EVANGELINE DOWNS 2025 THOROUGHBRED SEASON OPENS APRIL 4

By Rob Tuel —-

EVANGELINE DOWNS 2025 THOROUGHBRED SEASON OPENS APRIL 4

LOUISIANA LEGENDS NIGHT SET FOR JUNE 7

OPELOUSAS, LA –The 2025 Evangeline Downs Thoroughbred season will kick off the 73-night stand on Friday, April 4. First post each night will be scheduled for 5:30pm Central. Following the opening weekend, the schedule features racing on Wednesday through Saturday until mid-June, when the schedule will switch to a Thursday through Saturday schedule for the remainder of the meet. The season runs through August 23.

Elio Barrera will be back to defend his title in the jockey standings. Barrera led the 2024 race with 80 winners. Tim Thornton, fresh off a riding title at Delta Downs, and Vicente Del-Cid, the 2023 EVD riding champ, will be among the main challengers. C.J. McMahon, Jose Guerrero, Jose Luis Rodriguez, and Juan Pablo Vargas are among the other riders looking for a big summer.

Juan Larrosa will be back to defend his training title but will face many strong outfits on the Evangeline Downs backside. Larrosa saddled 33 winners last season and comes to town off a solid showing at Delta Downs over the winter. Abel Ramirez-Rodriguez, now the trainer for Karl Broberg’s End Zone Athletics, and recent Delta Downs training champ Allen Landry lead the host of challengers. Brett Brinkman and Eduardo Ramirez are among the trainers that will also have plenty of entries to challenge for the top spot.

The 2025 stake schedule will kick off opening night with the running of the $60,000 Acadiana and the $60,000 Spotted Horse. The following night co-features are the $60,000 Lafayette and the $100,000 Evangeline Mile.

Racing fans will want to make plans to attend the races the first weekend of May for the simulcasting of the Kentucky Oaks on Friday, May 2 and the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 3. The Friday card will include a trio of stake races including the $60,000 EVD Distaff, while the Derby night card showcases the $60,000 EVD Classic.

The marquee night of the season will take place on Saturday, June 7 with Louisiana Legends Night. The program features six stake races for Louisiana-bred runners, with each purse $100,000 guaranteed.

July racing action will include the Opelousas and John Henry Stakes on Saturday, July 5. Each race will carry a purse of $60,000 and be contested over the turf course.

The stakes calendar finishes up in August with the Friday, August 1 card including the $75,000 Louisiana Stallion Stakes presented by Coteau Grove Farms and the filly division of the $70,000 Shine Young Futurity. Saturday, August 3 will have the $70,000 Shine Young colts and gelding division, along with the $75,000 Louisiana Stallion Stakes presented by Coteau Grove Farms.

Evangeline Downs will also continue a partnership with the Birmingham Racing Commission and Alabama HBPA and feature three stake races for Alabama-bred runners during the season. The Kenny Cotton is part of the opening weekend this year.

For more information on Evangeline Downs visit the track’s website at https://evangelinedowns.boydgaming.com/racing.

Evangeline Downs information can also be found on Twitter @EVDracing and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EvangelineDownsRacing.

About Evangeline Downs Racetrack& Casino

Encompassing over 750 acres, Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation, features over 39,000 square feet of casino space as well a racetrack that boasts state-of-the-art facilities with a 7/8-mile turf track and a one mile main track. The casino includes over 1,000 slot and video poker machines, two dining options, and plenty of meeting space including track-side private club suites. Evangeline Downs also includes a newly opened FanDuel Sportsbook. For more information, visit www.evangelinedowns.com and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Founded in 1975, Boyd Gaming Corporation is a leading geographically diversified operator of 28 gaming entertainment properties in 10 states, and manager of a tribal casino in northern California. The Company is also a strategic partner and 5% equity owner of FanDuel Group, the nation’s leading sports-betting operator.