BOSSIER CITY, LA–FEBRUARY 20, 2018–Harrah’s Louisiana Downs will host a huge day of racing on Saturday. Post time has been moved up to 11:30 am for the fifteen races of the day, beginning with the 13th running of the $25,000 Mr Jess Perry (see related story).
Following the Mr Jess Perry, Louisiana Downs will run 14 trials for the $310,466 Mardi Gras Futurity (RG2). The first trial will get underway at 11:54 am with an estimated post time of 5:06 pm for race 15, the final trial. The top ten fastest qualifiers will advance to the final on Saturday, March 17. This is a record purse for the first official futurity of the year!
Louisiana Downs will offer entertainment for fans of all ages, beginning at 11:00 am! There will be a FREE children’s area with bounce houses, games and face painting and culinary delights from the most popular food trucks in Shreveport-Bossier City.
Fourteen trials for the Mardi Gras Futurity, each at a distance of 300 yards, will be run on Saturday.
Schooling races were conducted at Louisiana Downs on Friday, February 2 and the winners will likely get their share of attention in Mardi Gras trials.
Triple C Racing Stables LLC was the only owner with duel winners, with Tf Seperatin and Quick To Flirt returning to action on Saturday. Both are trained by Jesus Garrido, who qualified Jrs Natural Runaway to last year’s Mardi Gras Futurity.
Jockey Randy Edison will ride each of the Triple C Racing Stables juveniles. Quick To Flirt, a colt by Quick To Flare Up, runs in race four; One Famous Scarlet, a colt by One Famous Brioni, is entered in race 13. Tf Seperatin, a colt by Sir Runaway Dash, runs in the race 14.
“The schooling races were good for our horses,” said Garrido. “They broke well from the gate, which is what we will hope for in their trials as well.”
Acoronas Toast, under jockey Jose L. Martinez, won his 220-yard schooling race in :12.252 seconds. posting the fastest time of the day. The colt, by Coronas Leaving You, is owned by Laura Estrella and will run in the final trial of the day. He will break from post position three as the 8-5 choice and is one of ten juveniles trained by former jockey, Saul Ramirez, Jr.
Trainers Saul Ramirez, Jr., Kenneth Roberts, Martin Trejo and Lanny Keith all have multiple horses running on Saturday. Keith, who trains nine juveniles entered in Mardi Gras trials, offers his insight into selecting which horses are ready for the first futurity of the year.
“I try to pick our earliest birthday babies and the ones that really fire out of the gates in morning training,” explained Keith. “You hope you have chosen correctly as it is difficult to know what you have this early in the year. Either you shine or look like a fool!”

Louisiana Downs Dates and Post Times
The 2018 Quarter Horse racing season at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs got underway on Saturday, January 6. The 46-day meet includes 12 stakes highlighted by the first official championship for 2-year-olds, the $310,466 Mardi Gras Futurity on March 17. Live racing will take place Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday with a 1:00 p.m. (Central) post time and will continue through March 21. Saturday, February 24th post time has been moved up to 11:30 a.m.
To see a complete list of the stakes schedule, including trial dates, CLICK HERE.

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About Harrah’s Louisiana Downs
Located near Shreveport in Bossier City, Louisiana, Louisiana Downs opened in 1974 and was purchased by Caesars Entertainment in December, 2002. With annual Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse racing seasons, the track is committed to presenting the highest quality racing programs paired with its 150,000-square foot entertainment complex offering casino gambling, dining and plasma screen televisions for sports and simulcast racing.