Louisiana Racing

Louisiana's Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will host 73 black-type races worth a combined $9.7 million during the upcoming 76-day 2023-24 Thoroughbred meet, officials at the New Orleans oval announced Wednesday. The amount is up $1.2 million from last year, but does include $1 million in base purses offered Dec. 2 as Fair Grounds hosts the 25th annual Claiming Crown. That event returns to Fair Grounds for the first time since 2011 with purses ranging from $75,000 to $200,000. Another $25,000 in each race will be available in purse...

Jockey Gerard Melancon, a mainstay atop the riding standings in his home state of Louisiana, was arrested Aug. 26 on a charge related to the alleged possession of an electrical shocking device after Evangeline Downs stewards reported an "incident" to state police. Ray Paulick of Paulick Report had the scoop in a Tuesday story. He cited confirmations of the "unnatural stimulation of horses" arrest from the St. Landry Parish sheriff's office, the clerk of the parish court, and the Louisiana State Police. But details were scant because of an "ongoing...

A total of 65 stakes worth a combined $8.5 million, up more than $700,000 from last season, will be offered during Fair Grounds's 80-day, 2022-23 Thoroughbred meet, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots announced Tuesday. In each of the 13 unrestricted, non-graded stakes, purses have been increased by $25,000. In addition, 12 new Louisiana-bred stakes have been added to the schedule, including six over the first two days of the meet. "We worked with the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association and Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association to come up with these...

Jason Boulet, the Fair Grounds director of racing, was repeatedly pressed by Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) member Tom Calvert Tuesday about whether or not his track would once again seek a statutory change to reduce its required number of race dates from 80 to 75 when the state legislature convenes its 2022 session Mar. 14. The exchange did not yield a definitive answer beyond Boulet's disclosure that the Fair Grounds and its corporate parent, the gaming firm Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), would be in favor of participating in discussions...

The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association's Breeders Sales Company of Louisiana will be holding a Yearling Sale followed by a Mixed Session Oct. 2, 2021 at the Equine Sales of Louisiana Facility in Opelousas, La. Consignment forms will be in the mail and online here shortly. "With the Equine Sales Company deciding not to conduct any sales in 2021 the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association's Board of Directors felt it was necessary to serve our breeders and provide a market for their horses," the LTBA said in a press release. "We look...

Evangeline Downs is marking its return June 5 with the first of 50 live racing nights featuring a nine-race program. The season had originally been scheduled to kick off Apr. 8. The season's highlights include Louisiana Legends Night, held July 4, as six stakes races will be run with purses totaling $360,000 and dual divisions (2-year-old colts and fillies) of the D.S. "Shine" Young Futurity, contested on closing night Aug. 29. Live racing at Evangeline Downs will be conducted weekly, Wednesday through Saturday. First post will be 5:50 pm C.T....

The 2020 Annual Membership Meeting of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders' Association is set for Sunday Mar. 22 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans. The annual meeting brings members together to celebrate the breeders and owners of outstanding accredited 2019 Louisiana-bred Thoroughbreds. The champions are chosen by a vote of the membership and are based on performance and breeding records for the 2019 year. "The process of producing and training a champion race horse takes considerable resources," said Roger Heitzmann, secretary treasurer for the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders...