Fair Grounds

It's come down to the last few preps. An outstanding field will meet Friday at Keeneland in the GI Ashland S. Four horses on our Top 10 list will take part in that race. At Aqueduct, they'll be vying for a spot in the field for the GI Kentucky Oaks in the GIII Gazelle S. At Santa Anita, fillies will contest the GII Santa Anita Oaks, but the horse expected to be he heavy favorite, Kinza (Carpe Diem), is trained by Bob Baffert and is therefore ineligible to run in...

Things are heating up and the prospective field for the GI Kentucky Oaks is starting to take shape. Tarifa (Bernardini) won the GII Fair Grounds Oaks last Saturday and is very much looking like the horse to beat in the Kentucky Oaks. At Turfway Park, the former claimer Everland (Arrogate) earned her way into the Oaks with a win in the Bourbonette Oaks. Two huge preps will be run this Saturday--the GII Gulfstream Park Oaks and the GIII Fantasy at Oaklawn. Here's a look at the latest installment of our...

Eyeballing the quarter pole in Saturday's GII Louisiana Derby, it may have seemed that the Albaugh Family's Catching Freedom (Constitution) had far too much to do to even get a piece of it. However, what seemed like a foregone conclusion to some proved nothing more than a fleeting illusion as the colt closed by leaps and bounds to get up just in time to win by 1 1/4 lengths, earning 100 Kentucky Derby points in the process. Breaking from the 12 hole, GIII Lecomte S. scorer Track Phantom (Quality Road)...

Godolphin's Tarifa (Bernardini) extended her win streak to three with a professional score in Saturday's GII Fair Grounds Oaks. Installed the 3-2 choice ahead of GII Golden Rod S. victress Intricate (Gun Runner), the Godolphin homebred broke well and wrestled her rider Flavien Prat into contention as 4-1 Our Pretty Woman (Medaglia d'Oro) led the way through a :23.84 quarter. Continuing to fight for her head through a half in :47.93, she was finally given some rein and duly responded, closing on the frontrunner turning for home. Taking over turning...

Lance Gasaway, 4G Racing and Daniel Hamby III's Mystik Dan (Goldencents) worked five furlongs in 1:01.80 (20/34) over a fast track at the Fair Grounds Saturday morning. Trained by Ken McPeek, the winner of the Feb. 3 GIII Southwest S. is expected to ship to Oaklawn Wednesday in advance of a tilt at the $1.5-million GI Arkansas Derby Mar. 30. McPeek opted to train Mystik Dan up to the Arkansas Derby, which could award as many as 200 qualifying points to its top five eligible finishers (100-50-25-15-10, respectively) for Kentucky...

The road to the GI Kentucky Derby kicks into high gear with Saturday's GII TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds and GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park. Over the next three weekends, there will be eight "Championship Series" races that will award Derby points to the top five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale. Drawn widest of all in post 12, GIII Lecomte S. Jan. 20 winner and GII Risen Star S. Feb. 17 runner-up Track Phantom (Quality Road) looks like the one to catch in the Louisiana Derby. Hall...

5th-FG, $75K, MSW, 3yo, 6f, 3:00 p.m. CORPORAL (Gun Runner) went the way of partners Mrs. John Magnier, Michael B. Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, John Oxley and Breeze Easy on a final bid of $1.15-million at the 2022 Keeneland September Sale. His dam MSW/MGSP Kathballu (Bluegrass Cat) is a full-sister MGSW/GISP Kathmanblu, and this is also the family of $1.15-million Stonestreet broodmare GISW Friendly Michelle (Artax). Corporal has flashed speed in the morning, firing bullets in three of his last four works and Flavien Prat takes the reins Saturday afternoon...

Track Phantom was one of the last yearlings that the L and N Racing crew looked at ahead of the 2022 Keeneland September Sale. The Quality Road colt from the Taylor Made consignment stayed at the forefront of their minds and they took home the yearling, who was the second foal out of 2017 GII Raven Run S. winner Miss Sunset (Into Mischief), for $500,000. "We just fell in love with him," recalled Michael Levinson, the racing manager and one of the four partners that make up L &N Racing....

NBC Sports will present live coverage of the $1-million GII Louisiana Derby, a key prep race ahead of the 150th GI Kentucky Derby, this Saturday, Mar. 23, live at 6 p.m. ET on CNBC and Peacock from Fair Grounds Race Course. The hour-long program will also feature the $700,000 GIII Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park and the GII Fair Grounds Oaks. 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,...

GII Risen Star S. runner up Track Phantom (Quality Road) headlines the field for Saturday's GII Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds. The race draw also named the GIII Lecomte S. winner, who will break widest of the field in gate 12, as the 3-1 morning-line favorite. 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...

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.

The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association will have a nearly $6,000,000 stakes schedule this year the LTBA announced Tuesday. Offered over 67 stakes races, of which 33 will offer a purse of over $100,000, the purses are part of a continuing program to support accredited Louisiana-breds along with incentives for breeders and stallion owners. "We are proud to offer a dynamic stakes program that provides a year-round schedule for Accredited Louisiana breds," said LTBA secretary-treasurer Roger Heitzmann III. "Our owners and trainers have found this to be a tremendous benefit, and...