ASMUSSEN EYES 1,000th CAREER STAKES WIN WITH VACHERIE GIRL
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Racing Media Relations Coordinator
[email protected]
ASMUSSEN EYES 1,000th CAREER STAKES WIN WITH VACHERIE GIRL
On the brink of a milestone, Hall of Fame trainer saddles
the odds-on favorite in the fillies division of the Louisiana Futurity
The Sunday card Fair Grounds Racecourse will feature two $100,000 Louisiana-bred Futurities, one for the boys and one for the fillies, both run at six furlongs over the main track.
The fillies division (race seven) takes on added significance as Corinne and L William Heiligbrodt, Vacherie Girl looks to reward Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen with the unprecedented 1,000th stakes victory of his career.
An impressive debut winner at Fair Grounds on opening day, Vacherie Girl ran away from a state-bred maiden special weight field by 6 ½ lengths. The 2-year old daughter of Tapiture returned on Louisiana Champions Day (December 14) to win the $100,000 Lassie as the even-money favorite.
Vacherie Girl has been installed as Mike Diliberto’s 4/5 morning line favorite. The Steve Asumussen trained filly will be ridden by Florent Geroux and will break from post eight.
After finishing a game second behind her in the Champions Day Lassie, Tri-star Racing LLC’s Our Lost Love looks to turn the tables on Vacherie Girl. A debut winner on turf at Louisiana Downs over the summer, Our Lost Love returned to score a second-level allowance win against Louisiana-breds in her subsequent outing. The daughter of Half Ours will look to score her first career stakes win on Saturday breaking from post two with Mitchell Murill aboard. She is listed as the 4/1 second choice.
Louisiana Futurity (Fillies) Field (jockey/trainer)
1. Somekindawicked (D. Magnon/ Jeansonne) 20/1
2. Our Lost Love (M. Murill/ Foster) 4/1
3. Oretta (J.Guerrero/ D. Melancon) 50/1
4. Lone Star Diva (R. Albarado/ E.Ramirez) 20/1
5. Lady Be Gone (B. Hernandez Jr./ Calhoun) 12/1
6. Lucky Artie (E.Morales/ Ducoing) 6/1
7. Lizzy’s Star (G.Saez/ Calhoun) 8/1
8. Vacherie Girl (F.Geroux/ Asmussen) 4/5
9. Sing the Song (Graham/ Devereux) 8/1
($100,000 Louisiana Futurity, 6 furlongs, 2yo Colts and Geldings)
A full field of 13 juveniles are scheduled to go postward in Saturday’s ninth race, the boys division of the $100,000 Louisiana Futurity.
Set-Hut LLC’s X Clown will be looking for the second stakes win of his young career after having taken the $50,000 Evangeline Downs Prince in August at Evangeline Downs. In his follow-up start, he finished a well-beaten but clear second in the $100,000 Louisiana Legacy Stakes at Delta Downs.
The Jerry Delhomme trainee stretched out to the mile distance last out in the $100,000 Jean Lafitte Stakes at Delta Downs, sitting near the pace but tiring late, finishing fifth of seven.
This will be the son of Jimmy Creed’s first start over the Fair Grounds oval. Jockey Tyler Woodley will be aboard once again as the duo break from post two. X Clown is listed as the 7/2 morning line favorite.
John A Adam’s Luckenbacher will look to make it two in a row as he exits an impressive allowance win at Delta Downs. The son of Mr. Besilu pressed the early pace from second before taking command at the top of the stretch and running away to a 3 ¾ length victory.
Having tried stakes competition with little success over the summer, the Beverly Burress trainee will try Louisiana-bred stakes competition once more as he looks for win number three in his young career with jockey Joel Dominguez aboard. Luckenbacher will break from post 10 and is listed at 6/1 on the morning line.
