tim thornton | Horse Racing Free Tips

Evangeline Downs’ Thoroughbred Season Begins April 28

Evangeline Downs Racetrack Casino & Hotel will kick off its 2021 Thoroughbred season on Wednesday, April 28. The 84-day meeting will run through September 18 with live racing scheduled each Wednesday through Saturday night beginning at 5:50pm Central Time.

Evangeline Downs offers a one-mile dirt track and seven-furlong turf course. The state-of-the-art facility is a perfect venue for race fans to watch the action from the track apron or high above the track in the climate controlled, indoor clubhouse. Either way, the crowd is sure to be entertained.

Many familiar names will return to the track to compete this year at Evangeline Downs. Jockey Tim Thornton will look to repeat as leading rider after taking the crown in 2020 with 73 trips to the winner's circle. Thornton recently won his third consecutive riding title at Evangeline Downs' sister racetrack Delta Downs during their recently completed 2020-21 season.

Karl Broberg will be the odds-on favorite to capture another training title in Opelousas this year. During the 2020 meeting he led all trainers with 23 wins and his barn earned a season high $374,150. Broberg recently won his 10th straight training title at Delta Downs and is annually one of the top conditioners in the country. He led the nation in wins from 2014 – 2019 before finishing second to Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen in 2020.

Other prominent horsemen who are expected to compete at Evangeline this year include Ron Faucheux, who recently won the 2020-21 training title at Fair Grounds; Scott Gelner, who finished second in the standings to Broberg at Delta Downs this year; and Isai V. Gonzalez, who finished fifth in the recent Delta Downs standings and whose barn has been getting plenty of notoriety in recent years.

Evangeline Downs will offer several stakes races for local horsemen to take part in this year. The 14-race schedule features $820,000 in total purse money with the richest stakes program of the season set for Saturday, June 5 when the track hosts another edition of Louisiana Legends Night. The action-packed program will include six added-money events highlighted by the $60,000 Chaval Stakes for 3-year-olds and the $60,000 Louisiana Legends Turf for older horse competing at 1-1/16 miles on the grass.

The stakes schedule will wrap up on closing weekend of the season, Friday, September 17 and Saturday, September 18 with two divisions of the 'Shine' Young Futurity. Last year's filly division was won by Larry Romero and Ron Faucheux's Mirabeau and the colts and geldings division was taken by Allen Landry's Chu Chu's Legacy.

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

The post Evangeline Downs’ Thoroughbred Season Begins April 28 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Tim Thornton, Karl Broberg Wrap Up Titles At Delta Downs Meeet

The 2020-21 Thoroughbred season at Delta Downs wrapped up on Friday with familiar names topping the standings. Tim Thornton won his third straight leading rider title while Karl Broberg notched his 10th consecutive crown in the training ranks. Broberg and Matt Johansen's End Zone Athletics, Inc. earned their sixth straight leading owner title and their ninth in the last 10 years.

Thornton's season included 122 wins and $2,337,260 in mount earnings. The Louisiana native rode five winners alone on closing day. During the 2018-19 season, Thornton's first full meet at Delta Downs, he set the current record of $2,894,080 in earnings.

Thornton, a husband and father of three, won two stakes races during the meet, both with Broberg-trained and End Zone Athletics Inc.-owned horses. The trio teamed up to win the $100,000 Delta Mile Stakes with Hunka Burning Love on November 10 and the $40,000 Ragin Cajun Starter Stakes on February 10, Louisiana Premier Day.

Following Thornton in the jockey standings were Diego Saenz (73 wins), Joel Dominguez (64), Jose Guerrero (54), Thomas Pompell (45), Gerard Melancon (42), Joe Stokes (30), Alez Birzer (27), Kevin Smith (25), and Jansen Melancon (24).

