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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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“I'm laying on the ground and I'm like, 'Oh no, oh my gosh, could I miss my opportunity?'” he recalls now. “For all the pain, that's what I'm thinking about. 'Man, am I going to miss my opportunity?'”

Opportunity, note: singular not plural. For jockeys, chances come and go, and eventually tend to establish a familiar spectrum. At 35, Loveberry has ridden close to 13,000 races but had only had two Grade III winners before he won a Colonial Downs maiden last summer on a Hard Spun colt trained by Larry Rivelli. The partnership followed up in a stakes at Canterbury Park, and then tested much deeper water in the GI Breeders' Futurity S. at Keeneland in October. Starting rank outsiders, they duly finished seventh behind crop leader Forte (Violence). Yet it was only then, paradoxically, that Loveberry recognized that single, elusive opportunity: the horse that could break the ceiling that congeals and closes over most journeyman careers.

“He got beat,” Loveberry acknowledges. “But you learn a lot in defeat, and I loved him more that day than in his wins. He was jostled around really hard, and he wasn't sure about it. Down the backside, he'd dropped the bit. I'm like, 'Okay, did you just shut off because you're done fighting me, or are you just done?' And then we're coming around the second turn and I just picked the bridle up on him a little bit and he took off again.”

Not done, then.

“Something just clicked,” Loveberry continues. “He did get tired, but I'm thinking for the first time we've got something here. If we can just get him back, behind horses, he relaxes. And afterwards I was like, 'Larry, this horse is… nice. He's a lot better horse than we thought.'”

Sure enough, Two Phil's has since made us all get used to that rogue apostrophe. He won the GIII Street Sense S. by five lengths plus, over the same surface that will stage the GI Kentucky Derby in a couple of weeks' time; and podium finishes in two of the Fair Grounds trials this winter convinced Loveberry that Two Phil's was indeed maturing into a credible Derby candidate. Moreover the jockey was himself sharing the momentum, standing second in the meet standings. But suddenly here he was, three weeks before the horse's final prep in the GIII Jeff Ruby S. at Turfway, lying on his back with a horrible suspicion that he had broken his leg.

“Yeah, I couldn't sleep that night—for a couple of reasons,” Loveberry recalls. “Because of the pain, but also just thinking that I was going to miss this horse, miss my opportunity. Did I need to pack everything in New Orleans, come home? So next morning I saw the specialist. It was nerve-racking, going in there, it hurt really bad. My boot was putting a lot of pressure where the fracture was. But taking that off relieved it a lot. Maybe there was a hope against hope.”

Yes, there was. They took an X-ray of the fibula, and it proved to be a hairline fracture. “Look,” said the specialist. “It's not bad. You can start putting weight on it and get around and I'll see you in a couple of weeks.”

In the meantime, inevitably, the vultures were circling. “Man, are you going to make it back?” Rivelli asked.

Loveberry was as reassuring as possible.

“Well, we got some phone calls!” replied Rivelli. “But I'm holding out for you.”

A week after the accident, Loveberry saw another specialist back home in Chicago. The bone had healed so well that the very next morning he went out and breezed Two Phil's at Hawthorne. When he came in, Rivelli said: “All right, now I can tell everybody you're riding him.”

Two Phil's and Jareth Loveberry win the GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks S. | Coady Photography

So while Loveberry was still riding in a brace even this week, and still tender, this had turned out the most literal of lucky breaks. Because Two Phil's duly won the Jeff Ruby with such authority that many people are wondering whether he can become the second consecutive Derby winner to graduate from that synthetic trial.

Certainly he certainly goes into the Derby as the undisputed blue-collar rooting interest. The horse is a yearling buyback, named for two octogenarian Phils in the ownership group. Rivelli, a stalwart of the Midwest circuit, would be within his rights to stand in the Churchill winner's circle and berate the track's owners for closing his spiritual home at Arlington. And all you need to know about Loveberry himself is the advice he always gives to aspiring young jockeys: “Work your ass off to get there—and when you get there, work harder.”

But while he will bring all due humility to the giddiest opportunity of his life, he will not suffer the slightest vertigo.

“Looking back, it's crazy: to go from a five-eighths bull-ring to the Kentucky Derby,” he admits. “In between it's been 18 years of just riding all over the place, different spots, different class levels. But I think that has made me what I am, starting from the bottom.”

The bull-ring was Great Lakes Downs in Michigan.

“It was only open for maybe 10 years, but that's where I started racing in 2005,” he recalls. “I'd walked across the street to a horse farm when I was 12 years old, just for a summer job cleaning stalls. They had Thoroughbreds, and I started getting on them when I was 14. And just fell in love. You can't really explain it. My dad's in construction, my mom's in banking. But I just felt comfortable around those horses. It just works. I like going around, seeing my horses every day. I feed them peppermints, I graze them, whatever I can do to help them out.”

On these foundations, a guy who started out in college to become an architect has built a career that has so far yielded 1,759 winners. Many were eked out at the basement level, from Ohio to Oklahoma; but he has made incremental gains in quality, especially over the past couple of years. In 2021, for instance, he tipped $3 million for the first time at a win ratio of 23 percent; while last year he broke into the top 50 riders nationally with earnings exceeding $5 million.

So while Loveberry also had the rug pulled from under his feet by the closure of Arlington, his success in the Fair Grounds colony has now opened the door to the Kentucky circuit. And the Two Phil's adventure is certainly all the sweeter for the involvement of such a longstanding ally.

“It really is,” Loveberry says. “I've been riding for Larry since 2011 and he's just a great guy. So with him having been so loyal to me, and me trying to be as loyal as I can to him too, it's great for us both to be going to our first Derby together. Larry is tough to ride for, but great to ride for. I mean, you obviously want him to be tough, because you want to win: he works hard, he's there at the barn all the time, and he's really good at placing his horses. Once he finds a good horse, he really manages that horse, always picks the right spots to develop them. Instead of doing it like a machine, I guess. He has great help at the barn, too, they really focus on the horse.”

Two Phil's, as such, is a typical project. Though actually unavailable for his debut, Loveberry has been part of the horse's development from his earliest works. And, just like his jockey, Two Phil's has the kind of seasoning that is increasingly uncommon in the Derby field. With so many contenders nowadays arriving on a light schedule, Two Phil's will be a relatively gritty veteran of eight starts.

“I think that's very beneficial for him,” Loveberry emphasizes. “Having experienced so many different races and surroundings, he's going to be a well-rounded horse. He's been in tight. He's been in front, and farther off of it. He's been in slop. He's really seen a lot of different things, and that maturity will help in a spot like that. Because he has just kept developing. He was green early on, and can get a little quirky, but I've learned about him over the last year and now he's able to shut off and give that high cruising speed, which I think his daddy had too.

“At Fair Grounds he had a three-month layoff from the Street Sense to the [GIII] Lecomte S. He got tired in that race but ever since I've been like, 'Man, Larry, he's getting better and getting smarter all the time.' And in the Jeff Ruby he put it all together. I don't think it was about the surface. He's won on dirt, wet dirt, synthetic. A good horse will run on anything, and he's proven thatAnd I just think he's peaking at the right time.”

Likewise his jockey, who rode with all due verve and confidence at Turfway.

“I was just sitting and sitting, and looking for the one [favorite Major Dude (Bolt d'Oro)],” Loveberry recalls. “I see him make a bit of a move on the inside, so I just gave him a little smooch and he did the rest. His gallop out that day, the outrider had to help pull me up, he was really full of himself.”

Actually the outrider's horse slammed right into his injured leg. Ouch. But the man they call “J Love”—as stitched into his breeches—hardly needed that jolt to remain grounded. As a family man, with two young kids, nothing is going to skew his priorities at this stage.

“I think I've had some good opportunities to help get me to this spot,” Loveberry says, contemplating the 20-horse stampede ahead. “I've learned from other riders that have been through it, they've given me pointers here and there. But I've never looked at any race and said, 'Oh, I have to win that for my career.' Obviously you want to win the Kentucky Derby. All eyes are on it. But is it the be-all and end-all? No. If we just put our best foot forward, keep level-headed, I think that goes a long ways. When you start overthinking it, that's when you start making mistakes. So let's just keep headed in the right direction, and hope he's healthy going in the race.”

But the reason he won't be getting ahead of himself, the reason he will be staying calm, is also the reason to be excited.

“I mean, it's horse racing,” Loveberry says, with a shrug and a smile. “Anything could happen.”

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Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry will be the keynote speaker at the National HBPA's annual conference Mar. 6-10 at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans' historic French Quarter, the horsemen's organization announced. The conference, being hosted by the Louisiana HPBA, takes place in conjunction with the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) Annual Meeting and Racing Integrity Conference.

Landry's keynote address is to be delivered Mar. 7. He has been at the forefront of states challenging the constitutionality of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) and the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority (Authority) that the law established. In addition to constitutionality issues, Landry has expressed concern for the financial hardship that a largely duplicative bureaucracy will put on large portions of the horse-racing industry. Louisiana has four tracks that conduct horse racing.

“I am honored to be chosen the keynote speaker at the National HBPA Conference, and I look forward to visiting with so many who ply their trade in such a great industry,” said Landry, a decorated Army veteran. “I will continue fighting for them to prevent the federal government from taking over horse racing.”

Added National HBPA CEO Eric Hamelback: “Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry embodies the positive vision with the inspiration and passion we seek in a keynote speaker. He has proven to be a strong advocate for horsemen and women who understands our labor-intensive industry with its substantial agribusiness, not only in Louisiana but throughout the country. He believes in a bright and better future for horse racing, and refuses to let us be trampled by special interests.”

More information and registration is available here.

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“Filmdom entirely forgot its world of make-believe to migrate to the Santa Anita track yesterday for the renewal of horse racing in Los Angeles,” the Los Angeles Times gushed when reporting on the huge turnout of Hollywood movie stars and celebrities when Santa Anita held its first-ever races on Dec. 25, 1934.

“They rubbed elbows with Angelinos and society folk, and jostled through the crowd of 30,000 spectators to get a hot dog or place a bet, and joined in the cheer that swept over the giant racing plant as the horses left the barrier for the first race,” the front-page spread stated.

History tells us that way back when, Santa Anita wasn't alone in racing on Christmas Day.

Thumb through chart books and old newspaper clippings, and you'll get a flavor of when Christmas in North America was more of a social holiday than a commercial one; when going to the races on Dec. 25 was a festive outing centered on celebrating with friends and strangers alike.

As far back as the 1880s and early into the 20th Century, Christmas Day racing was routine at major warm-weather North American venues such as Oakland, California; Havana, Cuba; Juarez and Tijuana in Mexico, plus at other, long-gone Thoroughbred outposts like Jefferson in Louisiana and Savannah, Georgia.

There is even evidence that “outlaw” Thoroughbred tracks in bone-chilling climes like New Jersey, Illinois, and Missouri raced on Christmas through roughly 1900, purely because people would turn out to bet on the low-level unsanctioned racing those venues offered. Action, after all, was action.

By 1938 though, Santa Anita opted to switch off of Christmas Day racing in favor of opening on New Year's Eve. That experiment didn't last, and for the better part of the next 15 seasons or so, the SoCal track's start date fluctuated within the last week of December depending on how the calendar fell.

The first Dec. 26 Santa Anita opener was not until 1949, according to a retrospective the Los Angeles Times ran in 2012: “Since 1952, the day after Christmas has been Santa Anita's opening day in all but five seasons, and all seasons since 1977. Now to open any other day would seem sacrilegious.”

The Fair Grounds in New Orleans and Tropical Park in Florida were the two main tracks on the continent that continued to card Christmas Day racing through the middle of the 20th Century.

Eventually, Florida's tracks became the only torch-carriers for Christmas Day racing in America. Calder Race Course embraced the tradition after Tropical closed in 1972, and Hialeah Park even briefly gave it a go when it reopened from closure in 1991.

Yes, Virginia, There Is…

The now-defunct Calder also often raced on Christmas Eve, too. The finale on Dec. 24, 1992, was a $7,500 claimer in which an aptly named mare called Silent Knight got pounded in the betting to 7-5 favoritism. She won, of course. The margin was a nose (presumably red).

You'd think Silent Knight's victory might go down in history as the all-time holiday hunch play.

It isn't.

That distinction belongs to a 9-year-old Canadian-bred named Santa Claus, who romped home first in a Christmas Eve claimer at the Fair Grounds in 1976, delivering a $7.20 win mutuel to his merry backers.

After arriving in the paddock with his tail tied in red and white ribbons and a festive stocking cap perched atop his head, Santa Claus trailed until the final turn in a 1 1/16 miles route race, then rushed up the rail with a flourish turning for home.

“Here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus…” the track announcer began crooning, with the crowd laughing and joining in to sing the carol, according to the Associated Press account of the race.

The Grinch Known as Simulcasting…

You can bet that Hall-of-Fame jockey Mike Smith remembers the Christmas Day he spent at Calder in 1993.

Smith, 28 at the time and just emerging as a top New York-based rider, flew to Florida because he had a chance to tie Pat Day's then-record of 60 stakes wins in a calendar year. Smith caught a big break when the holiday feature, the Tropical Park Oaks, got split into two divisions at entry time. He landed on the two favorites-and in the winner's circle-with both mounts.

“Someone up there must be looking out for me, and these horses must know,” Smith said after the wins.

Five days later, back at Aqueduct, Smith would win his 61st stakes of the year, giving him sole possession of the record (which has since been Scrooged by several other riders). The feat helped him earn his first Eclipse Award as the nation's outstanding jockey.

The following year, the 1994 Christmas Day program at Calder would turn out to be its last.

While the holiday cards were considered decent on-track days in terms of attendance and handle (6,473 people turned out to bet $925,632 on-track in 1994), by 1995 Calder management decided that it would rather forego racing on the holiday to be open the day after, when more off-track betting parlors and simulcast tracks nationwide would be open to import the signal.

Today, Camarero Race Track in Puerto Rico is the only North American track with regular racing on Christmas Day.

At all the stateside venues, not a creature is stirring, not even a mouse.

Yet it turned out that a sizable chunk of customers cried “Humbug!” when Calder pulled the plug on Christmas Day racing.

As Calder president Ken Dunn told the Miami Herald in 1995, for many people, the racetrack was a refuge (fast-forward to 2022: it still is). Particularly for the elderly who might not have family, going racing was a way to fill the hours.

