Louisiana Legends Night Honorees Are True Louisiana Bred Legends
(Opelousas, La.) – Louisiana Legends Night at Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino brings the best of Louisiana bred racing and recognition of the people who made Louisiana racing a world recognized sport. The evening honors jockeys, owners, trainers and leaders in Louisiana thoroughbred horse racing and breeding.
This year’s honorees are Randy Romero, Shane Sellers, Craig Perret, Tom Early, James (Sweet) Hodges and Bernard Flint.
Randy Romero
Louisiana native Randy Romero was the regular jockey for two of the most spectacular fillies of his era, Hall of Fame members Go for Wand and the undefeated Personal Ensign. Romero’s brilliance in the saddle, however, was not limited to those two legends of the sport.
Randy Romero, the strong-willed Louisiana jockey who parlayed “Ragin' Cajun” fearlessness as a bush-track phenom into a Hall-of-Fame career highlighted by a gentlemanly demeanor and dramatic victories aboard championship distaffers, died peacefully just after midnight on Aug. 29 , 2019 at his home in Louisiana. He was 61 years old.
Romero's deft, sure-handed riding skills were eclipsed only by his reputation for having rock-solid spiritual faith in the face of numerous on- and off-track adversities. For decades he courageously battled liver and kidney troubles. His career spanned 1973-1999 with 4,294 wins and earnings of over $75 million.
Louisiana native Randy Romero was the regular jockey for two of the most spectacular fillies of his era, Hall of Fame members Go for Wand and the undefeated Personal Ensign. Romero’s brilliance in the saddle, however, was not limited to those two legends of the sport.
Randy Romero, the strong-willed Louisiana jockey who parlayed “Ragin' Cajun” fearlessness as a bush-track phenom into a Hall-of-Fame career highlighted by a gentlemanly demeanor and dramatic victories aboard championship distaffers, died peacefully just after midnight on Aug. 29 , 2019 at his home in Louisiana. He was 61 years old.
Romero's deft, sure-handed riding skills were eclipsed only by his reputation for having rock-solid spiritual faith in the face of numerous on- and off-track adversities. For decades he courageously battled liver and kidney troubles. His career spanned 1973-1999 with 4,294 wins and earnings of over $75 million.
Craig Perret
Craig Perret was 16 years old when he took thoroughbred racing by storm as the top apprentice jockey in North America in 1967. Almost 40 years later, the Louisiana native put the finishing touches on a remarkable career that included just about every accolade and accomplishment one could imagine of a Hall of Fame jockey.
Craig Perret (born February 2, 1951, in New Orleans, Louisiana is an American thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding horses at age five and by seven was riding quarter horses in match races. At age fifteen he began his career in thoroughbred racing and in 1967 was the leading apprentice jockey in the United States in terms of money won.
In 1987 Perret rode Bet Twice to victory in the Belmont Stakes. In 1990, aboard Unbridled, he won the Kentucky Derby, and in 1993-94 won back-to-back Queen's Plates, Canada's most prestigious race. In addition, Perret won the Breeders' Cup Sprint in 1984 and 1990; the Breeders' Cup Juvenile in 1989; and the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies in 1996. Of his more than 4,400 career victories to date, he has also had major stakes race wins including the Florida Derby, Acorn Stakes, Pimlico Special, Travers Stakes, Haskell Invitational Handicap and the Wood Memorial Stakes. He has career earnings of over $113 million.
He has earned several accolades including the 1990 Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey of the year, and in 1998 his peers voted him the George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award.
Craig Perret and his family live on a farm in Shelbyville, Ky. and operate a small full-breed breeding operation.
In 1994, Craig Perret was inducted into the Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame and in 2006 into the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame. In 2006 he was also nominated for induction in the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame and was officially inducted in 2019
Tom Early
Tom Early is a force in the Louisiana thoroughbred industry. He has been with the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association (LTBA) for over fifty years. He began his LTBA career as a Field Inspector and then moved on to Secretary-Treasurer, advanced to Chief Executive Officer and served at the helm of the organization from 1985-2012. While serving as CEO, Early lead the LTBA through changes and leaps forward in the industry such as the implementation of off-track betting in Louisiana, the formation of the group’s sales company, the arrival of video poker, and the passage of enabling slots legislation. LTBA has hosted a breeders’ showcase day for Louisiana breds held at each of the state’s four racetracks since 2005.
He was elected to the board of directors in 2013 and still serves on the Board. He served as the Board’s president for several years.
In addition to owning and managing 50 horses with his wife Chrisie in Folsom, La, Early currently works as General Manager of Quality Feeds, Inc. in Covington. Tom and Chrisie have three children: Ben, Meghan and Pam who were all raised at the family farm, Brehon Farm, based in Folsom.
Family first.
Tom spent every Tuesday with “Big Daddy”, his father, until he passed away. People that know Tom, know that he has a big heart and that his favorite thing to do is spend time with family and friends. He and Chrisie enjoy their time with their grandchildren.
Tom is a warehouse of information about the thoroughbred industry in Louisiana. Just ask him a question and he can retrieve an amazing amount of data and information. He is a unifier. When asked what his favorite Louisiana Bred horse was he’ll answer with Early Goer. Early Goer was his very first Stakes Winner on Louisiana Champions Day.
James “Sweet” Hodges
James “Sweet” Hodges, a longtime trainer based at Louisiana Downs passed away at the age of 87 last year.
He and his wife Phyllis were longtime supporters of the Backside Benevolence Fund, a non-profit organization that supports the chaplaincy at Louisiana Downs and provides benevolent needs to our industry. He was like a dad to so many people and it’s amazing the influence he had on so many people’s lives. He was so respected.
Hodges won his first race as a trainer on Feb. 2, 1991, at Fair Grounds, according to records from Daily Racing Form. Overall, he won 681 races from 4,370 starts. His trainees earned a collective $13.7 million. Hodges won 45 stakes races during his career, among his notable winners Zarb’s Dahar, Grand Facile, Foreign Production, and Vale Male. He was also known for getting 2-year-olds ready for their debuts.
Since he was a young child, he has loved horses and dogs. He would challenge other youngsters on horseback to race around the farm.
Young James went to live for a time with his Aunt Billy and Uncle Crawford Rushing. His cousin’s name was William. James affectionately started calling him “Sweet William”. The term of endearment stuck to James instead. So since then, everyone who really knows James, now calls him “Sweet”.
He was always competitive. He was a standout athlete in High School. He was pursued by Humphreys High School to play all four sports. They went undefeated in football one season while he was there. He was recruited by Mississippi State, Ole Miss and Moorehead State to play football for them.
He loved rodeo and competed in bull riding for 6 years in his early 20’s. He shared his passion for rodeo with his 4 children during their high school years.
Hodges had his last starter on Sept. 3, 2024, at Louisiana Downs, and his last winner, Cajun Mischief, on Aug. 26, also at Louisiana Downs.
Bernard S. Flint
Bernard S. Flint (born January 15, 1940)s, in New Orleans, Louisiana is a former New Orleans Police Department detective turned thoroughbred racehorse trainer who won his 3,500th race on September 13, 2019, at Indiana Grand Race Track.
A graduate of Loyola University and the New Orleans Police Academy, Bernard Flint trained horses on a part-time basis from 1969 until 1976 when he retired from the police force.
His son Steven is also a trainer in thoroughbred racing.
Bernie Flint, longtime Thoroughbred trainer for more than five decades, scored his 3,500th career win Friday, September 13 at Indiana Grand Racing & Casino. His horse, Code of War was a winner in the eighth race of the day for jockey Malcolm Franklin, who completed a three-win day on the card with the Flint-trained son of Unbridled Express over the turf course at Indiana Grand. Flint co-owns the grey three-year-old Indiana sired homebred with Ed Wright Cattle Company.
A native of Louisiana, Flint served as a police officer on the New Orleans police force for more than 16 years before retiring to train horses full time in the mid 1970’s. Since that time, he has pulled in numerous leading trainer titles in Kentucky and has a long history of winning races in Indiana. He finished third in the standings during the inaugural season at Harrah’s Hoosier Park in 1995.
Although Churchill Downs was his main base, Flint has competed consistently in Indiana during the 25-year history of pari-mutuel racing in the state, racing a small string in Indiana and the victory with Code of War was his 16th of 2019 at Indiana Grand, ranking him among the track’s top 10 trainers this year. Flint was not in attendance for the milestone win with Code of War.
About Louisiana Legends Night
A marquee night of the Evangeline Downs season will take place on Saturday, June 7, with Louisiana Legends Night. Celebrate Louisiana Racing Legends with six stakes races worth $600,000 in total purse money plus a jockey meet & greet, t-shirt toss and more.
First Post Time is 5:30 pm. Make your reservations now to enjoy a birds-eye view of the action and a special Legends Night Buffet at Silks Clubhouse for $34.95.
Reservations are suggested. Reserve Online or call 337-594-3663.