Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino is a

racetrack A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, just east of

Opelousas :''Opelousas is also a common name of the flathead catfish.'' Opelousas (french: Les Opélousas; Spanish: ''Los Opeluzás'') is a small city and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190 were ...

. It is owned and operated by

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. With a one-mile oval track, the facility provides close to 1,000 horse stalls for

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic pr ...

and American Quarter Horse racing. The original track opened on April 28, 1966 at

Carencro, Louisiana Carencro (; historically french: St.-Pierre) is a city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette. The population was 7,526 at the 2010 census, up from 6,120 in 2000; at the 2020 census, its p ...

and remained there until 2005 when it moved to Opelousas, Louisiana.

History

On April 28, 1966, Evangeline Downs opened for business in its original location along U.S. Highway 167 (also known as the Evangeline Thruway, and today as Interstate Highway 49) at Carencro, Louisiana, just north of the city limits of Lafayette, Louisiana. In 1982, Rodney Verret,

Ted Haik Theodore Michael Haik, Jr., known as Ted Haik (born April 8, 1945), is an attorney in New Iberia, Louisiana, who was a Democratic member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from 1976 to 1996. He represented House District 49, which inc ...

, Sam Rankin, and Joe Jones bought the track for $12.4 million. In 1985, they sold it to Norman Denny and Larry Willis for $16.5 million. Denny and Willis soon ran into financial problems. After a missed payment of purse money, the Louisiana Racing Commission threatened to shut down the track. Evangeline Downs was forced to file for

Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code ( Title 11 of the United States Code) permits reorganization under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. Such reorganization, known as Chapter 11 bankruptcy, is available to every business, whet ...

, and closed indefinitely in October 1986. Unable to negotiate a reorganization, Denny and Willis shifted to Chapter 7 liquidation, asking a court to sell the track. The Louisiana Savings Association, primary mortgage holder for the property, bought it at auction for the minimum bid of $333,335. Races resumed in April 1987. Evangeline Downs added

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machines in 1992. In a 1996 election, Lafayette Parish voters enacted a parish-wide ban on video poker. As a result, the track made plans to move to St. Landry Parish, whose voters had rejected a similar ban. In February 2002, Peninsula Gaming bought a fifty percent interest in the track from B. I. Moody for $15 million. They bought the remaining half several months later from William Trotter for another $15 million, plus 0.5% of slot revenues for the first ten years. Peninsula carried out the move to Opelousas, opening a casino at the new site in late 2003, with races following in 2005. Peninsula was acquired by

in November 2012. In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are ...

racetracks in North America. Of the top ten, Evangeline Downs was ranked #6. In 2020, the original site in Carencro was converted into a distribution center for

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Sports

Boxing

On November 6, 2014,

Regis Prograis Regis Prograis ( ; born January 24, 1989) is an American professional boxer. He has held the WBC super lightweight title since November 2022, and previously the WBA super lightweight title in 2019. As of February 2021, he is ranked as the world' ...

fought Jeff Humphries on a boxing card with Prograis winning with a KO in round 1.

Notable horse races

On September 5, 1977, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee, John Henry won his first-ever stakes race at Evangeline Downs, capturing the Lafayette Futurity. A number of notable jockeys began their professional careers at this track, including

Robby Albarado Robby J. Albarado (born September 11, 1973, in Lafayette, Louisiana) is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 10 and progressed to riding at bush tracks in his native Louisiana by the age of 12. After turning ...

, Ronald Ardoin, Calvin Borel, Curt Bourque,

Eddie Delahoussaye Edward J. Delahoussaye (born September 21, 1951) is a retired American Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana. He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 wins. He has won the Kentucky Derby ...

Kent Desormeaux Kent Jason Desormeaux (born February 27, 1970) is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year with 598 wins in 1989. He has won the Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes ...

Mark Guidry Mark Guidry (born August 6, 1959, in Lafayette, Louisiana) is a former American jockey. He ranks 22nd among jockeys in career wins with 5,222 wins as of March 7, 2014, the date of his last ride. He subsequently announced his retirement from ridi ...

Randy Romero Randy Paul Romero (December 22, 1957 – August 29, 2019) was a Hall of Fame jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing. Born into a family involved with horses, his father Lloyd J. Romero was a Louisiana state trooper who trained A ...

, Shane Sellers and Ray Sibille.

References

External links

*
May 30, 2004 ''New York Times'' article on Evangeline Downs titled ''Where the Racing Is Down to Earth''
{{coord, 30.526095, -92.060344, display=title Horse racing venues in Louisiana Boxing venues in Louisiana Sports venues in Lafayette, Louisiana Opelousas, Louisiana Sports venues in Louisiana Buildings and structures in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana 1966 establishments in Louisiana Tourist attractions in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana Boyd Gaming Sports venues completed in 1966