Fair Grounds

2nd-CD, $134K, OC, 3yo, f, 6f, 6:28 p.m. A pair of fillies will look to stay unbeaten in their third career starts at Churchill Downs on Friday evening. 'TDN Rising Star' SUNDAY SHOES (Pioneerof the Nile) came from off the pace breaking her maiden sprinting at Turfway Park Feb. 15, then got up by 3/4 of a length in Florence Apr. 1 in the Serena's Song S. over next-out stakes winner Jill Jitterbug (Cross Traffic). The $500,000 Keeneland September Yearling sale purchase trained by Wesley Ward counts among her female...

The 2023 Claiming Crown will be staged for the first time since 2011 at the Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans on Saturday, Dec. 2, the National HBPA and the TOBA said in a joint release early on Thursday. The event will feature eight races totaling $1 million in base purses, headlined by the $200,000 Claiming Crown Jewel. Eric Hamelback, CEO of the National HBPA said, "The Claiming Crown was designed to celebrate our hard-knocking, unsung heroes of the turf. What better place--especially for our 25th running--than...

3rd-Keeneland, $98,610, Msw, 4-27, 3yo, f, 7f, 1:27.71, ft, 11 lengths. ARDEN'S ASSAULT (f, 3, Violence--Can't Explain {SW & GSP, $219,809}, by Not For Love), debuted to be third when routing in a rained-off event Mar. 18 at the Fair Grounds, made the trek to Keeneland and entered the gate Thursday with added blinkers as the 2-1 choice in a tightly-bunched wagering field. Pushed for speed early by Luis Saez, she stormed to the front along the rail and was never challenged through a half in :46.04. In a one-horse...

The colt had been getting a little fractious in the gate and now he half sat down: too low for Jareth Loveberry to climb out, but not low enough to scramble underneath. "Get me out!" the jockey hollered. He was just trying to lift himself clear when his mount came back up and pinned a calf against the steel. The pain was excruciating. It was only five seconds or so before they got the gate open but that was enough, as they stretched him out, for the agony to be...

Godolphin homebred First Mission, coming off an impressive maiden-breaking score at Fair Grounds last month, made the jump to graded company with aplomb, striding home a determined victor of the GIII Stonestreet Lexington S. at Keeneland Saturday. Sent off at 2-1, the dark bay colt sat just off pacesetting Arabian Lion through fractions of :24.12 and :48.01. He cut the corner into the stretch as the pacesetter drifted out into the lane and gamely persevered as that foe drifted back in on him and he was inching clear late. "This...

On the surface, trainer Ron Faucheux could not have been doing any better. He came out of the Fair Grounds meet on Mar. 26 with his third straight training title at the New Orleans track, his 42 winners five more than Bret Calhoun and Brad Cox. He had a career best 81 winners in 2022 and his stable earned $2,066,757. But when Louisiana racing moved to Evangeline Downs last week, Faucheux was conspicuously absent from the entries. The latest horsemen to say it has simply become too difficult for a...

New Orleans native Ron Faucheux earned his third consecutive training title with 42 wins at the Fair Grounds meeting which concluded Sunday. The trainer's title went down to meet's last day as Bret Calhoun, the early leader who was in search of his first local crown, and four-time champ Brad Cox were both in striking range, but had to settle for a tie for second with 37 wins apiece. With 64 wins, Rey Gutierrez captured the first leading rider title of his young career. The 27-year-old's top moment came when...

Spendthrift Farm's Kingsbarns (c, 3, Uncle Mo--Lady Tapit, by Tapit) made it a perfect three-for-three in a dominating, front-running performance in Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. 'TDN Rising Star' Disarm (Gun Runner) was second; 'TDN Rising Star' Jace's Road (Quality Road) was third. Well-backed at odds of 9-2 from a 6-1 morning-line quote, Kingsbarns was sent to the front by Flavien Prat from post six and led the way through easy fractions of :24.71 and :49.60 with Jace's Road shadowing in second. Kingsbarns began to shake free...

Southlawn (f, 3, Pioneerof the Nile--Mo d'Amour, by Uncle Mo), a runaway, eight-length optional claiming winner at Fair Grounds with first-time Lasix in her sophomore debut Feb. 17, ran back to that effort in a big way to upset Saturday's GII Fair Grounds Oaks. Drawn on the fence, the 7-1 chance trailed the field of five heading into the clubhouse turn. Southlawn traveled nicely in an inside fourth down the backstretch and set her sights on the top two as they straightened. Last out GII Rachel Alexandra S. heroine and...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 1st-AQU, $80K, Msw, 3yo/up, 6 1/2f, 1:20 p.m. Trainer Chad Brown has Aqueduct's first race on closing day bookended with a pair of firsters from his shedrow in OCASEK (Candy Ride {Arg}), who draws the rail with Dylan Davis aboard and to the outside ARMY TIMES (Into Mischief) with Manny Franco in the irons. Both have a Candy Ride connection as the former, who was a $440,000 '21 FTSAUG  purchase by Spendthrift Farm, was sired by him, while the latter's dam, MGSW & MGISP Paid...

Sponsored by Alex Nichols Agency 2nd-FG, $75K, Msw, 3yo, 6f, 1:30 p.m. Closing weekend at the Fair Grounds includes a pair of important maiden races on Saturday, as Juddmonte homebred CASTLEWARDEN (Into Mischief) heads to post four under Lasix as the morning line 5-2 favorite. Trained by Brad Cox and with the services of Florent Geroux, he is a full-brother to GII Pat O'Brien S. victor Laurel River. Castlewarden's dam Calm Water (Empire Maker) is a full-sister to MGISW Emollient, who herself has produced French GSW Raclette (GB) (Frankel {GB})...

First Mission (c, 3, Street Sense--Elude, by Medaglia d'Oro), a strong second on debut behind his highly regarded Brad Cox-trained stablemate Bishops Bay (Uncle Mo) with a gaudy 96 Beyer sprinting at Fair Grounds Feb. 18, ran to the money as the 1-5 favorite with a 'TDN Rising Star' performance in his two-turn debut in New Orleans Saturday. Fractious in the gate, the Godolphin homebred shot out to front and bobbled slightly shortly after the start. The blinkered dark bay recovered nicely and tracked in the garden spot in second....