2024 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champions

by Tom Early

On March 10th, the LTBA announced the 2024 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champions. The racing champions as well as the Broodmare of the Year are chosen by the LTBA membership through mail-in voting. The remaining champions were determined by statistics.

Free Like A Girl was named Overall Louisiana Bred Horse of the Year. The LTBA Board of Directors selects the overall horse of the year from among the racing champions.

Below you can read about each of the champions. The champions and their connections will be honored at the Annual LTBA Awards Banquet and REAP Benefit, to be held August 2nd at Evangeline Downs. Be sure to save the date!

2024 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champion Two-Year-Old Filly

Secret Faith

Sire: Aurelius Maximus
Dam: St. Joan
Breeder: J. Adcock & Hume Wornall
Owner: Norman Stables, LLC
Trainer: Jayde J. Gelner

In one of the easiest choices in this year’s individual awards Secret Faith completely dominated the competition for Louisiana Bred Champion Two-Year-Old Filly. Secret Faith won at first asking in the summer at Evangeline Downs. She followed that with four straight stakes wins. In the Texas Thoroughbred Association Futurity at Lone Star Park she came from mid pack to win by three quarters of a length. The D.S. Shine Young Futurity at Evangeline Downs was her next win where she went straight to the front and coasted home to a fourteen length victory. The Louisiana Jewel Stakes in the fall at Delta Downs saw Secret Faith stretch out to seven furlongs and still win easily by six plus lengths. In a prep for Louisiana Champions Day she added the Donovan L Ferguson Memorial at Fair Grounds, another six length win. The Louisiana Champions Day Lassie saw her succumb to another daughter of Aurelius Maximus losing by a head in a hard fought battle to Blue Fire. Secret Faith closed out the year with another stakes win in the Louisiana Futurity, and a year end record of six wins from her seven starts with earnings of $367,022.

She continued her winning ways by winning her first start of her three year old season, the Louisiana Premier Night Starlet Stakes.

Secret Faith is the third stakes winner produced by her dam and the first stakes winner for her freshman sire Aurelius Maximus who stands at Red River Farm in Coushatta, La.

2024 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champion Two-Year-Old Colt or Gelding

Smoken Wicked

Sire: Bobby’s Wicked One
Dam: Street Smoke
Breeder: Tom Curtis & Wayne Simpson
Owner: Valene Farms LLC
Trainer: Dallas Stewart

Smoken Wicked started the year with a flourish and finished the same way in his juvenile season. A winner at first asking at Evangeline Downs in June, Smoken Wicked then went on the road. Smoken Wicked spent a lot of time on the road in top company, running second in the Bashford Manor Stakes at Churchill Downs, third in the GII Saratoga Special and fourth in both the GI Hopeful Stakes and the GI Champagne. He then won an allowance race at Churchill Downs before returning to his home state to capture the Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile and finish the year with a win in the Louisiana Futurity. For the year he had four wins from eight starts with earnings of $307,542.

Smoken Wicked is the first stakes winner produced by his dam and the first stakes winner by his freshman sire Bobby’s Wicked One who stands at Lacer in Sunset, La.

2024 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champion Three-Year-Old Filly

Six String

Sire: Star Guitar
Dam: Oh Whata Holiday
Breeder/Owner: World War IV Racing and Rebel Tide Racing LLC
Trainer: Allen Landry

Louisiana Bred Champion Three-Year-Old Filly, Six String, won six of her ten starts for the year and earned $224,910. She started the year with two allowance wins at Delta Downs in the winter. She added two more allowance wins at Evangeline Downs in the summer before venturing into stakes competition at Louisiana Downs where she won the Louisiana Cup Day Filly and Mare Sprint Stakes. Stakes placings in the Magnolia Stakes at Delta Downs and the Delmar R. Caldwell Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds set the ground work for her upset win in the Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint where race favorite, Free Like A Girl ran fourth.

Six String is the first stakes winner produced by her dam and twentieth stakes winner sired by Louisiana perennial leading sire Star Guitar who stands at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, La. Six String is the only Louisiana Bred Champion that is raced by her breeders this year.

2024 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champion Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding

El Dinero

Sire: El Deal
Dam: Money For Makeup
Breeder: J. Adcock & Hume Wornall
Owner: Tav Enterprises LLC
Trainer: Patrick Devereux

El Dinero is a repeat winner after being co-Louisiana Bred Champion Two-Year-Old Colt or Gelding for 2023.

