed Gardiner to write a letter to track owners in Louisiana requiring them to have two ambulances on the grounds at each track and a helipad. Past policies had wording that required tracks to have one ambulance on the grounds and one "nearby." The clarification that will be addressed at next month's meeting stems from a concern raised by jockey Kerwin Clark.

The meeting closed with a presentation by Victoria Keith of the new National Thoroughbred Welfare Organization founded by Rick Porter. She floated the idea of establishing a per-start fee to fund horse-rescue efforts, and the commission asked its attorney to research the concept, said Gardiner.