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Names such as Desormeaux, Delahoussaye, Romero, Bernis, Delhomme, Albarado, and Borel appear often in news articles and history books on American racing. New York Newsday sports editor Ed McNamara writes about these famous families from Louisiana, whose Wild-West approach to the game and their historical skill as horsemen brought on a tradition of racing success that continues to this day.
Cajun country around Lafayette, LA produced more world-class riders per capita than any place on Earth, as well as great trainers, and after reading McNamara's work it is easy to understand why.
Pros
Cons
Description
Guide Review - Cajun Racing by Ed McNamara
The result of about 2 years of research including frequent visits to Cajun country around Lafayette, Louisiana, McNamara talks about a remarkably resilient people with a passion for racing and an unmatched touch with racehorses. Family ties are everywhere in Cajun country, with fathers schooling sons from sunup to sundown, and then brothers battled each other in those match races, as owners and as jockeys. Despite the fierce competition and often shady tactics employed, in the end winners and losers always remained friends. Although the betting handle was often large, Kent Desormeaux said that the bush tracks "were not about gambling. They were about this guy has a horse and another guy has a horse and they want to prove which is faster. Up at Saratoga those wealthy owners basically are doing the same thing."
The stretch run of the 2007 Preakness, with Robby Albarado aboard Curlin nosing out Calvin Borel aboard Street Sense, was an example of Cajun riding at its best, a Triple Crown race reduced to a Cajun bush track match race at the end. However, in recent years the bush tracks have slowly disappeared, leading to concern that the tradition of great jockeys from Cajun country may go away with them. When a number of jockeys were invited "home" for the inaugural Cajun Jockey Challenge, they were treated to the hero's welcome they deserved, but while approaching the current Evangeline Downs they saw their old home destroyed, as bulldozers tore down the original Evangeline grandstand, where these men got their first official victories. Thankfully a local owner bought up the property and, although much of the original grounds will be developed, the track itself will remain as a training center with stall space for 1,000 racehorses.
The Bottom Line
Names such as Desormeaux, Delahoussaye, Romero, Bernis, Delhomme, Albarado, and Borel appear often in news articles and history books on American racing. New York Newsday sports editor Ed McNamara writes about these famous families from Louisiana, whose Wild-West approach to the game and their historical skill as horsemen brought on a tradition of racing success that continues to this day.
Cajun country around Lafayette, LA produced more world-class riders per capita than any place on Earth, as well as great trainers, and after reading McNamara's work it is easy to understand why.
Pros
- Very entertaining, informative history of Cajuns in American racing
- Thorough research on this topic by Ed McNamara shows
- Clearly, Cajun country is a place with "a lot of character and a lot of characters"
Cons
- May not be for all racing fans
Description
- The bush track was the center of attention in Cajun racing, where unsanctioned match races were run.
- The races were short, the horses ran in lanes, and the rules were simple: first horse to the line wins.
- Cajun creativity knew no bounds in trying to gain an edge, with no stewards and no disqualifications.
- One of the simplest ways was to use jockeys as young as 5 to get a weight advantage, or use monkeys, roosters, or no rider!
- This is why Cajun jockeys have an advantage - they were riding competitively for years before they could be licensed.
- It was on these tracks that stars such as Eddie Delahoussaye, Randy Romero, and Kent Desormeaux learned their craft.
- Once legally old enough to get a license, the best bush jockeys moved on to Evangeline Downs for their first sanctioned races
- Other tactics were even more devious; a track owner once harrowed his opponent's lane deep but rolled his lane hard
- With the much faster surface for his horse to race over, this gave new meaning to the term "track bias".
Guide Review - Cajun Racing by Ed McNamara
The result of about 2 years of research including frequent visits to Cajun country around Lafayette, Louisiana, McNamara talks about a remarkably resilient people with a passion for racing and an unmatched touch with racehorses. Family ties are everywhere in Cajun country, with fathers schooling sons from sunup to sundown, and then brothers battled each other in those match races, as owners and as jockeys. Despite the fierce competition and often shady tactics employed, in the end winners and losers always remained friends. Although the betting handle was often large, Kent Desormeaux said that the bush tracks "were not about gambling. They were about this guy has a horse and another guy has a horse and they want to prove which is faster. Up at Saratoga those wealthy owners basically are doing the same thing."
The stretch run of the 2007 Preakness, with Robby Albarado aboard Curlin nosing out Calvin Borel aboard Street Sense, was an example of Cajun riding at its best, a Triple Crown race reduced to a Cajun bush track match race at the end. However, in recent years the bush tracks have slowly disappeared, leading to concern that the tradition of great jockeys from Cajun country may go away with them. When a number of jockeys were invited "home" for the inaugural Cajun Jockey Challenge, they were treated to the hero's welcome they deserved, but while approaching the current Evangeline Downs they saw their old home destroyed, as bulldozers tore down the original Evangeline grandstand, where these men got their first official victories. Thankfully a local owner bought up the property and, although much of the original grounds will be developed, the track itself will remain as a training center with stall space for 1,000 racehorses.