One of the biggest nights of racing at Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino takes place this Saturday in Opelousas, La. Many of Louisiana’s top breeds have won stakes races, including Ova Recalculated from her stakes win at Churchill Downs on Kentucky Oaks Day.
“The legendary night is famous not only for its top racing but also for honoring the Louisianians who made racing in Louisiana possible,” said Roger Heitzmann, secretary/treasurer of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association. like nowadays”. “This year honors our racing industry’s trailblazers from jockeys, trainers and management leaders. These are truly the superstars of our industry and we look forward to the night this special.”
Sprint – Honoring Mark Guidry
Mark Guidry (born August 6, 1959, in Lafayette, Louisiana) is an American former jockey. He ranks 22nd among jockeys in career wins with 5,222 wins as of 7 March 2014, the day of his last ride. He then announced his retirement from horse riding to become a jockey’s agent. This is Guidry’s second retirement. He first retired in 2007 and didn’t drive again for another four years.
Cheval – Honoring Calvin “Boo Boo” Borel
Calvin H. Borel (born November 7, 1966) is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode winners in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, 2009 Kentucky Derby and 2010 Kentucky Derby. His 2009 Derby victory with Mine That Bird is the third largest defeat in Derby history, (after Donerail and Rich Strike), and Borel’s winning margin of 6+3⁄4 is the largest in Derby history since Assault won eight times in 1946. On May 1, 2009, Borel won the Kentucky Oaks aboard Rachel Alexandra, the second time since 1993 that a jockey had won in a tiebreaker. Oaks-Derby and this is only the seventh time a jockey has achieved this feat in the same year. On May 16, 2009, Borel won the 2009 Preakness Stakes at Pimlico with thoroughbred Rachel Alexandra. In doing so, Borel became the first rider to win the first two jewels of the Triple Crown on different mounts. Borel’s nickname is “Bo’rail'” due to his preference for walking close to the tracks to save land.
Lawn – Honoring Larry Robideaux
Larry Robideaux (born August 20, 1933 in New Orleans) is a winning coach at many levels. He passed away on Tuesday, December 20, 2022, in Bossier City, Louisiana. He was born in New Orleans and lived in Iowa and Louisiana until he was 27 years old. He attended Iowa High School and a few years at McNeese College. Larry is a United States Army veteran. He began his training career in 1960 with one horse. Larry raced on all the tracks in Louisiana, Hot Springs and Kentucky. He ran horses in the Kentucky Derby and Preakness and won thousands of races. Breeders Cup elected Larry to the Louisiana Hall of Fame in 2014 and Person of the Year in 2015. He trained for 61 years. Larry was on the board of directors of the HBPA for several years.
Turf Distaff – Honoring Joseph “Spanky” Broussard
After working as an assistant for Hall of Famers Tennessee Wright, Dewey Smith and J.R. Smith, Broussard struck out on his own in 1969 and continued until the summer of 2012. During his career, Broussard represented more than 1,000 people. win and was inducted into the Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame in 2004. In addition to his training career, Broussard also represents Sallee Horse Vans.
Among the top horses trained by Broussard are multiple Grade II stakes winner and seven-time stakes winner Irish Swap, six-time Grade III stakes winner Stonehouse, Grade III winner Tudor Tambourine and multiple stakes winner bets Bayou Bidder, Magnet Miss and Bishop’s Idea, among them. others.
Joseph E. “Spanky” Broussard, who trained on the Chicago and New Orleans tracks for 50 years, passed away at age 74 in 2015.
Soiree – Honoring Edward “Eddie” Johnston
Johnston started hiking for his uncle, Alex Johnston. According to Equibase statistics, he began training in 1981 and remained a coach throughout his life. As of August 31, Johnston had won 558 races from 2,988 starts and his horses over the years had generated nearly $13 million in earnings. His top horses include the 2015 Louisiana champion 3-year-old Pacific Pink and the 2003 Louisiana champion senior horse Zarb’s Luck.
Louisiana Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association President Benard Chatters said Johnston served as a Louisiana HBPA board member and was a longtime mainstay trainer in the state. Eddie passed away in 2021.
Mademoiselle – Honoring Charles Ashy, Sr.
Charles Ashy, Sr. (Lafayette, La.) is known for her longtime leadership role as General Manager of Evangeline Downs. Ashy has had a major impact on racing in Louisiana.
His work in bringing off-track betting and slot machines to the track changed the racing scene in Louisiana. In 1966, Evangeline Downs became the first parallel racetrack in Louisiana not located around New Orleans. The racetrack is in Carencro, a suburb of Lafayette, in Lafayette Parish. When Lafayette Parish voted to remove the game from the Parish, Ashy’s efforts in the Louisiana legislature along with former Senator Don Cravins resulted in the first racino ever built in America in St. .
Ashy also owns and operates Louisiana Stud Sales, which conducts annual sales of stallions and mixed horses.
Additionally, the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association (LTBA) will award two scholarships of $1,000 each to undergraduate students for a total of $2,000.
The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association administers the best incentive program for breeding purebreds in the United States. Since the organization was founded, this has resulted in increased purses, better quality horses and increased interest in horse racing and breeding. The thoroughbred horse racing and breeding industry generates more than $1 billion and employs more than 60,000 people in Louisiana.
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