Plus, Dunn added, “There are a lot of people who don't celebrate Christmas.”

Dunn's predecessor, the late Kenny Noe, who oversaw Calder during its decades-long run of holiday racing, told the Herald in that same article he had a different theory about why Christmas was so popular with racegoers.

“A lot of men would show up at the track and tell me their wives had told them to get the hell out of the house but be home by 4 o'clock for dinner,” said Noe, an old-school track exec who was never one to mince words.

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A native of Louisiana, Faucheux won his second consecutive training championship at the New Orleans oval, sending out 43 winners, a total 10 greater than Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox. Faucheux won three stakes at the meet.

James Graham won 72 races during the meeting to reign as champion jockey for the third straight season and fourth overall. Among the highlights of the season were the 27-1 upset of Call Me Midnight (Midnight Lute) in the GIII Lecomte S. in January. Mitchell Murrill, who rode his 1,000th career winner in February, brought up a total of 62 winners to fill second spot.

Benoit's Brittlyn Stables was represented by no fewer than 22 winners at the meet at a win rate of 33%, all–remarkably–sired by Star Guitar. It was the first leading owner title for Brittlyn. Chester Thomas's Allied Racing Stable was second with 14 victories.

The destruction caused by Hurricane Ida (late August/early September) offered plenty of challenges for racing officials, but , as the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, business was solid due to the tremendous support from both horseman and bettors alike.

“The damage to the barn area, parts of the facility and the loss of the infield tote board due to Hurricane Ida leading into our meet caused some challenges, but we are New Orleans, and we are resilient,” Fair Grounds Senior Director of Racing Jason Boulet said.

“We are extremely proud of everyone who came together to put out a great product on a day-in, day-out basis and as always, we are extremely grateful to the horseman for their continued support throughout the meet. The return of the fans after a difficult, prolonged stretch with the COVID-19 pandemic brought renewed energy to the racetrack, and we look forward to what should be a very special 2022-23 season.”

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“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 150^th anniversary of our inaugural season. We are very excited to continue our growth and support of the Thoroughbred racing industry with our purse allocation and this year's diverse and dynamic stakes schedule. Having not only the best fans, but also the best horsemen and jockeys from all around the world provides an unforgettable experience of high caliber racing at The Fair Grounds.”

The “Louisiana Derby Day” card on March 26 will feature eight stakes worth a total of $2.525 million, including the 109^th running of the Grade 2 $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby for 3-year-olds. Run at 1 3/16ths miles for the second time last year, the Louisiana Derby, which is worth 100-40-20-10 points to the top four finishers, is the fourth and final local prep on the Road to the Grade 1 $3 million Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve to be run at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 7. Last year's race winner Hot Rod Charlie, runner-up Midnight Bourbon, and Mandaloun, who finished sixth as the favorite, have all factored prominently in subsequent stakes events. Mandaloun finished second in the Kentucky Derby and later won the Grade 1 Haskell (via DQ). Hot Rod Charlie finished third in the Kentucky Derby, second in the Grade 1 Belmont and he recently won the Grace 1 Pennsylvania Derby over Midnight Bourbon, who was also the runner-up in the Grade 1 Preakness and the Grade 1 Travers.

Run at 1 1/16 miles, the 54^th running of the Grade 2 $400,000 Twinspires.com Fair Grounds Oaks for 3-year-old fillies offers 100-40-20-10 en route to the Grade 1 $1.25 million Longines Kentucky Oaks to be run at Churchill Downs on Friday, May 6. Last year's winner Travel Column finished fifth in the Kentucky Oaks. Runner-up Clairiere, who recently won the Grade 1 Cotillion, was fourth in the Kentucky Oaks prior to consecutive placings in the Grade 2 Mother Goose (3^rd), Grade 1 Coaching Club American Oaks (3^rd) and Grade 1 Alabama (2^nd). Third place finisher Souper Sensational has since won the Grade 3 Victory Ride and finished second in the Grade 1 Test and the Grade 2 Prioress. Obligatory followed up her fourth place run in the Fair Grounds Oaks with a win in the Grade 2 Eight Belles and a second in the Grade 1 Acorn and sixth place finisher Zaajel would later upset the Grade 2 Mother Goose.

A pair of nine furlong, high-impact stakes for older horses are also scheduled on the Louisiana Derby Day program — the Grade 2 $500,000 New Orleans Classic (purse raised by $100,000) and the Grade 2 $300,000 Muniz Memorial Stakes, to be run over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course. In addition, four undercard stakes are slated for the lucrative card, including the $100,000 Tom Benson Memorial for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on grass and a trio of Louisiana-bred events – the $75,000 Costa Rising Stakes, a 5½-furlong turf sprint, the $75,000 Crescent City Derby for 3-year-old males at 1 1/16 miles and the $75,000 Crescent City Oaks for females at 1 mile and 70 yards.

