Until the last few years, the Louisiana Derby has never been known as a catapult to the Kentucky Derby winner’s circle. That is, unless you were connected to Black Gold (1924), Grindstone (1996) and Funny Cide (2003). Until 2019, those were the only three Louisiana Derby alums wearing roses the […]
Tag: Louisiana Horse Racing
Olympiad Seeking Another Gold-Medal Performance in New Orleans Classic
There’s a compelling and easy-to-understand reason why Olympiad took an 8/5 morning line favorite status into Saturday’s Grade 2 New Orleans Classic at Fair Grounds. That compelling, easy-to-understand reason doubles as a record-setting reason. That’s exactly what Olympiad did the last time he traveled to Louisiana from trainer Bill Mott’s winter […]
She’s Back: Champion Echo Zulu Returns for Fair Grounds Oaks
Echo Zulu was the 2-year-old everyone couldn’t wait to see run at 3. Now, the four-month wait to see the Champion 2-Year-Old Filly will end on Saturday when Echo Zulu leads a six-filly contingent into the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks. From a betting standpoint, horseplayers are likely to either […]
Eclipse Finalist Clairiere Returns with a 6 1/2-length Flourish
Clairiere’s 4-year-old debut at Fair Grounds on Wednesday came in an allowance optional claimer. From a class standpoint, it wasn’t the typical race you’d see a multiple graded stakes winner run. But the chance to ride an Eclipse Award finalist brought Eclipse Award-winning jockey Joel Rosario to the Louisiana track. […]
Risen Star Brings Rising Stars, Rising Stakes to Kentucky Derby Trail
WIth a nod to Winston Churchill, Saturday’s Grade 2 Risen Star signals both the beginning of the end and the end of the Kentucky Derby trail’s beginning. The prelims are over and we’re now at the beginning of the win-and-you’re-in stretch of the Derby trail. That’s because the 1 1/8-mile […]
Derby Points Leader Pappacap Finds Epicenter in the Lecomte Stakes
The Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes gives you current Kentucky Derby points leader Pappacap. It gives you one of the most exciting 3-year-olds in the country, Epicenter. And it gives you recent alumni Triple Crown success. The 1 1/16-mile Lecomte also gives you Derby preps for the first time in three […]
Cue Round Six for Mandaloun, Midnight Bourbon in Louisiana Stakes
The Louisiana Stakes, starring Mandaloun vs. Midnight Bourbon, sounds like deja vu all over again. And again. And again. And again. And, yes, again. This latest duel — the sixth between the newly minted 4-year-olds and 2021 Triple Crown rivals — returns the pair to Fair Grounds and the $150,000 […]
Inaugural Gun Runner Stakes Provides Epicenter of Week’s Derby Preps
There’s a certain symmetry, a certain karmic presence in Steve Asmussen sending out Epicenter as the 5/2 favorite for the inaugural running of the 1 1/16-mile Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds. Whether Epicenter can follow in the hoofprints of Gun Runner – one of Asmussen’s best horses – remains […]
Risen Star: Your First Win-And-You’re-In Derby Race for 2021
The Risen Star Stakes is, to paraphrase Drew Carey from the old “Whose Line Is It Anyway?†improv show, the race where the points begin to matter. Saturday’s 1 1/8-mile Grade 2 Risen Star at Fair Grounds is the season’s first Kentucky Derby prep offering 50-20-10-5 qualifying points to the […]
Señor Buscador Could Make a Late Arrival in Risen Star
Watching Señor Buscador run with a betting ticket in your hand is a trip on an emotional roller coaster. You’re standing there, pinning your ticket-cashing hopes on a drama-king of a horse who lacks any sense of urgency. Until the stretch. That’s when Señor Buscador finds that heretofore lacking sense […]