Harness racing will be held throughout October at Metro Soileau Down off La. 104 in Allen Parish. (Special to the American Press)
Harness racing scheduled in Allen Parish
Last Modified: Friday, June 01, 2012 1:40 PM
While it may lack the atmosphere and money of big-time horse racing, there’s family-friendly rural trotting-horse racing in held in Allen Parish through October.
Metro Soileau Downs at the Triple C Ranch, off La. 104 about seven miles east of Oberlin offers trottingbred racing twice a month. The next races will be on June 9.
Andrew Cezar operates the quarter-mile track on which the competitors run their specially bred horses in half-mile races.
He said harness-racing heats are run involving two or three horses at a time, with eight to 10 races run in a day.
The trotters that run at Soileau Downs, which can’t be over 52 inches tall, came from Michigan and those who run them are mostly from around the area, Cezar said.
The races draw their audiences from south and central Louisiana and Texas because “there’s no other racing like that in Louisiana, period,” Cezar said.
Pre-racing events on June 9 start at 2 p.m. with a special movie screening and racing starts at 4 p.m.
For a racing schedule or more information, call 888-639-4868 or 639-4473 or go online to www.allenparish.com.
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