LOUSIANA FUTURITY (COLTS AND GELDINGS) FIELD
1. Free Indeed (C. Lanerie/ Deville) 8/1
2. X Clown (T. Woodley/ Delhomme) 7/2
3. No Quarter (T. Kennedy/ Faucheux) 8/1
4. Britts a Closer (C.Hernandez/ Bourgeois) 15/1
5. Richard Ronald (F.Geroux/ G. Scherer) 9/2
6. Reach the Circle (J. Guerrero/ D. Melancon0 20/1
7. Too much Bourbon (R. Albarado/ G. Delahoussaye) 10/1
8. Whacudposblygowrong (M.Murill/ E. Rodriguez) 15/1
9. Louisiana Hero (G. Melancon/ Courville) 12/1
10. Luckenbacher (J. Dominguez/ Burress) 6/1
11. Guitar Tribute (G. Saez/ Camejo
12. Alterana (M. Pedroza/ Mordenti) 12/1
13. Fast Verdict (D. Magnon/ Deville) 20/1
-30-
About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global
Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 13 off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. The 148th Thoroughbred Racing Season – highlighted by the 107 th running of the Louisiana Derby – will run from November 28, 2019 through March 29, 2020. More information can be found online at www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com.
Information set forth in this press release contains various “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (the “Act”) provides certain “safe harbor” provisions for forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements made in this press release are made pursuant to the Act. The reader is cautioned that such forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time and/or management’s good faith belief with respect to future events, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual performance or results to differ materially from those expressed in the statements. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date the statement was made. We assume no obligation to update forward-looking information to reflect actual results, changes in assumptions or changes in other factors affecting forward-looking information. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms such as “anticipate,” “believe,” “could,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” and similar words, although some forward-looking statements are expressed differently.
Although we believe that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from expectations include the following: the effect of economic conditions on our consumers’ confidence and discretionary spending or our access to credit; additional or increased taxes and fees; public perceptions or lack of confidence in the integrity of our business; loss of key or highly skilled personnel; restrictions in our debt facilities limiting our flexibility to operate our business; general risks related to real estate ownership, including fluctuations in market values and environmental regulations; catastrophic events and system failures disrupting our operations, including the impact of natural and other disasters on our operations and our ability to obtain insurance recoveries in respect of such losses; inability to identify and complete acquisition, expansion or divestiture projects, on time, on budget or as planned; difficulty in integrating recent or future acquisitions into our operations; legalization of online real money gaming and sports wagering in the United States, and our ability to capitalize on and predict such legalization; the number of people attending and wagering on live horse races; inability to respond to rapid technological changes in a timely manner; inadvertent infringement of the intellectual property of others; inability to protect our own intellectual property rights; security breaches and other security risks related to our technology, personal information, source code and other proprietary information, including failure to comply with regulations and other legal obligations relating to receiving, processing, storing and using personal information; payment- related risks, such as chargebacks for fraudulent credit card use; compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act or applicable money-laundering regulations; compliance with payment processing and payment transmission regulations; work stoppages and labor issues; difficulty in attracting a sufficient number of horses and trainers for full field horseraces; inability to negotiate agreements with industry constituents, including horsemen and other racetracks; personal injury litigation related to injuries occurring at our racetracks; the inability of our totalisator company, United Tote, to maintain its processes accurately, keep its technology current or maintain its significant customers; weather conditions affecting our ability to conduct live racing; increased competition in the horseracing business; changes in the regulatory environment of our racing operations; declining popularity in horseracing; seasonal fluctuations in our horseracing business due to geographic concentration of our operations; increased competition in our casino business; changes in regulatory environment of our casino business; the cost and possibility for delay, cost overruns and other uncertainties associated with the develop.m.ent and expansion of casinos; concentration and evolution of slot machine manufacturing and other technology conditions that could impose additional costs; impact of further legislation prohibiting tobacco smoking; geographic concentration of our casino business; changes in regulatory environment for our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; increase in competition in the advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; inability to retain current customers or attract new customers to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; uncertainty and changes in the legal landscape relating to our advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming businesses; and failure to comply with laws requiring us to block access to certain individuals could result in penalties or impairment in our ability to offer advanced deposit wagering, sports wagering, or online gaming.