For 2024 El Dinero started the year with a win in the Louisiana Premier Night Prince Stakes at Delta Downs in January. In March he added the Crescent City Derby to his resume at Fair Grounds. Although he did not win another race for the year he didn’t miss by not trying. In total he ran in seven more stakes races for the year and never once missed getting a check. He ran second in the Louisiana Stallion of the Year Stakes at Fair Grounds, second in the Louisiana Stallion Stakes at Evangeline Downs, second in the Louisiana Legends Night Cheval Stakes at Delta Downs, second in the Andrew Ney Memorial Stakes at Fair Grounds and third in the Louisiana Cup Day Sprint at Louisiana Downs. These earnings helped El Dinero amass earnings for the year of $240,250 and set his lifetime earnings at $385,240.

El Dinero is the son of El Deal who stands at Red River Farms in Coushatta, La. He is the first stakes winner for his dam.

2024 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champion Four-Year-Old and up Fillies & Mares

OVERALL ACCREDITED LOUISIANA BRED HORSE OF THE YEAR

Free Like A Girl

Sire: El Deal
Dam: Flashy Prize
Breeder: Kim Renee Stover & Lisa Osborne
Owners: Gerald Bruno Jr., Carl Deville, Chasey Pomier & Jerry Caroom
Trainer: Chasey Deville Pomier

Louisiana’s leading all time money winner, Free Like A Girl, is once again the Louisiana Bred Champion Older Filly or Mare. This is Free Like A Girl’s fourth consecutive championship.

For the year she won five stakes races and was stakes placed in another five, including three Graded Stakes placings. Her wins came in the Shantel Lanerie Memorial at Fair Grounds in the spring, the Misty Bennett Pink Ribbon Stakes at Charles Town, the Magnolia Stakes and the Treasure Chest Stakes at Delta Downs, and coming full circle back at the Fair Grounds in the fall, the John Valene Memorial Stakes. She delivered Graded Stakes placings in the Houston Ladies Classic Stakes (GIII), Apple Blossom Handicap (GI), Fasig-Tipton La Troienne Stakes (GI).

Her overall record is currently at twenty one wins, thirteen seconds and six thirds with thirty five of those either wins or placings in stakes races for earnings of $2,253,438 through March of 2025.

Free Like A Girl is the second 2024 Louisiana Bred Champion by El Deal who stands at Red River Farms in Coushatta, La. She is out of 2023 Louisiana Broodmare of the Year, Flashy Prize.

2024 Accredited Louisiana Bred Champion Four-Year-Old and up Males

Touchuponastar

Sire: Star Guitar
Dam: Touch Magic
Breeder: Coteau Grove Farms
Owner: Set-Hut LLC (Jake Delhomme)
Trainer: Jeff Delhomme

Touchuponstar takes his third consecutive Louisiana Champions Day Classic. Hodges photography.

Touchuponastar is a threepeat winner for his division. He was previously the Louisiana Bred Champion Four-Year-Old and Up Male in 2023 and the Louisiana Bred Champion Three-Year-Old Colt or Gelding in 2022.

Every one of Touchuponastar’s six starts in 2024 were in stakes races. He started the year with a win in the Louisiana Premier Night Championship Stakes at Delta Downs. His next start was in the Grade II New Orleans Classic Stakes at Fair Grounds where he had the lead only to be caught in the last sixteenth of a mile to finish second. At Evangeline Downs he added a victory in the Evangeline Classic to his resume. For the second year in a row he was second in the Grade III Steve Sexton Mile Stakes at Lone Star Park. He finished the year with his third consecutive win of the Louisiana Champions Day Classic.

During the year Touchuponastar became only the eleventh Accredited Louisiana bred to surpass the million dollar mark in earnings. His current earnings of $1,412,900 places him fourth on the all time leading money winners list.

Sired by Louisiana perennial leading sire Star Guitar who stands at Clear Creek Stud in Folsom, La. Bred by Coteau Grove Farms, he is out of the Lion Heart mare, Touch Magic.

2024 Louisiana Champion Broodmare of the Year

Charged Cotton

Dehere – Lightning Lydia by Broad Brush
Owner: Brittlyn Stable LLC (Evelyn Benoit)

With two Graded Stakes winners in the year it is no wonder that Charged Cotton was voted the Broodmare of the Year.

