Fair Grounds

The Week in Review by T.D. Thornton It was a little odd to see Oaklawn Park in the mix of tracks running on the first weekend of December. It was even stranger to see the Arkansas track carding races for 2-year-olds, which has not happened since Mar. 27, 1975. The winds of change are blowing through the pre-winter mists of Hot Springs. The biggest challenge facing Oaklawn as it embarks upon a Dec. 3-May 8 season for the first time is whether or not the popular track can retain the...

An impasse whose origin dates back more than two years that has prevented Nevada race books from taking betting on three simulcasting signals controlled by Churchill Downs, Inc. (CDI), was reportedly resolved on Wednesday, although it remains unclear which side budged or what changed in the negotiations. Mike Brunker of the Las Vegas Review-Journal broke the story Dec. 1. Three signed contracts for the Fair Grounds, Turfway Park and Oaklawn Park that were suddenly offered by CDI were inked into agreement on Wednesday by the Nevada Pari-Mutuel Association, which represents...

Morris G. Nicks, who trained for parts of six decades, primarily in Arkansas, Louisiana and Kentucky, died Nov. 25 at his home in Waskom, Texas. He had been fighting cancer and was 74 years old. His passing was confirmed by his wife Ellen in a Daily Racing Form story that broke the news Sunday. His son, the trainer Ralph Nicks, told DRF that his father had requested no funeral services to be held. According to DRF, Nicks grew up on a farm in Texas and galloped horses and rode in...

7th-Fair Grounds, $45,000, Msw, 11-26, 2yo, 6f, 1:10.57, ft, 3/4 length. UNDERHILL'S TAB (c, 2, Unified--Mykindasaint {MSW, $171,228}, by Saint Ballado), looking to become the 15th winner for his freshman sire (by Candy Ride {Arg}), was half of the 4-5 favored entry. The dark bay colt tracked pacesetting entrymate Prather (Into Mischief) from third while racing along the rail through fractions of :22.41 and :45.99. He ranged up three wide at the top of the stretch and collared a determined Boss' Dialin In (Dialed In) late despite drifting out to...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency PRICEY UNIFIED DEBUTS IN NOLA 7th-FG, $45K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6f, 5:11 p.m. Spendthrift Farm's $400,000 OBSMAR purchase UNDERHILL'S TAB (Unified) makes his career bow in this spot for trainer Al Stall. A $10,000 KEENOV weanling and $19,000 FTKOCT yearling, the dark bay breezed in a snappy :9 4/5 at OBS. Out of MSW Mykindasaint (Saint Ballado), the colt is a half to SW Malibu Saint (Malibu Moon). Spendthrift and partners William and Corinne Heiligbrodt will be represented by second timer Prather (Into Mischief). The...

The Louisiana State Racing Commission (LSRC) unanimously passed a motion Tuesday that owner and trainer Karl Broberg believes will allow him to race horses at the upcoming Fair Grounds meet despite an exclusion order imposed last month by that track's corporate owner, Churchill Downs Inc. (CDI). "I am allowed to enter and run at the Fair Grounds," Broberg told TDN hours after the LSRC ruled that the private-property exclusion by CDI doesn't carry the same reciprocity as a ruling issued by a board of stewards or state racing commission. According...

For its 150th anniversary racing season, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will boast 59 stakes worth a combined $7.795 million--up more than $600,000 from last season--during its 80-day, 2021-22 Thoroughbred meet, which is set to begin Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, Nov. 25. "Fair Grounds Race Track is embedded in the history of New Orleans," said Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots president Doug Shipley. "We have always been very proud to be part of such a great city and this year marks the 150th anniversary of our inaugural season. We...

Back in the days when I was in high school, I would work in the racing office at Jefferson Downs in the mornings as an entry clerk. This was before the days of computerized databases and electronically keyed-in entries. Entry blanks were bound by red glue as thick pads and filled out in pencil. Each form filled out one by one, as the jockey agents and trainers drifted into the racing office to do business. Entries were made in individual stalls for privacy and usually in a hushed tone so...

Racing at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans drew to a close Mar. 28, a meet which saw purses hiked no fewer than three times and featured a typically strong stakes and overnight program supported by a wide swath of horsepeople. Ron Faucheux won his first training title at the Fair Grounds with 40 victories, three better than four-time defending champion trainer Brad Cox, whose successes at the meeting included the GII Risen Star S. with 'TDN Rising Star' Mandaloun (Into Mischief) and the GII Fair Grounds Oaks with 'Rising...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency CASSE UNVEILS WELL-BRED WAR FRONT ON FL DERBY UNDERCARD 1st-GP, $55K, Msw, 3yo, 1mT, 11:30p.m. The blue-blooded WAR BOMBER (IRE) (War Front) makes his career bow in this spot for trainer Mark Casse. The colt is a full-brother to Group 1 winner and Irish highweight Lancaster Bomber, who was twice second at the Breeders' Cup; and a half-brother to French, Irish and German highweight Excelebration (Ire) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}); MGSW Mull of Killough (Ire) (Mull of Kintyre); MSW Shivalik Showers (Ind) (Dancing Forever); and...

Clear Creek Stud will award a $5,000 scholarship to Rhett Sonnier on Fair Grounds closing day Mar. 28. This is an award that Clear Creek Stud sponsors in the name of their clients for a student with Louisiana-based connections to the Thoroughbred and Quarter Horse breeding and racing industry. Applications were submitted to and accepted by the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association. Sonier is in his third year at the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. His family has been involved in the horse industry in Louisiana for generations, breeding,...

Hot Rod Charlie (Oxbow) exited his win in Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby in fine shape and will ship back to trainer Doug O'Neill's California base Tuesday to prepare for the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby. "Charlie looked great this morning," O'Neill said. "He flies back to California on Tuesday. I love the spacing [six weeks] leading up to the Kentucky Derby. It's ideal. He's proven to travel well. I'm very proud of my nephew Patrick [with co-owner Boat Racing]. He's a real good young man and I'm very excited...