Defending Champion Lifeinthefastlanes Entered in $40,000 Opelousas Stakes at Evangeline

The 9/5 morning line favorite Lifeinthefastlanes will face six rivals in the $40,000 Opelousas Stakes Saturday night at Evangeline Downs.

© Coady Photography

OPELOUSAS, LA – NOVEMBER 2, 2022 – The feature race of the Saturday night card at Evangeline is the $40,000 Opelousas Stakes, headlined by last year’s winner, Lifeinthefastlanes.

The 9/5 morning line favorite will face six rival Louisiana-bred 3-year-olds and up in the 400-yard event.

Lifeinthefastlanes, trained by Kenneth Roberts, Sr, is a multiple graded stakes winner with $527,881 and is eight for 10 at 400 yards. In 2020, she enjoyed a six-race win streak that included the LQHBA Breeders’ Derby (RG3) and the Delta Downs Louisiana Bred Derby (RG3).

The 5-year-old mare is a daughter of Jess Louisiana Blue and was bred in Louisiana by Wade Jr and Kay Loup. They also bred Lifeinthefastlanes’ dam, Pantherinthefastlane, by Panther Mountain, a multiple graded stakes placed mare who earned $163,973 in 20 starts in Louisiana.

Lifeinthefastlanes, with Everardo Rodriguez aboard, has drawn post position five. Second choice Hezaa Fast Boy will break to her outside with David Alvarez in the irons.

Hezaa Fast Boy earned his first career graded stakes this summer in the Vals Fortune/Teddy Abrams, Jr. Stakes (RG2) at Delta, followed by a win in the Louisiana Classic (RG2) and most recently, a third-place finish in the Mid City Stakes (RG3).

Hezaa Fast Boy is trained by Jesus Marquez. The 5-year-old gelding is by Heza Fast Dash and is out of the Feature Mr Jess mare Brenda Beautiful, a multiple stakes winning mare who qualified to the 2009 All American Derby.

A fellow Heza Fast Dash gelding, Swamp Eagle, will break to the inside of Lifeinthefastlanes and is the third betting choice at 7/2. Joel Huitron trains the 5-year-old gelding out of Gee Whit, by One Famous Eagle.

Swamp Eagle exits a winning effort in the Evangeline Downs Dash Stakes in October and was third last year’s Opelousas Stakes.

The Opelousas Stakes is Race 6 on Saturday, November 5. Post time is 7:40 pm C.T. The complete lineup, in post position order, with jockeys and morning line odds:

1. King Intriguing Blue (Cesar Segura), 12-1
2. Five Bar Miracles (J. R. Ramirez), 8-1
3. One Sweet Boss (Gilbert Ortiz), 15-1
4. Swamp Eagle (Alejandro Ochoa), 7/2
5. Lifeinthefastlanes (Everardo Rodriguez), 9/5
6. Hezaa Fast Boy (David Alvarez), 5/2
7.  Jj Heza Fast Dash Jr (Ricardo Hernandez, Jr.), 5/1