Catching Freedom (Constitution), winner of the GII Louisiana Derby, is 8-1 on the morning line, while Forever Young (Jpn) (Reel Steel {Jpn}), winner of the G2 UAE Derby, is 10-1.

The pool, which opens Thursday, closes Saturday at 4 p.m.–prior to the day's three major Derby prep races.

Pool 6 will feature $2 Win and Exacta wagering. Fans can wager via www.TwinSpires.com, along with simulcast and ADW outlets from around the country.

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Breaking from the 12 hole, GIII Lecomte S. scorer Track Phantom (Quality Road) was ushered to the front as Common Defense (Karakontie {Jpn}) prompted him through opening splits of :23.49 and :48.33 as Catching Freedom lingered at the back under an unhurried Flavien Prat. Starting to gain ground while several paths wide approaching the final turn, he was fanned out no less than seven paths wide as the field constricted up front. Closing with purpose down the center of the track, he put his head in front in the stages before drawing clear to put himself squarely in the Kentucky Derby picture. Last season's

GII Kentucky Jockey Club victor Honor Marie (Honor Code) got up for second while Tuscan Gold (Medaglia d'Oro) completed the trifecta.

“I didn't know what to make of it early on, being so far back and with not much pace, but Flavien did a great job of letting him inch up,” said winning trainer Brad Cox, who also won the Fair Grounds Oaks with Tarifa. “He needed pretty much the entire stretch to get there. I am very proud of the effort. We'll make sure he is happy and healthy. We'll ship him up to Churchill; he broke his maiden there, so he knows the place. Hopefully, he can have a great six weeks and a big run the first Saturday in May.”

Starting things off the right way, the $575,000 Keeneland September buy came from off the pace to triumph by 1 3/4 lengths going a mile at Churchill Downs in October before returning to finish fourth while adding a sixteenth at that venue Nov. 9. Favored to regain the winning thread next time in the Jan. 1 Smart Jones S., the bay obliged with a 2 1/2-length win over Just Steel. Let go at 5-1 in a sloppy edition of the GII Risen Star S. Feb. 17, he finished third behind Sierra Leone (Gun Runner) and Track Phantom.

Pedigree Notes:
Catching Freedom is the 31st graded winner for WinStar's Constitution, whose 64 black-type winners worldwide in just five crops have repeatedly kept him at or near the top of his contemporaries on the sire lists. The son of Tapit finished 2023 as the leading fifth-crop sire by stakes winners and went into the Louisiana Derby ranked in the current year's top dozen North American-based sires–regardless of number of crops–by earnings.

While Catching Freedom is Constitution's second stakes winner out a Pioneerof the Nile mare, Constitution has an additional two stakes winners–both graded–out of mares by Pioneerof the Nile's sire, Empire Maker, and a number of others out of daughters of at least two other sons of Unbridled. The late Pioneerof the Nile, who also stood at WinStar, has 13 black-type winners out of his daughters.

Catch My Drift, a stakes winner at Saratoga who finished third in the 2015 GI Beldame S. at Belmont Park, was a $400,000 purchase by WinStar at the 2015 Fasig-Tipton November sale. The mare produced two stakes performers prior to Catching Freedom: last year's GIII Peter Pan S. and GIII Ohio Derby runner-up Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo), also a 'TDN Rising Star', and MSP Strava (Into Mischief), who was an $825,000 Keeneland November weanling. She has a juvenile filly by Improbable named Indeed, who sold to Centennial Farms at Fasig-Tipton Saratoga for $385,000, and a yearling filly by Not This Time.

What a rally from CATCHING FREEDOM, giving it his all to power down the stretch and win the GII Louisiana Derby in the most impressive fashion! He collects 100 Kentucky Derby points. pic.twitter.com/Z1ByTqTWuQ

