The 140th Thoroughbred racing season at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots includes more major stakes days, new trainers, and an expanded wagering menu.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
A new night racing experience with specialty drinks, live music by The Wise Guys, and charbroiled oysters will take place at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots in New Orleans on three Friday nights.
Saturday, January 09, 2010
We caught up with trainer Al Stall Jr. Dec. 14 as his last training set of the day went out and asked him five questions.
Monday, December 14, 2009
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has put together a $200,000 stakes race for older fillies and mares in hopes of luring Horse of the Year candidate Rachel Alexandra for her 2010 debut.
Tuesday, December 08, 2009
A collection of familiar faces to Fair Grounds Race Course and Slots will line up Feb. 7 in the Mineshaft Handicap (gr. III), which is part of the six-stakes "Louisiana Derby Preview Day" card scheduled for the New Orleans-area track.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009
The field that has passed the entry box for the Feb. 7 Fair Grounds Handicap (gr. IIIT) makes for an intriguing handicapping puzzle. The cast, which is about evenly split with horses making their first start off a layoff and those with some recent Fair Grounds experience, is long on back class, but a bit light on early pace.
Tuesday, February 03, 2009Mark Conner, a 16-year veteran of the gaming industry, has been named the new director of marketing at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008On the third anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, horse owners and veterinarians in the New Orleans, La., area are fleeing ahead of Gustav, a storm the National Weather Service says is likely to become a "large, powerful hurricane as it approaches the northern Gulf Coast."
Friday, August 29, 2008
Louisiana native Jason Boulet has been named racing secretary at Fair Grounds. Boulet, 39, has served as racing secretary at Evangeline Downs in Opelousas, La., since 2005.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Fair Grounds will expand its racing season by two weeks next season and begin a locally-based meet prior to Thanksgiving for the first time in nearly 30 years, track president Randy Soth announced April 15.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
With his conditional license revoked in California and no chance to apply there until Dec. 31, Patrick Valenzuela is shifting his tack to Louisiana.
Tuesday, February 05, 2008Of all the challenges that Fair Grounds president Randy Soth has faced over a 25-year career in Thoroughbred racing, none has equaled the experience of rebuilding the New Orleans track following the destruction of Hurricane Katrina.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006Fair Grounds is set to open Thanksgiving Day, marking the return of live racing to the New Orleans track following the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. The meet is scheduled to run Nov.23-March 25, with 81 days of racing. The main reconstruction of the facility has been completed.
Thursday, November 09, 2006Fair Grounds Race Course president Randall E. Soth announced Friday that the New Orleans track's first meet since Hurricane Katrina will offer a record stakes schedule worth more than $7.7 million, the highest totals in the track's 134-year history.
Friday, August 11, 2006The Louisiana State Racing Commission unanimously approved Fair Grounds' application to host an 81-day meet in 2006-07.
Tuesday, April 25, 2006Fair Grounds has applied to the Louisiana State Racing Commission to host an 81-day meet in 2006-2007 at its facility in New Orleans, president and general manager Randy Soth said April 14.
Friday, April 14, 2006As Churchill Downs Inc. continues to assess whether Fair Grounds will be ready to host its 2006-07 meet beginning in late November, the president of the Louisiana Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association said anything less than a live meet in New Orleans would bring "strong opposition" from the organization.
Monday, January 30, 2006Churchill Downs Inc. president and chief executive officer Tom Meeker said that in the weeks since Hurricane Katrina devastated CDI-owned Fair Grounds in New Orleans, the company has been working with federal, state, and local governments on a reinvestment plan that could include revamping the historic racetrack into a tourist destination.
Tuesday, November 08, 2005Churchill Downs Inc. is now in contact with more than 70% of its 500 Louisiana employees who scattered to areas around the country in the evacuation of New Orleans prior to Hurricane Katrina's arrival.
Tuesday, September 13, 2005"If you love animals like I love animals, you'd stick with it, too. We did what we had to do to save them."
Thursday, September 08, 2005Evangeline Downs Racetrack & Casino will donate 100% of its revenue from its Sept. 4 racing program to the Acadiana Chapter of the Red Cross Relief Fund to assist those impacted by Hurricane Katrina.
