The 4th annual Human Horse Races will be taking place on Thanksgiving Day at Easton Park, located in the heart of Mid-City at 3141 Toulouse St. The event will begin at 11 a.m. and end at 3 p.m.
This event will be filled with live music from The Dapper Dandies, food, and art from over 100 local artists. As for the races, anyone can sign up to race as a horse and a jockey team. the signup for participating in the races are only available on the day of, for a better chance to secure a spot as a racer, make sure to show up early.
Human Horse Races Returns for Thanksgiving Races
For the kids races, the first race will leave the gates at 11 a.m. and run until noon on a special track. Three kids will get to race each other in each heat on handmade hobby horses and each winner will receive a handmade medal from a local artist.
For the family race, there will only be one heat where adults can race with kids as the jockeys. This particular race will be on the main track and wearing a rubber horse head is optional.
The adult-only races is the main event with six adult races that consist of teams of jockeys and "horses". The "horses" will be dressed in horse head masks, and will carry the jockeys down the 50-yard track to the finish line. All the jockeys must be 21 years of age or older. The winning teams will take home a trophy for the "horse" and a medal for the jockey.
There is a new race this year, which is the "exotic animals" race, and it will be the final event of the day.
There will also be a raffle at this event, which are Raffle Purses that consist of over $1,000 of local services and goods. Attendees may buy tickets for the raffle, choose a stable or horse-and-jockey team and enter for a chance to win one of the eight Raffle Purses. There will also be costume contests where guests can show off their best costumes and hats. Those who wish to participate in the costume contests can enter to be named "Most Dapper", Top of the Hats", or "Best in Show". Winners of the contests will take home a handmade trophy and special prizes from local businesses.
Also, The Louisiana Human Society is partnering with Human Horse Races and will be bringing its Vegan Village to the event. The Vegan Village will feature local vendors that will be selling handmade vegan items, accompanied by vegan food trucks.
Art Camp 504 will be hosting a craft table for children, where there will be tools and simple templates provided for anyone to make their own headpiece. There will also be headdress workshops hosted by Art Camp 504 prior to the event, where participants will be able to show off their handmade art during a fashion show that will take place down the track at halftime.
There will also be halftime shows between the main races, as well as a fashion show and other surprises during this time. A live broadcast of the entire event will be taking place on 102.3 FM WHIV, a local human and social rights justice radio station.
The tradition of Human Horse Races is to be a fundraiser for local Louisiana horse sanctuaries, and this year's recipient of the fundraiser will be Greeno Equine Sanctuary in Leblanc, Louisiana. Greeno Equine Sanctuary practices gentle horse care with its numerous rescued animals. The race last year raised $5,258 for the horse sanctuary, which was used to build the sanctuary's new outside shelter and three months worth of feed for the animals. The admission and entry for the races are all suggested donations.