— TDN (@theTDN) March 23, 2024

Saturday, Fair Grounds
TWINSPIRES.COM LOUISIANA DERBY-GII, $1,000,000, Fair Grounds, 3-23, 3yo, 1 3/16m, 1:56.16, ft.
1–CATCHING FREEDOM, 122, c, 3, by Constitution
                1st Dam: Catch My Drift (SW & GISP, $280,540),
                                by Pioneerof the Nile
                2nd Dam: Drift to the Lead, by Yonaguska
                3rd Dam: Drifa, by Tabasco Cat
1ST GRADED STAKES WIN. ($575,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP).
O-Albaugh Family Stables LLC; B-WinStar Farm, LLC (KY);
T-Brad H. Cox; J-Flavien Prat. $600,000. Lifetime Record:
5-3-0-1, $877,350. *1/2 to Strava (Into Mischief), MSP,
$378,010 and Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo), MGSP, $212,600.
Werk Nick Rating: A++.
Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree.
Click for the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Honor Marie, 122, c, 3, Honor Code–Dame Marie, by Smart
Strike. ($40,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-Ribble Farms LLC, Michael
Eiserman, Earl Silver, Kenneth Fishbein and Daniel Fishbein;
B-Royce Pulliam (KY); T-D. Whitworth Beckman. $200,000.
3–Tuscan Gold, 122, c, 3, Medaglia d'Oro–Valadorna, by Curlin.
'TDN Rising Star'. 1ST BLACK TYPE, 1ST GRADED BLACK TYPE.
($600,000 Ylg '22 KEESEP). O-William Lawrence, Walmac Farm
and Stonestreet Stables LLC; B-Stonestreet Thoroughbred
Holdings LLC (KY); T-Chad C. Brown. $100,000.
Margins: 1, 3/4, 3/4. Odds: 3.30, 7.80, 11.20.
Also Ran: Track Phantom, Common Defense, Antiquarian, Agate Road, Next Level, Awesome Ruta, Hall of Fame, Real Men Violin. Scratched: Triple Espresso.
Click for the Equibase.com chart and the TJCIS.com PPs. VIDEO, sponsored by FanDuel TV.

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Six weeks ahead of the running of the Kentucky Derby on Saturday, May 4, the Louisiana Derby and Jeff Ruby Steaks will both award Kentucky Derby qualification points, with 100 going to the winners of each race. The Fair Grounds Oaks will award GI Kentucky Oaks qualification points, with the winner of the race earning 100 points. Also, the Bourbonette Oaks from Turfway Park will be highlighted on Saturday's show.

Britney Eurton will host Saturday's coverage alongside analysts Jerry Bailey and Randy Moss.

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The field listed with their morning-line odds from the rail out include: Triple Espresso (Omaha Beach) (20-1), 'TDN Rising Star' Hall of Fame (Gun Runner) (8-1), Antiquarian (Preservationist) (12-1), 'TDN Rising Star' Agate Road (Quality Road) (8-1), Catching Freedom (Constitution) (4-1), Awesome Ruta (Mendelssohn) (30-1), Honor Marie (Honor Code) (8-1), Next Level (Vino Rosso) (30-1), Real Men Violin (Mendelssohn) (20-1), Common Defense (Karakontie {Jpn}) (6-1), 'TDN Rising Star' Tuscan Gold (Medaglia d'Oro) (8-1) and Track Phantom (Quality Road) (3-1).

The GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby is the first of the 100-point Derby preps and awards points on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale to eligible runners.

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Last year's GII Louisiana Derby winner #5 KINGSBARNS ($3.20) made his return to the races a winning one, getting up in the nick of time to win race 6 at Gulfstream Park.

The son of @coolmoreamerica's Uncle Mo was ridden by Luis Suez for @PletcherRacing and @spendthriftfarm. pic.twitter.com/QD7h1JQno4

— TVG (@TVG) March 2, 2024

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“It's easy to compare where he's at with where we were with Epicenter two years ago,” Asmussen said. “Epicenter won the Gun Runner and was second in the Lecomte, but physically he was developing at the right time. I've always felt that in the 3-year-old series at Fair Grounds, your last race isn't good enough for the next one and that's how it should be. I appreciate the timing between races and the progression of the distances. It's ideal. We came up a half-a-length short of our goal of winning the Derby with Epicenter and now Track Phantom is on the same road. I think the Lecomte was as easy on him as you could have wanted it to be, with him still getting something out of it.”

Track Phantom isn't the only winner from Saturday's card in New Orleans that Asmussen is pointing to the Risen Star. Hall of Fame (Gun Runner), a $1.4-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase, was tabbed a 'TDN Rising Star' following his 10 1/4-length maiden victory Saturday. The 3-year-old's final time of 1:44.27 for 1 1/16 miles was nearly a half-second faster than Track Phantom's clocking (1:44.73) in the Lecomte.

“Hall of Fame is as advertised,” Asmussen said. “As a $1.4-million yearling, he's impeccably bred and a beautiful individual with a tremendous amount of talent. I do expect him to run back in the Risen Star also. He was ridden much more aggressively [to win] on Saturday because he's playing a little catch up on a horse like Track Phantom, but the ability is there.”

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“In our 152nd year, Fair Grounds will set another record for the richest stakes schedule in Louisiana history,” said Doug Shipley, President and General Manager of the track.