A pair of brand new 2-year-old stakes with Kentucky Derby and Oaks point implications (10-4-2-1) have been added to the Fair Grounds stakes schedule for the December 26 “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day” card. The $100,000 Gun Runner will be contested at 1 1/16ths miles and the $100,000 Untapable for fillies will be run over 1 mile 70 yards. Four supporting stakes, all for older horses, will also be offered – the $100,000 Tenacious Stakes ($25,000 purse increase) at 1 1/16ths miles, the $75,000 Buddy Diliberto Stakes at 1 1/16 miles on turf, the $75,000 Blushing K.D. for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf and the $75,000 Richie Scherer Memorial at 5 ½ furlongs on turf.

“Fair Grounds has proven to be one of the premier winter racing destinations,” said Fair Grounds' racing secretary Scott Jones. “Once again last year, the quality of horses who stabled or came through New Orleans have made a huge impact in premier stakes races all over the country. Adding the Gun Runner and the Untapable to our progressive schedule of 3-year-old races for both the boys and girls gives horsemen even more opportunity to develop their horses and compete for excellent purses.”

On Jan. 22, the “Road to the Derby Day presented by Hotel Monteleone” features a pair of key 3-year-old events — the Grade 3 $200,000 Lecomte Stakes, which was extended from a mile to 1 1/16 miles last season, and the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for fillies at 1 mile and 70 yards. The top four finishers in each race receive 10-4-2-1 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks respectively.

Four stakes for older horses will also be presented on the Jan. 22 program, including the $150,000 Louisiana Stakes, which was elevated to Grade 3 status last year and received another $25,000 purse increase for this year's renewal, at 1 1/16 miles, the $100,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes at 1 1/16 miles over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course, the $100,000 Duncan F. Kenner Stakes at 5 1/2 furlongs on the turf and the $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on grass.

On Feb. 19, “Louisiana Derby Preview Day presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln” features a pair of key 3-year-old stakes — the Grade 2 $400,000 Risen Star Stakes presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln, which was extended from 1 1/16 to 1 1/8 miles two years ago, and the Grade 2 $300,000 Rachel Alexandra Stakes presented by Fasig-Tipton, for fillies to be contested over 1 1/16 miles. The top four finishers receive 50-20-10-5 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks respectively. The Rachel Alexandra has produced the last two of the last four Kentucky Oaks winners in Monomoy Girl and Serengeti Empress and 2014 victress Untapable also took down the Run for the Lilies.

Four stakes for older horses will also be presented on the Feb. 19 program — the Grade 3 $250,000 Mineshaft Stakes at 1 1/16 miles ($50,000 purse increase), the Grade 3 $150,000 Fair Grounds Stakes at nine furlongs on turf, the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes at 5½ furlongs on turf and the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf.

Louisiana Champions Day presented by Acadian Ambulance will be held on Dec. 11. With the races run over various divisions and distances on both dirt and turf, the program features ten stakes restricted to Louisiana-breds. Each Louisiana Champions Day stakes is worth $100,000 with the exception of the Louisiana Champions Day Classic, which carries a $150,000 purse.

In addition to the Gun Runner and the Untapable, Fair Grounds has added four other new stakes to the schedule: the Joseph R. Peluso Memorial Stakes, named for the longtime racing official who passed away in January, for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on turf on November 25; the Bob Wright Memorial Stakes, named for the longtime chairman of the Louisiana Racing Commission, who passed away in March, for older horses at 1 1/16ths miles on turf on November 27; the Fred P. Aime Memorial Stakes, named for the New Orleans native and longtime jockey agent who passed away in December, for older fillies and mares at 5 ½ furlongs on turf on January 29; and the Page Cortez Stakes, named for the Louisiana senator, for older Louisiana-bred fillies and mares at 5 ½ furlongs on turf.

For the second consecutive year, the purse for the opening day Thanksgiving Classic for older male sprinters has been increased $25,000 to $150,000.

The 80-day, 2021-2022 Fair Grounds racing season runs through Sunday, March 27. Regular post time will be 1:05 p.m. CT, but there will be an earlier noon CT first post on Thanksgiving Day (Nov. 25), Louisiana Champions Day (Dec. 11), Road to the Derby Kickoff Day (Dec. 26), Road to the Derby Day (Jan. 22) Louisiana Derby Preview Day (Feb. 19) and Louisiana Derby Day (March 26).

Condition Book #1 * Index

Stakes Schedule

The post Expanded ‘Road To The Kentucky Derby’ Series Highlights Fair Grounds’ 150th Season appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Trained by New Orleans native Al Stall for a group of New Orleans businessmen and pals headed by Wilbur “Bill” Babin called FTGGG Racing and whose name references the masks worn during the city's signature Mardi Gras festivities, Masqueparade was purchased with Saratoga in mind.

