LaDowns races wiener dogs, horses on Labor Day

BOSSIER CITY, La. (KSLA) — “It was awesome. I got to watch them with my granddaughter; that was the best part,” Kenny Brand said of the wiener dog races Monday at Louisiana Downs.

Some rainy weather did not stop the fun at the Bossier City racetrack at it hosted its annual Labor Day event featuring both the dog races and horse races.

“We had a great crowd on hand,” said Roxanne Tanner, LaDowns horse racing ambassador. “Very competitive field with the wiener dogs. You never expect a very competitive field, but they are. They are cutthroat.”

Despite some rain, the races took place as planned.

“You know, the track’s a little sloppy with the weather. But it always makes up for it, and the horses are running great,” Tanner said. “And some of them actually like a little off track, so it makes up for it.”

Brand and his friend Jimmy Bruce have visited Louisiana Downs on various holidays for 45 years.

Bruce: “All right, Kenny and I have been coming down since 1970 ...”

Brand: “Eight. 1978.”

Bruce: “He brought me, fell in love with horse races and we’ve been out here ever since,”

And one family who came from Shreveport and West Monroe had one member leave a little bit richer.

“We made plans to come spend Labor Day here and watch the horse races, which a lot of us, this is our first time to come here to do this,” Coplan Johnson explained.

“Um, so kind of funny about my win, I was actually looking at the jockey’s record when I chose the horse, um, and I thought I was looking at the horse’s record. But it worked out and the horse got first place.”

Johnson won $21.

Here’s a look back at Labor Day 2019:

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