Broberg continued his dominance at Delta Downs in 2020-21 by sending out 91 winners and totaling $1,651,170 in earnings. The accomplishment capped off a season that saw him win his 10th straight training title at the Vinton, Louisiana racetrack. During the Delta Downs season Broberg also finished second nationally in terms of wins with 329 victories to Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen's 421. It was the first time since 2014 that Broberg did not lead the nation in that category.

Rounding out the list of leading trainers for the Delta Downs meeting were Scott Gelner (30), Juan Larrosa (29), Isai Gonzalez (28), Eduardo Ramirez (25), Brett Brinkman (23), Allen Landry (21), Ronnie Averett (17-tie), Thomas Amoss (17-tie), and Ronnie Averett (15).

End Zone Athletics, Inc. saw a record 64 of their runners win and earn a total of $868,765, which also set a new mark for owners in that category. The old record for wins, 50, and earnings, $873,545, was also set by End Zone Athletics during the 2018-19 season.

Rounding out the top owners for the season were Red Rose Racing (Jimmy Johnson) (15), Joe Alfredo Castillo (14), Gerald L. Averett, Jr. (12), Adriel Gonzalez (11), Dale White, Sr. (10), Norman Stables, LLC (Robert A. Norman) (9), Rylee Grudzien (7-tie), Steven Asmussen (7-tie), Juan Larrosa (7-tie), and Maggi Moss (7-tie).

Delta Downs now looks forward to its upcoming American Quarter Horse season which gets underway on May 10 and runs through July 31. The 46-day meeting will generally feature live racing each Monday through Thursday. However, there will be two special Friday cards and four special Saturday programs to accommodate major stakes races and trials for those events. The first post time each day will be at 3 pm Central Time.

For more information about the Delta Downs Quarter Horse season, including specific race days, go to the track's website at www.deltadownsracing.com. Fans can also follow the track on Facebook and Twitter.

Delta Downs Racetrack Casino and Hotel, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD), features exciting casino action, live horse racing and fun dining experiences. Delta Downs is located in Vinton, Louisiana, on Delta Downs Drive. From Lake Charles, take Exit 7 and from Texas, take Exit 4.

The post Tim Thornton, Karl Broberg Wrap Up Titles At Delta Downs Meeet appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Blame Debbie Wins Stretch Duel With Always Shopping In Marathon Dowager At Keeneland

Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Michael Cloonan and Tim Thornton's Blame Debbie held off Always Shopping through a stretch-long duel by a head to win the 29th running of the $125,000 Rood & Riddle Dowager (G3) for fillies and mares Sunday afternoon at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Ky.

Trained by Graham Motion and ridden by Manny Franco, Blame Debbie covered the 1 1/2 miles on a firm turf course in 2:34.74 and became the first 3-year-old to win the race.

Blame Debbie is cataloged to Keeneland's November Breeding Stock Sale, which begins Nov. 9. Consigned as a racing or broodmare prospect by Bluewater Sales, agent, she is Hip 1310.

Today's victory in the Rood & Riddle Dowager is the third in the race for Motion, who previously triumphed with Kitten's Point in 2015 and Humaita (GER) in 2004.

Blame Debbie went right to the front with Always Shopping tracking just off her flank to the outside through fractions of :26.66, :53.68, 1:20.68 and 1:46.98.

On the far turn, Tyler Gaffalione on Always Shopping turned up the pressure and drew alongside Blame Debbie. The two ran as a team the rest of the way with Blame Debbie never letting her older rival get in front.

“She was so nice and so game in the lead,” said Franco. “I think she felt that other horse (Always Shopping) coming by the five-sixteenths pole to the wire. She never let that one pass her. I was really pleased. I was riding to the wire, and she responded to me the whole way.”

Gaffalione, aboard the runner-up, said: “We went pretty easy early on in the race. There wasn't much speed so I figured it would be a sprint to the wire. My filly just couldn't get her nose in front but she put in a big effort today.”

