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 us ...

in St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, just east of Opelousas. It is owned and operated by Boyd Gaming. With a one-mile oval track, the facility provides close to 1,000 horse stalls for

Thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

flat racing Horse racing is an equestrianism, equestrian performance activity, 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 spor ...

and

American Quarter Horse The American Quarter Horse, or Quarter Horse, is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name is derived from its ability to outrun other horse breeds in races of or less; some have been clocked at speeds up to ...

racing. The original track opened on April 28, 1966 at

Carencro, Louisiana Carencro (; historically ) 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 population was 9, ...

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 Lafayette ( , ) is the most populous city in and parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, Lafayette Parish in the U.S. state of Louisiana, located along the Vermilion River (Louisiana), Vermilion River. It is Louisiana's List of municipaliti ...

. In 1982, Rodney Verret, Ted Haik, 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, wh ...

, and closed indefinitely in October 1986. Unable to negotiate a reorganization, Denny and Willis shifted to

Chapter 7 liquidation Chapter 7 of Title 11 U.S. Code is the bankruptcy code that governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States. This is in contrast to bankruptcy under Chapter 11 and Chapter 13, which govern the process of ''reor ...

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

thoroughbred The Thoroughbred is a list of horse breeds, horse breed developed for Thoroughbred racing, horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thorough ...

racetracks in

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

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

Amazon Amazon most often refers to: * Amazon River, in South America * Amazon rainforest, a rainforest covering most of the Amazon basin * Amazon (company), an American multinational technology company * Amazons, a tribe of female warriors in Greek myth ...

Sports

Boxing

On November 6, 2014, Regis Prograis 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) 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 professional, he earned ...

, Ronald Ardoin, Calvin Borel, Curt Bourque,

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

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 t ...

, Mark Guidry, Randy Romero, Shane Sellers and

Ray Sibille Raymond Frederick Sibille (born September 13, 1952, in Sunset, Louisiana) is a retired American Thoroughbred horse race, Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. In a career that spanned thirty-five years, he rode his first winner on June 29, 1969, at E ...

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 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