Opening day is scheduled for Friday, Nov. 17, with six $75,000 Louisiana-bred stakes over the season's first two days, while the Road to the Derby Kickoff Day happens Dec. 23 with eight stakes.

“Many deserve thanks for their dedication and efforts to make this happen,” said Fair Grounds Racing Secretary Scott Jones. “Along with our phenomenal Road to the Kentucky Derby series and thriving turf course, this is one more reason why there is no better winter destination for horse racing than New Orleans.”

The highlight of the season, the $1,000,000 GII Louisiana Derby, is set for Saturday, Mar. 23, with 100-50-25-15-10 points awarded to the top five finishers on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Eight stakes worth a total of $2,625,000 will be carded for the day, including the $400,000 GII Fair Grounds Oaks Presented by Fasig-Tipton, which awards 100-50-25-15-10 points en route to the GI Longines Kentucky Oaks. Last year's runner-up Pretty Mischievous (Into Mischief) rebounded from that defeat with a victory in the Oaks.

“The strong infusion of our sport's top 3-year-olds training and racing at Fair Grounds has been very apparent these past few seasons,” Jones said. “Beginning with the Gun Runner and the Untapable for late-season juveniles, it's proven that our progressive schedule of 3-year-old races for both the boys and girls gives horsemen the proper distances and spacing to prepare their runners for the first weekend in May and beyond.”

Closing day is Sunday, Mar. 24. Regular post time throughout the meet will be 12:45 p.m. CT, with an earlier noon CT first post on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 23), Road to the Derby Kickoff Day (Dec. 23), Road to the Derby Day (Jan. 20), Louisiana Derby Preview Day (Feb. 17), and Louisiana Derby Day (March 23).

Click to see the entire Fair Grounds 2023-24 stakes schedule or the first Condition Book.

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With exercise rider Wilson Fabian in the saddle, Disarm was accompanied to the track by assistant trainer Scott Blasi aboard one pony, while trainer Steve Asmussen followed close behind on another.

Disarm completed an opening quarter-mile of :25 and was not asked to gallop out past the wire, which is typical in Asmussen's works less than one week out of a race.

“We've been behind on his training going into the Road to the Kentucky Derby but he's responded well with each task we've asked him to complete,” Asmussen said.

Disarm was second behind Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) in the Mar. 25 GII Louisiana Derby before earning his spot in the Derby starting gate with a third-place effort in the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. Apr. 15. He worked five furlongs in a bullet 1:00.00 at Churchill last Wednesday.

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The bay colt broke off about a length behind stablemate Gigante (Not This Time) with Churchill clocker John Nichols catching him in splits of :13.20, :35.40, :36.60 and :48.40 before galloping out the six furlongs in 1:13.20.

“I thought he worked really well this morning coming out of the Lexington,” Rosario said. “He was well within himself the entire work. He looks a lot like his sire. He's built bigger than he is but looking at him they have a lot of the same traits.”

Asmussen was also pleased with the move.

“He's a very durable horse and I think the best is yet to come from him,” Asmussen said. “He's a horse we missed a little time with over the winter and we're behind schedule. The one opportunity for a points race was the Louisiana Derby. He ran solid but needed more points to get in it. He's a horse we definitely didn't want to miss this opportunity with. We were looking for a little sense of direction in his work this morning. I think he's not given us everything to this point and there's more in the tank. I like how he accelerated to the wire and got over the racetrack nicely.”

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Albaugh Family Stables' Angel of Empire worked alongside stablemate Tapit's Conquest (Tapit), who was most recently seventh in the Louisiana Derby, just as the track opened at 5:30 a.m. Sporting blinkers while working outside his stablemate through early fractions of :12.40 and :24.40, Angel of Empire galloped out five furlongs in 1:00.80, according to Churchill Downs clocker John Nichols. Cox's exercise rider Edvin Vargas was aboard for the move.

Two hours later, Vargas was again in the irons when West Point Thoroughbreds and Albaugh Family Stables' Jace's Road worked in company with Smarty Jones S. winner Victory Formation (Tapwrit).

“It was a solid morning with three weeks out from the Derby,” Cox said. “It's always an exciting time of year and we'll see what happens in 21 days.”

Following Jace's Road's work, Cox's other Derby contenders, GI Toyota Blue Grass S. runner-up Verifying (Justify) and GII Wood Memorial runner-up Hit Show (Candy Ride {Arg}), galloped about 1 1/2 miles. Both are scheduled to work next Saturday.

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