Babin made his first visit to Saratoga in 2003; has come for the entire meet since 2013; and had told the veteran trainer his goal was to race at Saratoga.

Masqueparade, the second of two yearlings that FTGGG purchased on consecutive days at 2019 Keeneland September, delivered for Babin and his friends July 31 with a third-place finish in the GII Jim Dandy S., the local prep for the Travers.

“He wanted to run a horse,” Stall said. “He'd have been happy running in the maiden auction race. And now he's in the Jim Dandy and Travers. It's really an unbelievable story. Someone from New Orleans and it's not like 'let's get something for home, for Fair Grounds.' He wanted something for Saratoga and, look, he's in the mother lode with a chance to run well.”

For Babin, in particular, Masqueparade has provided him with a summer of pinch-me moments at America's oldest racetrack.

“My goal was only to saddle a horse in the paddock at Saratoga. I never in my wildest dreams dreamed that it would be in the Jim Dandy and now the Travers,” Babin said. “I told Al, jokingly, of course, when we bought the horse that I wasn't worried about slow development or anything. I wasn't worried about being in the Triple Crown. The whole goal was the Travers, was Saratoga. Literally, I was just joking and now it's come true.”

Stall has handled plenty of top graded stakes horses during his career, including champion Blame (Arch), who handed future Hall of Famer Zenyatta (Street Cry {Ire}) her only career loss in the 2010 GI Breeders' Cup Classic. He said he never considered skipping the Travers to avoid facing Essential Quality (Tapit), the winner of seven of eight lifetime starts.

“No. Been around too long,” he said. “You weren't afraid to run against Zenyatta. I have all the respect in the world for him, but it's horse racing.”

Masqueparade, the most accomplished member of Upstart's first crop, broke his maiden by a disqualification at Fair Grounds Mar. 20 in his fourth start. He showed himself to have stakes potential with a smashing allowance victory on the May 1 GI Kentucky Derby card and beat three stakes winners in the GIII Ohio Derby June 26.

Stall said that Babin told him several times that he wanted to get involved in owning Thoroughbreds. Two years ago, the bankruptcy attorney was ready. He had put together a group of seven partners, which named its stable FTGGG–For the Greater Glory of God, the motto of the Jesuit order–and had the resources to buy some horses. Guided by Stall and the husband-wife team of Frank and Daphne Wooten of Camden, S.C., they purchased two colts, Thirtyminutemass (Honor Code) for $25,000 and Masqueparade for $180,000.

Babin said that the markings on Masqueparade's face reminded the owners of the mask worn by the star of “Phantom of the Opera,” which includes the song Masquerade. The colt's name came from tweaking Masquerade, to connect it with New Orleans and Mardi Gras.

Thirtyminutemass made it to the races first in October, broke his maiden in February at Fair Grounds and was claimed for $30,000 in his next start. FTGGG was a one-horse stable, whose runner had been beaten 14 3/4 lengths in his three starts. In a span of about six weeks, though, he was moved to first by the DQ and crushed the field at Churchill Downs by 11 3/4 lengths. He completed the 1 1/8 miles in a sharp 1:48.35.

Stall said he could not explain why the bay colt ran so well a few hours before the Derby. The time was faster than the 1:48.99 turned in by Malathaat (Curlin) winning the GI Kentucky Oaks the previous day. According to Stall, he had the second-best rating number of any horse on the Derby program, trailing only the beaten Derby favorite Essential Quality, who had a wide trip.

“No earthly idea. Just Mother Nature,” Stall said. “Looks the same. Well, he might've grown a little bit, but nothing really changed. I just think a steady diet of races is what that horse needed to get him to where he is now. We didn't expect to be here in mid-February. After the March race, maybe in a little bit, but we just weren't sure where we were. He was always making mistakes in his races. He halfway put it together in the DQ race. And he put it all together at Churchill and Ohio. He's getting all furnished out for us.”

Jockey Miguel Mena, who has been up for all of Masqueparade's races, will be in town to ride Stall's first Travers starter. A field of seven, led by Essential Quality, is expected to be entered. Stall said the Travers makes sense for his colt.

“Well, it just seems like a one-horse-to-beat type of race,” he said. “We came up here with the Travers in mind. Took a nice little break between the Ohio Derby. Between shipping from Ohio and back and shipping up to Saratoga, I decided to skip a work with him. He only had two works between the five weeks and the track was deep-ish earlier in the meet. We think he needed the race a little bit, the Jim Dandy.”

Masqueparade drew post two in the Jim Dandy between two of the fastest runners in the five-horse field, Dr. Jack (Pioneerof the Nile) and Weyburn (Pioneerof the Nile), which forced Stall to ask Mena to be a bit more aggressive early.

“We weren't going to take back from them and get the shuffle,” Stall said. “We would have been last out in the backside. So, we went on with it and he ran as far as he could as hard as he could and got beat 2 3/4 lengths. He acts like that race did something for him in a positive way.”

