Superior Storm tops Louisiana Legends card

The stage is set for Saturday's Louisiana Legends Night at Evangeline Downs as exactly 100 Louisiana-breds were entered Wednesday morning for the 11-race program, which will be worth close to $1 million in purse money.

All age divisions and specialties will be represented - from the two divisions of the D.S. "Shine" Young Futurity for 2-year-olds at five furlongs to the 1 1/16-mile Attaway Darbonne for 3-year-olds and upward on the turf.

Top billing for this year's Legends Night has to go to the 4-year-old filly Superior Storm. She won the Buddy Abadie Stakes on the Legends program last year and this year goes in the $100,000 Archie Sebastien. Superior Storm has been at the top of her game all year long, finishing second in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap against open company at Oaklawn as well as second in the Grade 3 Ouija Board at Lone Star Park.

National training powerhouse Steve Asmussen will saddle three in the $100,000 filly division of the Shine Young Futurity. All three won their respective qualifying trials and will be coupled with a fourth filly trained by Troy Young. The quartet will likely rival Superior Storm as the evening's shortest-priced favorite.

In the colt and gelding division of the futurity, Asmussen will also send out three members of a four-horse entry linked by common ownership.

Bill Mott will run Desert Wheat in either the Darbonne on grass or the Pola Benoit, a 1 1/16-mile route on the main track. Costa Rising was also cross-entered in the Darbonne and Benoit.

Other highlights include a competitive 12-horse field in the $100,000 Junius Delahoussaye Sprint, and a nine-horse field in the $50,000 Mervin Muniz Starter Stakes at 7 1/2 furlongs on the grass.