Louisiana Quarter Horse Breeder Association

News November 22, 2024

LQHBA Louisiana Million Will Be Saturday Night At Evangeline Downs

Last year's LQHBA Million Futurity(RG1) winner Mpshinning will head a strong field in the LQHBA Breeders' Derby on Saturday's undercard at Evangeline Downs.

© Coady Photography

OPELOUSAS, LA—DECEMBER 3, 2019—Evangeline Downs will be hosting the biggest night in Louisiana Quarter Horse racing on Saturday night. There will be four stakes races on the 10-race program, the $1,000,000 LQHBA Louisiana Million (RG1), the $280,661 LQHBA Breeders Derby, the $40,000 LQHBA Invitational and the $30,000 Scoopies Leaving You Stakes.

The fastest qualifier for the Million is Special Politico, a 2-year-old gelding that has won three of five previous starts and earned a total of $40,920 in his brief career. He is owned by Oddel Batista, trained by Miguel Rodriguez and will be ridden on Saturday night by Luis Vivanco. Special Politico drew the #3 post position in the field of 10 and has been installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite (for related story click here).

Mpshinning, who won the LQHBA Louisiana Million in 2018, returned to Evangeline Downs for the trials for the LQHBA Breeders Derby and was the fastest qualifier. He is a 3-year-old colt owned by Larry J. Boudreaux, trained by Adrian Huitron and will be ridden on Saturday night by Victor Urieta Jr. Mpshinning has won seven of 13 lifetime starts and earned a total of $633,536 in his career.

The four stakes races have been carded consecutively on the Saturday night program as races 7-10. There will be a 50-cent All-Stakes Pick Four wager available on the sequence.

In addition to the exciting racing action on Saturday night, the LQHBA will also be holding a scholarship giveaway between races. All Louisiana high school graduates and seniors graduating in 2019 are eligible. There will be a registration table on the main level of the building from 5:00-6:45 pm Central Time. Students must be present for the drawings to be eligible to win. Six scholarships will be given away in total, one worth $5,000 and five worth $2,000.

Post time for the 10-race program on Saturday night at Evangeline Downs will be 5:35 pm Central Time. The LQHBA Louisiana Million will be the 10th race on the program and the scheduled post time is 9:20 pm.

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For more information on the American Quarter Horse season at Evangeline Downs, visit the track's website at evdracing.com. Evangeline Downs' Twitter handle is @EVDRacing and the racetrack is also accessible on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EvangelineDownsRacing.

About Evangeline Downs
Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel is owned by Boyd Gaming Corporation, a leading diversified owner and operator of 22 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, New Jersey, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Boyd Gaming press releases are available at www.prnewswire.com. Additional news and information can be found at www.boydgaming.com, or evangelinedowns.com.

LQHBA is the official authorized representative of the American Quarter Horse racing and breeding industry in Louisiana, the unified voice of quarter Horse breedings in the State of Louisiana for purposes of communicatting the advantages and rewards of breeding Quarter Horses in the State and for the purposes of a conducting and coordinating activities with breeding and racing agencies.