Masqueparade breezed four furlongs in :48.11 Saturday, the 16th fastest of the 41 that worked that morning on Saratoga's main track. Stall said that at a mile and a quarter he hopes that Mena can break well and get the colt into a good rhythm, galloping near the pace with a target ahead to keep his attention.

“He's that kind of horse,” Stall said. “Maybe he's changed a little bit because he drew off well at Churchill. He might have idled a little bit at Cleveland. He made the lead kind of comfortable and they were just kind of getting to him, but you didn't get the feeling that we're going to go past him.

The trainer continued, “He's still a work in progress. I do think he should benefit, hopefully, mentally, but certainly cardio-wise from it, from the Jim Dandy.  His two works have been beautiful. [Saturday's] work was, no doubt, the best work of his career. He's not a big work horse, but he was [Saturday] for whatever reason.”

The FTGGG crew is ready, excited, Babin said, to have a horse good enough to accomplish its goal of running on Saturdays, especially at Saratoga. Stall said Masqueparade is a developing 3-year-old who deserves a chance to run in the Travers.

“I don't push horses to make it to certain races. They take us there,” he said. “So, yeah, I'm fine with it. There's been no extra pressure on my horse. No altered schedules. No nothing. Knock on wood. That's usually when horses run decent races.”

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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 Star' Travel Column (Frosted). Tom Amoss held the premiership lead until deep into the final weeks of the season and ended on 35 wins, two clear of Steve Asmussen. Joe Sharp was third with 23 wins.

“It means the world,” Faucheux said. “Being here, being from New Orleans, and coming to this track since I was a child. This is what it's all about. We have so many people that put their faith in us. I have some great owners. I have the best help. This is my track; this is the best track in the country, as far as I'm concerned, and it's a privilege and an honor to be a part of it.”

James Graham saves his best for the Big Easy and took home his third riding title with 88 victories, some 25 better than his performance in 2019-2020. He was made to work for it, however, as Adam Beschizza rode 85 winners, with Mitchell Murrill on 73.

“It means everything,” Graham said. “We kept digging away and plowing through and doing what we had to do. My stock ran really good this year and everything ran accordingly. It's been a fantastic meet. You can't race anywhere better in the wintertime; Fair Grounds is the best. I'm over the moon and ecstatic.”

There was a three-way photo for leading owner, ultimately won by Godolphin, whose 13 wins–including wins from Maxfield (Street Sense) in the Tenacious S. in December and in the GIII Mineshaft S. Feb. 13–proved narrowly better than Chester Thomas's Allied Racing Stable (12) and End Zone Athletics (11).

Track officials reported strong handle and betting support and reasoned that the elimination of the Black Gold 5, a jackpot bet that was instead replaced by early and late conventional Pick 5s, contributed to that.

“It was a meet like no other but we are extremely proud of everyone who came together to put out a great product on a day-in, day-out basis,” Fair Grounds senior director of racing Jason Boulet said. “We are extremely grateful to the horseman and our fans and bettors for their continued support throughout the meet.”

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“It was a meet like no other but we are extremely proud of everyone who came together to put out a great product on a day-in, day-out basis,” Fair Grounds' senior director of racing Jason Boulet said. “We are extremely grateful to the horseman and our fans and bettors for their continued support throughout the meet.”

The meet reached its zenith on March 20, when the Louisiana Derby highlighted a robust 14-race card that included eight stakes. Known as “the big three” for their accomplishments at the meet, Lecomte (G3) winner Midnight Bourbon, Risen Star (G2) victor Mandaloun, and Proxy, who was the runner-up in both of those races, would meet again in the Louisiana Derby, but it was Roadrunner Racing, Boat Racing, and William Strauss' California invader Hot Rod Charlie who would post the gate to wire victory for trainer of record Leandro Mora (Doug O'Neill). The Oxbow colt earned 100 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve in the process.

The co-featured TwinSires.com Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) once again played out to be a key prep for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1). Carded one race prior to the Louisiana Derby, the Fair Grounds Oaks was billed as the battle between budding rivals in OXO Equine's Travel Column, trained by Brad Cox, and Stonestreet Stables' homebred Clairiere, trained by Steve Asmussen. The pair had split their previous two encounters, with Travel Column taking the Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill and Clairiere turning the tables in locally run Rachel Alexandra (G2) in February. Travel Column got the jump on Clairiere to win the Fair Grounds Oaks, and the duo once again ran one-two in what was a sure precursor to the Kentucky Oaks.

In a race that brought that much more of a national scope to one of the biggest days of the year in New Orleans, Robert and Lawana Low's Colonel Liam, arguably the best turf course in the country off his win in the Pegasus World Cup Turf (G1), invaded to take the Muniz Memorial Classic (G2) for trainer Todd Pletcher.