The victory was worth $75,000 and increased Blame Debbie's earnings to $215,920 with a record of 10-3-1-3. It is the first stakes victory for the Kentucky-bred daughter of Blame out of the Invasor (ARG) mare Jadwa. She is a graduate of Keeneland's 2018 September Yearling Sale.

Sent off as the favorite, Blame Debbie paid $5, $3.20 and $2.60. Always Shopping returned $4 and $2.80 and finished 2¼ lengths in front of With Dignity, who paid $2.60 to show under Julien Leparoux.

It was another half-length back to Over Thinking, who was followed in order by Siberian Iris (IRE) and Naomi Broadway (BRZ).

The final four days of the 17-day Fall Meet kick off Wednesday afternoon with an eight-race program beginning at 1:05 ET.

Keeneland will offer a Super High 5 carryover of $24,224.49.

The post Blame Debbie Wins Stretch Duel With Always Shopping In Marathon Dowager At Keeneland appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Karl Broberg Repeats As Leading Trainer At Evangeline Downs

There was a long time during the Thoroughbred season at Evangeline Downs this summer where it appeared that Karl Broberg would not defend the training title he has won so many times before. That was until the night of August 19, when horses trained by Broberg won six of the nine races on the program and catapulted him back to the top of the standings. Broberg totaled 23 wins for the season, which was six more than a three-way tie for second at 17 wins between Sam David, Jr., Ron Faucheux and Eduardo Ramirez. For the season, Broberg's horses earned $374,150 in purse money, which also topped the table.

The complete top 10 trainers' standings were: Karl Broberg (23 wins), a three-way tie for second with Sam David, Jr., Ron Faucheux, and Eduardo Ramirez at 17 wins each, a three-way tie for fifth with Allen Landry, Lee Thomas and Dale White, Sr. at 15 wins each, a two-way tie for eighth with Keith Bourgeois and Bret Calhoun at 14 wins each and a three-way tie for ninth with Sam Breaux, Kenneth Hargrave and Corale Richards at 13 wins each.

Tim Thornton handily won the jockeys' title at Evangeline Downs in 2020 with 73 victories from 339 starts for a 22% winning percentage. When you add 71 second-place and 47 third-place finishes to his record, that gives Thornton an in-the-money percentage for the season of 56%. Thornton and runner-up Diego Saenz were the only riders whose mounts earned in excess of one million dollars in purse money with Thornton's horses picking up $1,268,850 and Saenz's earning $1,050,461.

The complete top 10 jockeys' standings were: Tim Thornton (73 wins), Diego Saenz (56), Gerard Melancon (46), Devin Magnon (31), Jansen Melancon (26), Ty Kennedy (25), C.J. McMahon (22), Joe Stokes (21), and a two-way tie for ninth between Jarred Journet and E.M. Murray at 18 wins each.

It was a stellar season for Dale White, Sr. at Evangeline Downs. White not only finished in the top five in the training standings, he also managed to finish the meet as the leading owner with 14 victories from 84 starts, ending up four wins ahead of a tie for second between Elite Thoroughbred Racing LLC and End Zone Athletics, Inc. White also added 13 seconds and 17 thirds for an in-the-money percentage of 52% for his runners. His horses earned $248,180 in purses, which was also led the standings.

The complete top 10 owners' standings were: Dale White, Sr. (14 wins), a two-way tie for seconds with Elite Thoroughbred Racing LLC and End Zone Athletics, Inc. at 10 wins each, a two-way tie for fourth with Earl Hernandez, Keith Hernandez & John Duvieilh and Red Rose Racing at 9 wins each, a two-way tie for sixth with Rylee Grudzien and M & M Racing at 7 wins each and a three-way tie for eighth between Allied Racing Stable, LLC, Norman Stables, LLC and Whispering Oaks Farm, LLC at 6 wins each.

Live racing at Evangeline Downs will resume on September 17 with the beginning of the American Quarter Horse meeting. Post time for the season will be 5:35 pm Central Time.

The post Karl Broberg Repeats As Leading Trainer At Evangeline Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post