GII Louisiana Derby

The Louisiana Racing Commission went back to square one Friday, announcing that it will adhere to the guidelines set by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) regarding medications. The move came just nine days after the commission announced an emergency set of rules that were about to take effect and would have meant that Louisiana had, by far, the most lenient medications policies in the U.S. The withdrawal times for dozens of medications had been reduced and the threshold levels had been increased. The laundry list of changes included...

by J. N. Campbell Looking strong as an oak in the GIII Ben Ali S. at Keeneland, Kingsbarns (Uncle Mo) cleared professionally down the lane to take home his second graded stakes trophy for Spendthrift's case on Saturday afternoon. The 2023 GII Louisiana Derby winner finished 14th behind Mage (Good Magic) in the GI Kentucky Derby before completing his 3-year-old year when he was beaten only a neck as the heavy favorite in the Pegasus S. at Monmouth June 17. After a nine-month hiatus, Kingsbarns returned to Gulfstream Park Mar....

Due to heavy rainfall forecasted for the New Orleans area Sunday, Fair Grounds has canceled their Sunday race card. The cancellation, which was announced during the live draw for Saturday's GII Louisiana Derby, will impact racing during the track's closing weekend next Saturday and Sunday with both days carding extra races to make up for the loss. Racing will resume at Fair Grounds Wednesday, March 20.

After a team effort, Old Friends in Georgetown, Kentucky, welcomed GSW Noble Indy (Take Charge Indy) on Thursday, Dec. 7, the retirement farm said in a release Friday. The 8-year old bay gelding, who ran in the 2018 GI Kentucky Derby, was repatriated from Puerto Rico thanks to the efforts of Fred Hart, who became a big fan of the horse due to his ownership of his dam, Noble Maz; Kelley Stobie, owner of Caribbean Thoroughbred Aftercare, which has assisted many Thoroughbreds in Puerto Rico; and Mike Repole, Noble Indy's...

Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable's 'TDN Rising Star' Forte (Violence) returned to training Friday morning for his last local work before shipping to Louisville to begin final preparations for the GI Kentucky Derby. Working in company with Bright Future, a 4-year-old son of Curlin, the Derby favorite went a half-mile in :50.28 at Palm Beach Downs for trainer Todd Pletcher, according to Mike Welsch of DRF. "With Forte we were just looking for a nice, easy first work back. He ran in the Florida Derby 13 days ago and...

While the first Saturday in May is still six weeks away, the trail to the GI Kentucky Derby reaches its boiling point in New Orleans Saturday with the conclusion of the Fair Grounds prep series--the GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. One of a pair of Derby points races happening within 20 minutes of one another Saturday, the Louisiana Derby offers 100-40-30-20-10 points and all but guarantees the winner a slot in the gate at Churchill Downs May 6. Currently 10th on the leaderboard--the highest of the runners in the field--Instant Coffee...

A pair of battle-tested performers in their 3-year-old categories, Nest and Epicenter showed grit and determination versus some stiff competition along the Derby and Oaks Trails. NEST When all the votes were tallied, the title for the 2022 champion 3-year-old filly division went for the second consecutive year to another uber-talented daughter of Curlin out of an A.P. Indy mare. Also trained by Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher, Nest follows in the footsteps of 2021 3-year-old filly champion Malathaat, who employed a similar route to Eclipse success, including wins in...

Fasig-Tipton has added seven supplemental entries to Monday's July Selected Horses of All Ages sale including a lifetime breeding right to young stallion Girvin (Tale of Ekati-Catch the Moon, by Malibu Moon) as HIP 611. The freshman sire is off to a quick start at stud with his first crop of two-year-olds in 2022, siring five winners from eight runners to date. These include the undefeated Devious Dame, who captured the Astoria S. at Belmont on June 9 in a 5 1/4-length romp. Girvin sired two more maiden special weight...

Winchell-owned and Steve Asmussen-trained Epicenter (Not This Time) gave his connections a sweep of the day's 3-year-old features, scoring a good-looking victory in the GII Louisiana Derby just one race after his champion stablemate Echo Zulu (Gun Runner) took the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. The victory puts Epicenter back at the top of the GI Kentucky Derby leaderboard. The even-money favorite established position on the rail, sitting in a close third as 'TDN Rising Star' Zozos (Munnings) carved out splits of :23.27 and :47.35 with Pioneer of Medina (Pioneerof the...