Opelousas, Louisiana –While it’s commonplace for riders to from South America to ply their trade here in the United States, Hall-of-Famers Braulio Baeza, Laffit Pincay Jr., Jorge Velasquez, Alex Solis, and Edgar Prado are just a few who have enjoyed tremendous success in the United States after leaving their homeland, it is indeed a rarity for the opposite to occur. That situation is made even rarer when the rider is from right here in Cajun country. Ricky Faul, a forty-five-year-old native of Sunset, La. is part of a group of horsemen and dove hunters headed by prominent local horse owner Mark Palmer that is heading to Argentina later this month. Faul and Palmer are making the journey a busman’s holiday as Faul has been engaged by Palmer to help him select horses for purchase to race here at Evangeline Downs with the aid of Bloodstock Agent, Pico Perdomo, a retired jockey from California. In addition, Faul will bring his riding gear as he plans to ride at 2 different Race Courses (San Isidro & Palermo) which are located on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, the third most populated city in the world with more than 14 million residents.

Faul who now makes his home in Abbeville, La. has been a professional jockey since starting his career almost 30 years ago at Delta Downs in Vinton, La. With more than 3,250 wins to his credit and earnings of more than $28,000,000, racing has provided a good living for “The Bus Driver” as Ricky Faul in known as by friends and fans alike and his family which includes wife Donna, son Ricky Faul II, and daughter Abbi. Long established in Louisiana, Faul, an admitted homebody chose family and a slower lifestyle by forsaking numerous opportunities to ride at some of racing’s largest venues, a choice he says he doesn’t regret at all. However, when approached by Palmer, he didn’t hesitate to commit. Although he will be forced to miss the final week of the spring/summer meet here at Evangeline Downs, including a scheduled mount in the $100,000 Lafayette Stakes aboard Delta Vixen, who he piloted to victory in the $100,000 John Franks Sales Stakes earlier this month, the experience and all that it entails far outweighs any possible negatives. “Plus, I’ll get a chance to catch some of those big South American fish and see if their cuisine is as spicy as ours is”, he stated.

Racing is conducted on a Wednesday through Saturday evening schedule with a first post of 6:20 p.m. central time.

For more information contact Evangeline Downs at 337-594-3000.