Fair Grounds

When Perry Ouzts wired the field aboard an 8-1 maiden filly named Caberneigh (Munnings) at Turfway Park last Wednesday night, the 69-year-old jockey established a milestone that garnered little notice in the racing world. The victory extended Ouzts's remarkable streak of having ridden at least one winner in a calendar year to 52 consecutive seasons. Think about the scope of that accomplishment for a moment. On Apr. 2, 1973, Ouzts, then 18, rode his first lifetime winner on just his second day as a licensed apprentice, guiding home an Ohio-bred...

A day after Track Phantom (Quality Road)'s win in the GIII Lecomte S. at Fair Grounds Saturday, trainer Steve Asmussen was already looking forward to starting the 3-year-old colt in the Feb. 17 GII Risen Star S. The sophomore, who ended 2023 with a win in the Gun Runner S., will be following the same New Orleans path to the GI Kentucky Derby that Asmussen used for Epicenter (Not This Time) two years ago. Epicenter won the Gun Runner in 2021 and finished second in the Lecomte to begin his...

Favored in the betting right up until the final bit of money poured into the pools, Track Phantom (Quality Road) took control of Saturday's GIII Lecomte S. at a chilly Fair Grounds Racecourse right from the opening bell and never looked like losing, leading past every pole to pick up 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Having earned 10 points for his victory in the local Gun Runner S. at the tail end of 2023, Track Phantom now sits atop the leaderboard with GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile...

FMQ Stables' Saudi Crown (Always Dreaming) bossed his five overmatched rivals from the front to take out Saturday's GIII Louisiana S. at the Fair Grounds, a perfect lead-up into the $20-million G1 Saudi Cup at King Abdulaziz Racecourse in Riyadh in five weeks' time . Appearing for the first time since weakening to 10th behind the Saudi Cup-bound White Abarrio (Race Day) in the GI Breeders' Cup Classic 11 weeks back, the odds-on pop won the break from gate three and set the pace into the first turn as Tenacious...

Fresh off a second-place performance over course and distance in the Untapable S. Dec. 23, West Omaha managed to do one better and pick up an additional 20 points on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks Saturday with her win in the Silverbulletday S. With a total of 30 points, the homebred daughter of Gary and Mary West's young stallion West Coast now sits second behind GI Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies winner Just F Y I (Justify) on the 2024 Oaks leaderboard. Never favored in any of her three prior...

Hall of Fame (c, 3, Gun Runner--Flag Day, by Giant's Causeway), a $1.4-million Fasig-Tipton Saratoga yearling purchase, ran to his lofty purchase price with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance for Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen at second asking at Fair Grounds Saturday. The 4-5 favorite was ridden early while passing the stands for the first time and secured a tracking trip in a joint second through a quarter mile in :23.30. He turned up the heat beneath Joel Rosario while racing on the inside of the leader heading into the...

Disarm (c, 4, Gun Runner--Easy Tap, by Tapit), sidelined since finishing a closing second behind Arcangelo (Arrogate) in the GI Travers S. at Saratoga Aug. 26, has returned to training with Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen at the Fair Grounds. A respectable fourth at 27-1 in the GI Kentucky Derby, last term's GIII Matt Winn S. winner and GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby runner-up exited his second-place finish in the Travers with bone bruising, per David Fiske, longtime advisor to owner/breeder Ron Winchell. "He was walking visibly off after the Travers,"...

Like one of those old split-flap mechanical signs at train stations, everyone knows that in the new year the 'Run for the Roses' leaderboard will fluctuate. Week-to-week, the top points begin to compound--from 20 to the winner Saturday and going as high as 100 to the winner come April. The trail to Derby 150 begins a much steeper ascent on Saturday at Fair Grounds in New Orleans as the GIII Lecomte S. offers 3-year-old colts 20-10-6-4-2 that can be applied to Bank of Churchill. This year's edition pits a field...

1st-SA, $65K, Msw, 3yo, 6 1/2f, 3:30 p.m. A pair of pricey Bob Baffert stablemates make their anticipated debuts Saturday to open the card at Santa Anita. NORMANDY LANDING (Gun Runner), out of a daughter of MGISW and Kentucky Oaks heroine Flute (Seattle Slew), brought $1,050,000 from the 'Avengers' as a yearling at Keeneland. Dam Perfect Flute, who has already produced this runner's winning full-sibling, is herself a half to GSW/MGISP Filimbi (Mizzen Mast) and to the dams of GSW Current (Curlin) and GISW Weep No More (Mineshaft). He'll break...

Godolphin's First Mission (Street Sense) continued preparations for the Jan. 27 GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational with a bullet five-furlong work in 1:00.00 (1/51) at Fair Grounds Saturday. "He's a great work horse," trainer Brad Cox said Sunday. "He's continued to do the same here at the Fair Grounds in preparing for the Pegasus. He looked fantastic this morning. We actually took him to the track today [jogging a mile Sunday] because we're due some cold weather in the next few days and we may miss a day of training....

Strong handle during the first seven weeks of the 152nd racing season has prompted a 10% purse increase across the board, in addition to $25,000 added to the purses of 10 stakes, announced Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Tuesday. "We're extremely excited to announce a 10% increase to our daily purse structure along with the $25,000 boost to 10 stakes," Fair Grounds' racing secretary Scott Jones said. "Based on the strong early handle returns and continued support from our owners, horsemen, and horseplayers, we are in a position to...

'TDN Rising Star' First Mission (Street Sense) worked a five-furlong bullet in 1:00.20 (1/48) Friday morning at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans in preparation for the $3-million GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream Park Jan. 27. The GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. winner and GII Clark S. runner-up worked shortly before 6 a.m. with exercise rider Kelvin Perez aboard. "It was a really, really good breeze," trainer Brad Cox said. "I know that's typical trainer talk but he's a good work horse. He was by...