The Louisiana Breeders Festival at Louisiana Downs on Saturday will be a day long- remembered by track announcer Frank Mirahmadi.

Visiting throughout the day with breeders, horsemen, and racing fans, many of whom had been affected by the destruction of Hurricane Katrina, Mirahmadi said he was heartened by the enthusiasm and smiles on faces of many who have not had much to smile about lately.

"[Louisiana Downs owner] Harrah's has been doing everything we can to make this event as enjoyable as possible," he said of the day's festivities at the Bossier City, Louisiana, track, which were anchored by eight Thoroughbred stakes worth more than $700,000 for Louisiana-breds.

But it was a horse named Zarb's Dahar who gave almost everyone a reason to cheer.

Of all the state-breds gathered at the track, Foxwood Plantation's homebred Zarb's Dahar figured to be a cinch to win the $78,600 Cajun Stakes and did not disappoint as he easily handled seven rivals en route to a four-length victory in the race for older sprinters.

The six-furlong test looked like exercise for the popular five-year-old son of Zarbyev, who has now strung together nine straight wins in ten starts at the track.

Gerard Melancon guided Zarb's Dahar as he pressed the early pace then drew clear in the stretch while ridden out to the wire, completing the trip in 1:10.25.

"He's awesome," Melancon said of Zarb's Dahar, who was sent off the 3-to-10 favorite. "He was just playing. I had so much horse left, I could have drawn off to win by ten."

Trainer James "Sweet" Hodges was also pleased with the Zarb's Dahar's win, the third in four starts this year, including against open company in the Folklore Handicap on August 27.

"The public loves this horse," he said of Zarb's Dahar, who has won ten of 22 starts and earned $296,075, "but they don't realize this kind of horse doesn't come along very often."

Foxwood also bred two other winners on the card, Alane Inc.'s Our Love, who captured the $106,000 Walmac Farm Matchmaker Stakes for fillies and mares by 1 1/4 lengths and William Deckwa Jr.'s Spruce's Prince who took the $103,145 Shiskabob Stakes by the same margin.

Our Love, a five-year-old daughter of Combat Ready was exiting a record-setting turf course performance in the Sangue Handicap last month. She finished Saturday's race in 1:42.69 for the 1 1/16 miles.

Spruce's Prince, a four-year-old son of Spruce Bouquet, wore down Witt Ante to take the 1 1/16-mile Shiskabob in 1:42.20.

Combat Ready stands at Bill and Pat Boorhem's Foxwood Plantation in Belcher, Louisiana, along with Zarbyev. Foxwood stallion Spruce Bouquet died in 2001.

Other winners on the card included Stacy Moak's Miriam L. in the $104,850 Louisiana Breeders' Oaks; Stan Landry's Badtotheboneandrew in the $105,400 Louisiana Breeders' Derby; Heiligbrodt Racing Stable's homebred Here Tiger in the $79,900 Stardust Stakes for two-year-olds; P and D Racing's Zarba the Great in the $79,150 Victoria Stakes for fillies and mares; and John Balensiefen's Tortuga Flats in the $80,700 Laurel Lane Stakes for two-year-old fillies.—Myra Lewyn

See charts, courtesy of Equibase at http://www.equibase.com