Fair Grounds
Owners with horses racing at the Fair Grounds on Louisiana Derby Day Saturday are being encouraged to pledge a percentage of their earnings to support New Vocations efforts. All funds raised will go directly to support the horses currently at the Louisiana facility, which has already served over 50 retired racehorses since opening last year. In addition to the pledge New Vocations will have an online auction with a variety of items ranging from unique New Orleans art to gift baskets and packages. The online auction can be viewed here...
On a day when racetracks around the world, including Keeneland, announced they would be shutting their doors due to the COVID-19 outbreak, NYRA, Oaklawn, Gulfstream and the Fair Grounds announced their intentions to continue racing. The decision by NYRA may have been the most surprising among the three as it came just hours after New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced a ban of gatherings of 50 people or more and that restaurants, bars, movie theaters and casinos must shut down. Aqueduct's next scheduled day of live racing is Friday. As...
4th-Fair Grounds, $41,000, Alw (NW1X)/Opt. Clm ($50,000), 3-15, 3yo, f, 1mT, 1:38.76, fm. HENDY WOODS (f, 3, Uncle Mo--Separate Forest {GSW, $206,525}, by Forestry), who RNA'd for $95,000 at the 2018 Keeneland September sale, forged to a 3/4-length victory in her unveiling over this trip and course Jan. 18. Sent off at 2-1, the bay filly sat off the pace while racing along the rail as Ginseng (Tiznow) took the field through fractions of :24.55 and :49.72. Tipped out at the top of the lane, she raced greenly but was...
2nd-FG, $45K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 6:28 p.m. FORTUNE TICKET (Candy Ride {Arg}), a full-brother to Horse of the Year Gun Runner, makes his debut for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen. The Three Chimneys homebred, tabbed as the 7-2 morning-line favorite, worked five furlongs in 1:00 1/5 (3/35) at Fair Grounds Mar. 1. Established (Constitution), a $400,000 KEESEP yearling and half-brother to GISW Sweet Loretta (Tapit), has been assigned post one in this debut run for trainer Mike Stidham. TJCIS PPs
The 2020 Annual Membership Meeting of the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders' Association is set for Sunday Mar. 22 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans. The annual meeting brings members together to celebrate the breeders and owners of outstanding accredited 2019 Louisiana-bred Thoroughbreds. The champions are chosen by a vote of the membership and are based on performance and breeding records for the 2019 year. "The process of producing and training a champion race horse takes considerable resources," said Roger Heitzmann, secretary treasurer for the Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders...
Three more Joe Sharp horses have been disqualified from purse money for testing positive for the drug levamisole, this time in Kentucky, according to a report in Daily Racing Form. The news comes after nine Sharp horses were DQ'ed for the same drug in Louisiana earlier this year. Sharp previously said that he had five horses test positive for the drug last fall at Churchill and was awaiting word from Churchill stewards on the matter. Levamisole is listed as a Class 2 drug by the Association of Racing Commissioners International,...
Silver Dust (Tapit), who scored in Saturday's GIII Mineshaft S. at Fair Grounds, has been disqualified and placed last for his previous victory, in the GIII Louisiana S. Jan. 18, due to a failed drug test, according to a report in the Daily Racing Form. The Bret Calhoun-trained gray tested positive for levamisole, the same drug that got eight Joe Sharp trainees disqualified from wins at the meet earlier this month. Calhoun is married to Sharp's mother, Sara Escudero, and the two trainers' barns at Fair Grounds are next to...
The Week in Review, by T.D. Thornton When you think of the Fair Grounds and its series of GI Kentucky Derby preps, it's easy to conjure up images of stamina-centric closers who can stay all day. The track's imposing 1,346-foot home stretch--for decades billed as the longest in North America, until the reconfigured Los Alamitos surpassed it by 34 feet in 2014--is the primary reason. The other, which is new this year, is the elongated change in distance for the three races in the Fair Grounds' January-March prep series. Most...
Twelve months ago in the GII Risen Star S., the Bill Mott barn was represented by Country House (Lookin At Lucky), who was having his fourth career run and was exiting a maiden-breaking victory going two turns for the first time. Seeking to improve on that now-retired runner's second-place effort a year ago, Modernist (Uncle Mo) argued the pace from the inside and fought his way to a 12-1 upset over Major Fed (Ghostzapper). Ny Traffic (Cross Traffic), who battled up front with Modernist clung on for third, while even-money...
Sent off a generous 7-1, Mr. Monomoy (Palace Malice) secured an easy lead, set incredibly steady fractions up front and pulled away late to easily defeat GIII Lecomte S. hero Enforceable (Tapit) in the first of two divisions of the GII Risen Star S. Saturday afternoon at the Fair Grounds. Silver State (Hard Spun), who completed the exacta behind Enforceable last time, rounded out the trifecta. Drawn gate nine and looking to improve on his useful third-place effort in the Lecomte, Mr. Monomoy hit the ground running and dropped down...
Ed DeRosa of Brisnet.com takes on TDN's Steve Sherack and Brian DiDonato as they handicap Triple Crown prep races plus the big three races themselves. The three will make $100 Win/Place bets in the preps and $200 Win/Place bets in the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont. Highest bankroll at the end wins. DeRosa - Last Week - Ajaaweed was far back early and finished third in the GIII Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa. Bankroll: $1195. GII Risen Star S. (1st Div) - At 12-1, I'm willing to give Scabbard...
1st-AQU, $68K, Msw, 3yo, 6.5fT, 1:00 p.m. ET Gary Barber and ERJ Racing LLC's PATROL (Liam's Map) debuts for trainer Mark Casse. The second highest-priced juvenile of 2019 for Liam's Map (the sire's third highest-priced 2-year-old overall last year), the grey was secured for $350,000 at Keeneland last April. Dylan Davis gets the mount. TJCIS PPs 2nd-FG, $50K, Msw, 3yo, 9f, 1:29 p.m. ET Triple Crown nominated AIRSTREEM (Tapit), a half-brother to champion and Classic heroine Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia d'Oro), closed from off the pace to be fourth going six...
