LTBA awards presentations to be integrated with live racing

OPELOUSAS, La. – Saturday night’s Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association annual awards ceremony at Evangeline Downs promises to be anything but the usual, mundane banquet scene.

First, there is the venue, Mojo’s bar, located adjacent to the paddock, placing the night’s festivities at ground zero for the evening’s racing action. Then, there is the format: Each divisional winner will be announced as the night’s races are run and will be presented in the winner’s circle following the respective race that will be named in his honor. The process effectively integrates the awards into the live action.

“Our board wanted us to come up with something a little different,” said LTBA secretary and treasurer Roger Heitzmann III from his New Orleans office on Tuesday. “We’ll give out what I call the ‘people awards’ – leading money breeder, high-percentage breeder, leading stallion – first, then the ‘racing awards’ will be announced following the individual races. This is the first time we have done it, and hopefully there won’t be too many hiccups. It should be fun.”

The evening also should provide its share of suspense. The 2014 Louisiana-bred Horse of the Year, unlike the divisional winners who were announced earlier in the spring, will not be revealed until Saturday night. The top honor is expected to go to either Sunbean, a winner of seven of nine starts in 2014, including the Evangeline Mile and Delta Mile against open company, or Vicar’s in Trouble, victorious in both the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds and the Grade 2 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs.

“Our breeding program has been a process,” Heitzmann said. “Our breeders continue to strive for higher and higher quality, and I think we are seeing the results. We feel that quality trumps quantity every time.”

Our Quista calls audible

As backup plans go, it turned out to be a good one.

Our Quista, who will be honored Saturday as last year’s champion Louisiana-bred 3-year-old filly, was all set to go in last Saturday’s Opelousas Stakes before Mother Nature intervened and washed out the Evangeline Turf Sprint program after just one race. She instead will go in the first race Friday at Louisiana Downs, a one-mile allowance test on grass.

“We entered in both just to be safe,” said Ron Ball, whose Hickory Stables owns the daughter of Half Ours in partnership with Eugenia Thompson. “We really wanted to go in the Opelousas, but at least we are in better shape than the others. Our filly really needs to run.”

Ball said Our Quista is likely to return to Evangeline for the Louisiana Legends Distaff against fellow Louisiana-breds on July 4.

Rescheduled Evangeline Mile draws 10

Saturday night’s $100,000 Evangeline Mile, rescheduled from last Saturday, drew the original eight members plus two more when entries were drawn Tuesday.

Mystery Train, installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite for the original version of the Mile, stuck around for trainer Darrell Vienna, as did local favorite Stormdriver. Four Leaf Chief will join the fray in the season’s biggest test in the handicap division, as does recent Lone Star Park optional-claiming winner King Council.

A pair of seven-furlong events for Louisiana-breds, the Lafayette for 3-year-olds and the Acadiana Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, also were brought back for Saturday’s 11-race program.