Evangeline Downs is an American race track

Race track

A race track is a purpose-built facility for racing of animals , automobiles, motorcycles or athletes. A race track may also feature grandstands or concourses. Some motorsport tracks are called speedways.A racetrack is a permanent facility or building...

 and casino

Casino

In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...

 located in St. Landry Parish

St. Landry Parish, Louisiana

St. Landry Parish is a parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is at the heart of Acadian/Cajun culture and heritage in Louisiana. The parish seat is Opelousas. According to the 2010 census, the population of St. Landry Parish is 83,384.St...

, just east of Opelousas, Louisiana

Opelousas, Louisiana

Opelousas is a city in and the parish seat of St. Landry Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies at the junction of Interstate 49 and U.S. Route 190. The population was 22,860 at the 2000 census. Although the 2006 population estimate was 23,222, a 2004 annexation should put the city's...

. With a seven furlong

Furlong

A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and U.S. customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to 220 yards, 660 feet, 40 rods, or 10 chains. The exact value of the furlong varies slightly among English-speaking countries....

 oval track, the facility provides close to 1,000 horse stalls for Thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 flat racing

Flat racing

Flat racing is a form of Thoroughbred horse racing which is run over a level track at a predetermined distance. It differs from steeplechase racing which is run over hurdles...

 and American Quarter Horse

American Quarter Horse

The American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...

 racing. The original track opened on April 28, 1966 at Carencro, Louisiana

Carencro, Louisiana

Carencro[p] is a small city in Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is a suburb of the nearby city of Lafayette. The population was 6,120 at the 2000 census. Its name comes from the Louisiana Creole word for buzzard: the spot was one where large flocks of buzzards roosted in the bald...

 and remained there until 2005 when it moved to Opelousas, Louisiana as part of new racino

Racino

A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette....

 operation.

The tracks 2008 program featured a total of ten events worth $100,000 or more, including the Evangeline Mile Handicap, the track's richest race with a purse of $200,000.

A number of highly successful jockey

Jockey

A jockey is an athlete who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing.-Etymology:...

s began their professional racing careers at Evangeline Downs including Robby Albarado

Robby Albarado

Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 12 at bush tracks in his native Louisiana and after turning professional, earned his first win at Evangeline Downs in 1990...

, Ronald Ardoin

Ronald Ardoin

Ronald D. Ardoin is a retired jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. He is one of a number of successful Cajun jockeys who began their careers riding in bush track races in Louisiana....

, Calvin Borel

Calvin Borel

Calvin H. Borel is an American jockey in thoroughbred horse racing and rode the victorious mount in the 2007 Kentucky Derby, the 2009 Kentucky Derby and the 2010 Kentucky Derby...

, Curt Bourque

Curt Bourque

Curt C. Bourque is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. He began his riding career in 1984 at Evangeline Downs in Lafayette, Louisiana and won his first race later that year at Jefferson Downs Racetrack....

, Eddie Delahoussaye

Eddie Delahoussaye

Edward J. Delahoussaye is a retired American Thoroughbred jockey from New Iberia, Louisiana.He began his career in 1968 and ten years later became the top American jockey with 384 wins...

, Kent Desormeaux

Kent Desormeaux

Kent Jason Desormeaux is an American thoroughbred horse racing Hall of Fame jockey who holds the U.S. record for most races won in a single year, 1989.-Brief biography:...

, Mark Guidry

Mark Guidry

Mark Guidry is a retired American jockey.He began his riding career in Thoroughbred horse racing in his native Louisiana in 1974 where he remained until 1986 when he went to race in Illinois. He was the leading jockey at Hawthorne Race Course seven times, Sportsman's Park nine times, and two...

, Randy Romero

Randy Romero

Randy Paul Romero is a Hall of Fame jockey in the sport of Thoroughbred horse racing, Born into a family involved with horses, his father Lloyd J...

, Shane Sellers

Shane Sellers

Shane Jude Sellers is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs....

, and Ray Sibille

Ray Sibille

Raymond Frederick Sibille is a retired American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. In a career that spanned thirty-five years, Sibille rode his first winner on June 29, 1969 at Evangeline Downs in Carencro, Louisiana...

. James Avant

James E. Avant

James Eugene Avant is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing. Riding almost exclusively in his native Louisiana, during his career he has won more than2,500 races...

 and Curt Bourque share the record for most wins on a single racecard, each winning six races in 1988 and 1995, respectively.

On September 5, 1977, U.S. Racing Hall of Fame

National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame

The National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame was founded in 1950 in Saratoga Springs, New York, to honor the achievements of American thoroughbred race horses, jockeys, and trainers...

 inductee, John Henry

John Henry (horse)

John Henry was an American Thoroughbred race horse who had 39 wins, with $6,591,860 in earnings. He was twice voted the Eclipse Award for Horse of the Year in 1981 and 1984, with his 1981 selection is the only one whereby the victor received all votes cast for that award. John Henry was also...

 won his first-ever stakes race at Evangeline Downs, capturing the Lafayette Futurity

Lafayette Stakes

The Lafayette Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Keeneland Race Course in Lexington, Kentucky. Open to three-year-old horses, it is contested on Polytrack synthetic dirt over a distance of seven furlongs....

.

In 2009, the Horseplayers Association of North America introduced a rating system for 65 thoroughbred

Thoroughbred

The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...

 racetracks in North America

North America

North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...

. Of the top ten, Evangeline Downs was ranked #6.