Highly Wicked wins Opelousas Stakes at Evangeline Downs

Highly Wicked handled another turf-mile test at Evangeline Downs the same way dependable older mares often do, by showing up in the right spot and finishing the job. The 6-year-old chestnut mare won the $60,000 Opelousas Stakes by three-quarters of a length on July 3, covering one mile on firm turf in 1:38.32 and returning $2.20 to win.

Marcelino Pedroza Jr. kept her in stride for trainer Sam B. David Jr., and the result fit the profile Highly Wicked has been building for more than a year: a mare with enough speed to stay involved, enough class to finish, and enough familiarity with regional stakes company to make her presence count. She is by Wicked Strong out of Highly Confused, by Rahy, and she has now won the Opelousas twice, adding this victory to the one she took in 2025.

The finish was competitive without turning chaotic. Lassie My Girl was second, Peak Earnings, the German-bred mare by Kingman, was third, and the rest of the field followed in order with She’s a Joker, Brisa Veloz, and Berlaine completing the top six. That mix gave the race some depth: regional runners like Lassie My Girl met a mare with international pedigree in Peak Earnings, while Highly Wicked still proved she was the one with the sharpest late answer when the stretch pressure arrived.

Equibase listed the Opelousas as a black-type stakes for 3-year-olds and up, fillies and mares, and the placement structure made the race meaningful even beyond the winner’s modest mutuel. For a mare like Highly Wicked, these are the kinds of races that matter most. She does not need a national stage to add value; she needs the right mile, the right surface, and the right level, and on this card she found all three.

That outcome also fits her recent form. Highly Wicked had already won the Red Camelia Stakes at Fair Grounds on February 28, 2026, in 1:37.48 at a mile on turf, again with Pedroza aboard for David. TwinSpires lists her with a record of 24 starts, 12 wins, one second, and three thirds, along with $528,700 in North American earnings, numbers that make this latest stakes win look less like a breakout and more like another reminder that she remains a useful, repeatable force in the female turf division. Evangeline’s July 3 card also included the John Henry Stakes the next day in the holiday weekend stakes sequence, underscoring how the meet kept older turf runners in the spotlight.