Arnulfo Gutierrez won the Evangeline Downs 2024 leading jockey title with 36 wins during the just concluded meet.

© Kimmy Burrow / Hodges Photography

OPELOUSAS, LA–DECEMBER 23, 2024–Arnulfo Gutierrez and Kenneth Roberts, Sr. continued their successful partnership by capturing their respective titles for the second consecutive year at the recently concluded Evangeline Downs Quarter Horse meet. 

Gutierrez, a Jalisco, Mexico native, teamed up with Roberts, Sr. for 20 of his 36 victories during the season.  With 32 runner-up finishes and 35-thirds from 220 mounts, Gutierrez won with 16% of his mounts and hit the board with 47% of his efforts.

Arturo Alvarez captured the LQHBA Louisiana Million with San Lorenzo Chrome to boost his earnings to a meet-leading $766,935.  Gutierrez finished second in earnings with $760,528 and Ubaldo Luna also eclipsed the half-million threshold with $508,438.  Among riders in the top 10, Noe Castaneda led the way with a 23% winning rate.

The complete top 10 jockeys for the 2023 season were Arnulfo Gutierrez (36 wins), Ricardo Hernandez, Jr. (32), Noe Castaneda (31), Ubaldo Luna (30), Rolando Cabrera (28), Juan Francisco Garcia, Jr. (22), Leonardo Rodriguez (21), Arturo Alvarez (21), Yaidel Rodriguez (18) and Jasiel Aquino completed the list with 17.

Roberts, Sr. topped the trainer standings with 20 victories, 20 places and 24 shows from 120 starters.  His runners won at a 17% strike rate and hit the board in 53% of his entries. Adalberto Miranda finished off a solid meet winning with 31% of his starters and finding 66% on the board, tops among trainers in the top 10.  The barn of Roberts, Sr. finished with a meet-leading $687,837 in earnings.  Jeremy Derozin, trainer of the Million winner, finished second with $640,954.

Arnulfo Kenny Roberts, Sr. topped the Evangeline Downs trainer standings for 2024 with 20 victories.
© Kimmy Burrow / Hodges Photography

The complete top 10 in the trainer standings:  Kenneth Roberts, Sr. (20 wins), Larry Keith (15), Leonel Hernandez (15), Luis Martinez (14), Kenneth Weeks (14), Santiago Villaseca (12), Salvador Flores (10), and a three-way tie between Phillip Calais, Jr., Jose R. Espinosa and Adalberto Miranda with 9 wins apiece.

Leobersi Perez captured the owner title with nine winners from 29 starters. Add in an additional nine place finishes and one show, and the Perez runners won 31% of the time and finished on the board in 66% of their efforts.  Rogelio Marquez, Jr. topped the earnings category with $561,504, including the winning share of the Million.  Jobaya Foreman finished second in earnings with $238,300.

Arnulfo Leobersi Perez captured the 2025 Evangeline Downs owner title with nine winners.
© Kimmy Burrow / Hodges Photography

The complete top 10 in the owner standings were:  Leobersi Perez (9 wins), Rigoberto Aguilar (6), Jose H. Rodriguez, Cuadra Santa Cruz, LLC (Emeterio Mendez), Rogelio Marquez, Jr., Jorge Erik Rubio and McGehee Horse and Cattle, LLC (Richard McGehee) each with 5 wins, Fausto Mendoza and 2 Kings Racing, LLC (Issac Salgado) with 4 wins apiece, and Juan Montoya with 3.

Tf One Special Jess capped off a perfect season with a win in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic (RG2) to become the meet’s only four-time winner.  The 4-year-old gelding is owned by McGehee Horse and Cattle and trained by Viviane Hill.

Evangeline Downs will be dark for a few weeks.  Dates for the 2025 Thoroughbred season are still pending.

For more information on Evangeline Downs visit the track’s website at evangelinedowns.boydgaming.com/racing.

Evangeline Downs information can also be found on Twitter @EVDracing and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/EvangelineDownsRacing. 

About Evangeline Downs Racetrack& Casino
Encompassing over 750 acres, Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino, a property of Boyd Gaming Corporation, features over 39,000 square feet of casino space as well a racetrack that boasts state-of-the-art facilities with a 7/8-mile turf track and a one mile main track. The casino includes over 1,000 slot and video poker machines, two dining options, and plenty of meeting space including track-side private club suites. Evangeline Downs also includes a newly opened FanDuel Sportsbook. For more information, visit www.evangelinedowns.com and connect on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Founded in 1975, Boyd Gaming Corporation is a leading geographically diversified operator of 28 gaming entertainment properties in 10 states, and manager of a tribal casino in northern California. The Company is also a strategic partner and 5% equity owner of FanDuel Group, the nation's leading sports-betting operator.