The Louisiana Derby Day card also marked the return of a small number of fans to Fair Grounds for the first time in over a year as the effects of COVID-19 forced the track to conduct live racing with no patrons, as only essential employees, licensed horsemen (including owners) and credentialed media were allowed on track. A select group of tickets were sold to the general public and marked a welcome, albeit brief, return of the fans who have long supported local racing and made Fair Grounds one of the best racing venues in the country.

Trainer Ron Faucheux won his coveted first ever trainer's title with 40 wins, while dethroning four-time defending champion and Eclipse Award winner Brad Cox (37 wins) in the process. Both 11-time local titlist Tom Amoss (35), as well as Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen (33), made runs at Faucheux, with the former holding the lead for much of the meet, while Joe Sharp completed the top-5 with 23 wins. Faucheux scored a stakes win with Monte Man in the Louisiana Champions Day Sprint in December and in the end the New Orleans native was too strong from start-to-finish to secure a title that clearly hit close to home.

“It means the world,” Faucheux said. “Being here, being from New Orleans and coming to this track since I was a child. This is what it's all about. We have so many people that put their faith in us. I have some great owners. I have the best help. This is my track; this is the best track in the country, as far as I'm concerned, and it's a privilege and an honor to be a part of it.”

Cox, who was in contention for a five-peat until the penultimate day of racing, left with plenty of hardware of his own. He won the Oaks with Travel Column and the Risen Star (G2) Presented by Lamarque Ford-Lincoln with Mandaloun, along with three other stakes. Asmussen had a strong meet as well, winning six stakes. Clairiere's win in the Rachel Alexandra was the barn highlight, though Midnight Bourbon flashed his Kentucky Derby form when he won the Lecomte (G3) in January to kick off the local 3-year-old stakes series. Asmussen also posted his remarkable 100th career Fair Grounds stakes when Joy's Rocket captured the Letellier Memorial on December 19.

James Graham not only repeated to win the jockey's title for the third time, but he obliterated his total of 63 wins last year, posting a seismic 88 on the board to hold off Adam Beschizza (85), with Mitchell Murrill (73) nabbing a podium finish as well. Colby Hernandez (69) bested his brother Brian (56) to round out the top-5.

“It means everything,” Graham said. “We kept digging away and plowing through and doing what we had to do. My stock ran really good this year and everything ran accordingly. It's been a fantastic meet. You can't race anywhere better in the wintertime; Fair Grounds is the best. I'm over the moon and ecstatic.”

Beschizza, buoyed by eight stakes wins, led all jockeys in purses earned with $3,115,764, edging Graham, who checked in with $2,996,153. Brian Hernandez Jr. and Florent Geroux also enjoyed strong meets with seven stakes wins apiece.

The owners' race went down to the wire as well, with Godolphin edging Chester Thomas' Allied Racing Stable 13-12, with End Zone Athletics checking in third with 11. Maggi Moss (9) was fourth, with Evelyn Benoit's Brittlyn Stable, Wayne T. Davis (8), Whispering Oaks Farm, and Winalot Racing rounding out the top-5 with eight wins apiece.

Godolphin led in purses won with $767,440, with the heavy lifting coming from Maxfield, who scored stakes wins in the Tenacious in December and Louisiana (G3) in January for trainer Brendan Walsh. In addition, their Proxy was second in the in the Lecomte and Risen Star, and fourth in the Derby, for trainer Mike Stidham.

Twelve horses won at least three races at the meet, with All Fact and Treys Midnight Moon leading the way with four each. Big Time, Dalika (Ger), Elle Z, Logical Myth, Maxfield all won two stakes at the meet.

On Saturday, February 27, Fair Grounds hosted “New Vocations Day at the Races”. Hosted on the simulcast show by retired jockey Rosie Napravnik, a four-time local champion, and Fair Grounds personality Joe Kristufek, the event was created in order to raise the awareness of all aspects of racehorse aftercare. In addition to on-line donations, several jockeys, trainers and owners contributed a percentage of that day's earnings, and over $8,000 was raised to help support the Louisiana division of New Vocations.

Both Handle and betting support were strong from Opening Day to Closing Day, no doubt helped by the elimination of the Black Gold 5, a jackpot Pk5 bet which was replaced by a traditional early and late Pk5, which were welcomed by handicappers. As a result, from the strong simulcast handle, management was able to raise purses 10% across the board three separate times at the meet, which only strengthened an already sterling local product. And while the often-unpredictable local weather made turf racing a challenge, racing secretary Scott Jones was more than happy with the end result, while eagerly looking ahead to a milestone 150th season next November.

“We would like to thank all the horsemen for their continued support which makes Fair Grounds one of the premier winter destinations and I'm looking forward to our 150th season,” Jones said. “Considering it was one of the wettest winters in New Orleans and all the other challenges, handle was very strong and we were able to raise purses three times at the meet.”

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