Tag: hurricane laura

Grants From The Foundation For The Horse Assist Equines Affected By Hurricane Laura

With the arrival of Hurricane Laura, which battered the East Texas and Louisiana coastlines as the region's strongest storm in over a century, The Foundation for the Horse is asking for financial help for horses that are being impacted due to evacuations or that otherwise may be in harm's way.

To provide immediate aid, The Foundation is donating $5,000 total to two groups it has worked with previously: the Texas A&M University Veterinary Emergency Team (VET) and the Louisiana Veterinary Medical Association's Equine Committee.

Veterinarians within these groups are actively helping horses that are being evacuated or which may have to endure the hurricane in place. Texas A&M's College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences is currently taking in and sheltering animals, and its VET will be deployed as needed to impacted areas. Similar efforts are underway in Louisiana as well.

The Foundation will work with agencies and veterinary members in Texas and Louisiana to identify the needs of the equine community. Supplies are not being accepted currently because the catastrophic storm is still occurring. Once the Foundation receives an assessment of need and distribution protocols from the agencies and veterinary members in the afflicted areas, The Foundation will work to support them with monetary and other resources as needed.

“The Foundation and the equine veterinary community know the tragic loss of life and incredible destruction and flooding that can and will be caused by Hurricane Laura,” said Foundation Advisory Council Chair Dr. Rick Mitchell. “We are compelled to reach out, together with our members, horse owners and industry leaders, as part of the effort to proactively support the disaster's equine victims.”

To make a gift to The Foundation in support of disaster relief or another area benefiting equine welfare, click here and navigate to the “Donate” button.

Learn more here.

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Hurricane Aftermath: ‘A Lot Of Damage’ Will Delay Opening Of Delta Downs’ Thoroughbred Meet

Significant damage from Hurricane Laura will force Delta Downs to delay the start of its Thoroughbred meet, scheduled to begin Oct. 6, director of racing operations Chris Warren told the Thoroughbred Daily News. The Vinton, La. track was part of the mandatory evacuation order issued Tuesday, but nearly 600 Quarter Horses and a number of workers remained on property with nowhere else to go.

No horses or people were reported injured in the hurricane, which made landfall around 1:00 a.m. on Thursday morning, but the facility itself was a different story.

“There's debris and sheet metal everywhere,” Warren told the TDN. “The tote board got demolished. It collapsed and is completely gone. Our camera towers are gone, so is our holding barn. The starting gates got completely turned over and the light poles are torn up. The whole backside rail is pretty much ruined. There's just a lot of damage and it is everywhere.”

Track announcer Don Stevens posted several photos of the damage on social media:

The post Hurricane Aftermath: ‘A Lot Of Damage’ Will Delay Opening Of Delta Downs’ Thoroughbred Meet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Delta Downs Suffers Serious Damage in Hurricane, Opening to be Postponed

While no horses or people suffered major injuries as a result of Hurricane Laura, the storm produced serious damage to Delta Downs in Vinton, Louisiana, leaving the facility in such bad shape that its director of racing operations Chris Warren said there was no chance the track would be able to begin its Thoroughbred meet on time.

“This meet is supposed to start Oct. 6. That isn’t going to happen,” Warren said. “There’s no way. When it will happen, I have no idea.”

Warren was on the scene at Delta Thursday morning and reports that the damage was extensive.

“There’s debris and sheet metal everywhere,” he said. “The tote board got demolished. It collapsed and is completely gone. Our camera towers are gone, so is our holding barn. The starting gates got completely turned over and the light poles are torn up. The whole backside rail is pretty much ruined. There’s just a lot of damage and it is everywhere.”

Hurricane Laura made landfall at about 1 a.m. Thursday near Cameron, Louisiana about 30 miles south of Delta Downs, which is located in the town of Vinton. Winds were recorded at more than 150 miles per hour.

Delta Downs ended its quarter horse meet Saturday, but hundreds of horses and workers were still on the grounds when Laura hit. A mandatory evacuation order, which also covered horses, was issued for Vinton effective Tuesday. Warren said there were a number of workers who remained on the backstretch because they had nowhere else to go and that about 600 quarter horses were also on the grounds when the hurricane hit.

Management was prepared for the worst.

“Everyone was told to leave but they didn’t,” he said. “There were people who had nowhere to go. It could have definitely been worse. We could have had 20 horses and two people get killed back there. We were amazed that it wasn’t worse.”

Warren said a key to keeping the horses safe was that the barns held up relatively well and none of the barn roofs blew off.

Warren said that Evangeline Downs, which, like Delta, is owned by Boyd Gaming, did not suffer any serious damage. It is east of Delta in the town of Opelousas. Evangeline had canceled its Wednesday and Thursday cards before the hurricane hit. Evangeline is still scheduled to resume racing Friday night. Its meet ends Saturday.

The post Delta Downs Suffers Serious Damage in Hurricane, Opening to be Postponed appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Hurricane Forces Evacuation Of Delta Downs, Cancellation Of Racing At Evangeline

Expected to hit coastlines of Louisiana and Texas late Wednesday night, Hurricane Laura has forced the evacuation of Delta Downs in Vinton, La. and the cancellation of both workouts and racing at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La.

According to the Daily Racing Form, racing and training at Evangeline has been cancelled on both Wednesday and Thursday for precautionary measures.

There's a mandatory evacuation of all citizens in Vinton, said Chris Warren, Delta Downs' director of racing.

Read more at the Daily Racing Form.

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