Manama Gold won the Grade III U.A.E. Oaks at Meydan Racecourse in Saudi Arabia in February to join the leader board for those eligible for the Kentucky Oaks and ended up earning $202,930 for the year.

Then there was Ova Charged, who won six stakes races in a row for the year starting with the Bob F. Wright Memorial Stakes, then adding the Mardi Gras Stakes and the Page Cortez Stakes at Fair Grounds. At Churchill Downs Ova Charged won the Unbridled Sidney Stakes (GIII). At Evangeline Downs she won the Louisiana Legends Mademoiselle Stake, then ventured to Lone Star Park to win the cleverly named Chicken Fried Stake. For the year Ova Charged won six of seven starts and earned $489,795 with lifetime record of fifteen wins from nineteen starts and earnings of $918575.

Andrew L. “Red” Erwin Stallion of the Year

Star Guitar

Quiet American – Minit Towinit by Malagra
Owner: Brittlyn Stable Inc. (Evelyn Benoit)

For the sixth times in the last seven years Star Guitar has been the winner of the Andrew L. “Red” Erwin Stallion of the Year Award.

For 2024 Star Guitar sired the winners of $4,185,662 which is the first time any stallion retired to stud in Louisiana surpassed the four million dollar mark. Star Guitar did this with eight individual 2024 stakes winners who won a total of thirteen stakes races. Led by Ova Charged who won six stakes races including the Grade III Unbridled Sidney Stakes at Churchill Downs. Her other wins were in the Bob F. Wright Memorial Stakes, the Mardi Gras Stakes, the Page Cortez Stakes, the Louisiana Legends Mademoiselle Stakes and the Chicken Fried Stakes. Manama Gold won the UAE Oaks (GIII) at Meydan Racecourse in Saudi Arabia. Touchuponastar became his sire’s first millionaire by winning the Louisiana Premier Night Classic, the EVD Classic and the Louisiana Champions Day Classic for the third year in a row. Six String won two stakes races during the year; the Louisiana Cup Day Filly and Mare Sprint and the Louisiana Champions Day Filly and Mare Sprint. Behemah Star won the stakes race named after his sire, the Star Guitar Stakes. Other stakes winners for Star Guitar are Smash It, winner of the Zia Park Juvenile, Guitar Solo, winner of the Acadiana Stakes, Up N Gone who won the Boyd Rewards Stakes at Delta Downs and Tdzshininluckystar, winner of the Louisiana Legends Night Cheval Stakes and the Louisiana Stallion Stakes at Evangeline Downs

Leading Breeder by Breeders Awards

Brittlyn Inc.

For the fifth year in the past six, Brittlyn Inc. is the Leading Breeder by Breeders Awards. This was accomplished primarily thru the efforts of the stallion Star Guitar.

As mentioned previously Ova Charged led the way with her six stakes wins including the Grade III Unbridled Sidney Stakes, Chicken Fried Stakes, Bob F. Wright Memorial Stakes, Mardi Gras Stakes, Page Cortez Stakes and the Louisiana Legends Mademoiselle Stakes. Behemah Star won the Star Guitar Stakes, Up N Gone the Boyd Rewards. Clearly A Test, a filly by Clearly Now out of a Star Guitar contributed by winning the Crescent City Oaks, the Cajun Miss Stakes and the Louisiana Stallion Stakes. Add in the fact that Brittlyn was the leading owner at the Fair Grounds 2023-2024 meet and it’s easy to see how Brittlyn became the leading breeder for the 2024 year.

Leading Percentage Breeder of Stakes Winners

Tony Doughtie

This year’s Leading Percentage Breeder is Tony Doughtie who had just five starters for the year. With two of the five being stakes winners, his percentage was forty percent.

Tony Doughtie’s year was led by Tdzshininluckstar, winner of the Louisiana Legends Night Cheval Stakes and the Louisiana Stallion Stakes at Evangeline Downs. The son of Star Guitar earned $184,200 with a record of two wins, seconds and thirds from eleven starts. Doughtie’s second stakes winner, TDZ Hint of Power, was the first stakes winner sired by Imperial Hint when he won the Louisiana Cup Day Juvenile and finished the year with earnings of $83,658.