Everardo Rodriguez and Kenny Roberts Top The Standings At Evangeline Downs, Three-Way Owners Tie

OPELOUSAS, LA—DECEMBER 17, 2019—There wasn’t much suspense entering the final weekend of the American Quarter Horse season at Evangeline Downs regarding the jockeys’ and trainers’ standings. Everardo Rodriguez and Kenny Roberts had dominated the season to the extent that they had the titles well in hand in their respective categories.

Rodriguez won 37 races from 198 starts during the season, which was seven more than his nearest challenger, Ricardo Hernandez, Jr. who was runner-up with 30 wins. Rodriguez also tacked on 36 seconds and 26 thirds, which gave him a very impressive in-the-money percentage of 50% for the season. His mounts earned a total of $441,953 throughout the season.

The complete top 10 jockeys’ standings were: Everardo Rodriguez (37 wins), Ricardo Hernandez, Jr. (30), Luis Vivanco (26), Luciano Duenez (25), a tie for fifth between John Hamilton and Damian Martinez at 23 wins, Rolando Cabrera (22), Noe Castaneda (21), Donald Watson (19) and a tie for tenth between Bryan Candanosa and Ubaldo Luna at 17 wins.

Kenny Roberts was a clear winner in the trainers’ standings with 27 victories from 124 starts, good for a 22% winning percentage. Roberts also had 10 seconds and 16 thirds for an in-the-money percentage of 43%, earning $318,882 for the season. Runner-up Jose Carrizales actually had a higher winning percentage than Roberts for the season with 19 wins from 82 starts, good for a 23% mark.

The complete top 10 trainers’ standings were: Kenny Roberts (27 wins), Jose Carrizales (19), Wendy Alejandra Garcia (16), Trey Ellis (15), a three-way tie for fifth between Fructuoso Huitron, Orlando Orozco and Martin Trejo at 14 wins, a tie for eighth between Lanny Keith and Miguel Rodriguez at 11 wins and Ray Mayo (10).

The owners’ standings race did provide some suspense on the final night of the season. Geral Dewitt and Bulldog Racing came into the last night tied at seven wins each. They were then joined in a three-way deadlock following the second race when Fantasticazoom Jr. won for J and J Stables, LLC and that was the way the season ended.

The complete top 10 owners’ standings were: a three-way tie for first between Geral Dewitt, Bulldog Racing and J and J Stables, LLC at seven wins each, Jesus Huitron Lira (six), a three-way tie for fifth between Adame Racing, LLC, TM Ranch and Rosendo Valdez at five wins and a nine-way tie for eighth between Jaime Cardenas, Gene Cox, Tony Doughtie, Preston Jourdan, Jaime Martinez, Jose Ortiz, Jose U. Oviedo, Ismael Ramirez and Rancho Herradura, LLC at four wins each.

Live racing at Evangeline Downs will resume with the start of the 2020 Thoroughbred season on Wednesday, April 8. The season will run for 84 evenings on a Wednesday-Saturday schedule through Saturday, August 29. Post time for the Thoroughbred season will be 5:50 pm Central Time.

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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.