Saturday�s Mardi Gras Futurity And Derby In Jeopardy Due To Flooding

Flood waters near Louisiana Downs has forced an evacuation of the backside for safety reasons.

� Jennifer Grimes

BOSSIER CITY, LA�MARCH, 11, 2016�Track officials at Louisiana Downs alerted horsemen late Thursday to begin the evacuation of horses on the backside in fear of severe flooding, thus leaving Saturday�s running of the $273,054 Mardi Gras Futurity(RG2) and the $86,190 Mardi Gras Derby(G2) in jeopardy.

Mandatory evacuations continue in multiple subdivisions in the Bossier Parish, where homes adjoin Red Chute Bayou and other low-lying flood-potential areas in Bossier City. Weather forecasters are predicting three-to-four inches of additional rainfall through Sunday.

Stallionesearch.com spoke to trainer Gabbie Watson, Jr., who trains the tenth fastest qualifier in Saturday�s scheduled Mardi Gras Futurity(RG2), about the process that the Louisiana Downs-based horsemen are having to endure.

�We were told to begin the evacuation of the horse on the backside in the case that more flooding was a potential,� said Watson. �We have been moving horse to Opelousas all night and throughout today. At the present time it is not raining, and the sun is out. If by chance the levy doesn�t hold up, then we would have had a lot of problems. So it is better to evacuate for the safety of the horses and horsemen.�

As of 8 am this morning (Friday), Stallionesearch.com is awaiting an official announcement of the status of the evacuation, as well as the potential of the running or the rescheduling of this weekend�s race card. The 2016 Louisiana Downs Quarter Horse race meet is scheduled to close with the running of the Grade 3 $263,00 Harrah�s Entertainment Futurity on March 23.