Thursday, September 01, 2005The Thoroughbred Racing Associations is attempting to find a new location for its International Simulcast Conference, which was to take place in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans in about a month.
Thursday, September 01, 2005Officials in New Orleans are studying whether slot machines at Fair Grounds would conflict with a restriction in the city charter that limits gambling to a downtown casino.
Wednesday, March 23, 2005Punch Appeal will be seeking her sixth career stakes win when she contests Saturday's $100,000 Tiffany Lass Stakes at Fair Grounds. The Tiffany Lass is the first in a series of three 3-year-old filly stakes leading up to the $300,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (gr. II) March 12 at the New Orleans oval.
Tuesday, January 11, 2005Biloxi Palace, a two-time winner at Fair Grounds, is looking to make a name for himself along the VISA Triple Crown trail with a solid performance in Saturday's $100,000 Lecomte Stakes (gr. III) at Fair Grounds. The LeComte is the first in a three-race series leading up to the March 12 Louisiana Derby (gr. II).
Tuesday, January 11, 2005Stakes winners Clock Stopper and Gold Storm highlight a field of six sprinters pointed toward Sunday's $60,000 Colonel Power Handicap, going six-furlongs at Fair Grounds. The two runners last met at Lone Star Park in the Breeders' Cup Sprint (gr. I), where Clock Stopper finished sixth and Gold Storm finished ninth.
Friday, January 07, 2005An emphasis on four major event days highlights the stakes schedule for Fair Grounds' 133rd season of racing. The schedule includes 53 stakes offering nearly $5.9 million in purses.
Friday, October 15, 2004Churchill Downs Inc. has named Randall Soth president and general manager of Fair Grounds in New Orleans. The announcement was made Sept. 30 by CDI's executive vice president and chief operating officer Andrew Skehan, to whom Soth will report.
Thursday, September 30, 2004The U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, has approved Churchill Downs Incorporated's $47-million purchase of Fair Grounds, according to a release from Churchill Downs. CDI, the Fair Grounds Corporation, and Louisiana Horseman's Benevolent and Protective Association are expected to close the transaction on or before Oct. 15.
Friday, September 24, 2004The 2003 Horse of the Year, Mineshaft, his trainer, and his regular rider make up three-fourths of the induction class of 2005 for the Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame, track officials announced Sept. 21.
Wednesday, September 22, 2004Because of anticipated inclement weather conditions as a result of Hurricane Ivan, all Finish Line off-track betting locations in southeast Louisiana will be closed Wednesday.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004A bankruptcy auction for Fair Grounds has been tentatively set for Aug. 16, pending approval of an amended bankruptcy plan that was scheduled to be filed by the New Orleans, La., racetrack June 23.
Monday, June 21, 2004A field of eight older horses, including last year's Kentucky Derby (gr. I) and Preakness Stakes (gr. I) winner Funny Cide, was entered Friday for Sunday's $500,000 New Orleans Handicap (gr. II) at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans.
Friday, February 27, 2004Jockey Shane Sellers will return to the saddle Saturday at Churchill Downs when he pilots five horses, including Quick Tip in the $150,000 Cardinal Handicap (gr. IIT) and Eugene's Third Son in a 6 1/2-furlong optional allowance race. Saturday's mounts will be first for Sellers since he broke his tailbone in a freak Nov. 6 paddock accident.
Thursday, November 20, 2003Slot machines at Fair Grounds would generate $2 million to $3 million a year to supplement purses, according to figures released by state officials in Louisiana.
Tuesday, September 16, 2003Among the bills pre-filed in advance of the general legislative session in Louisiana is a measure to allow slot machines at Fair Grounds, the Times-Picayune reported today.
Thursday, March 27, 2003Fair Grounds canceled racing for today because of heavy rains that have hit the New Orleans area.
Friday, February 21, 2003Fair Grounds Race Course will decrease its purses, effective with this Saturday's card, track officials announced Monday.
Monday, February 10, 2003This year Fair Grounds will offer expanded television coverage, a new look for its web site, and eight graded stakes races.
Wednesday, November 27, 2002A field of 14 older horses, including six graded stakes winners, has entered for Sunday's $700,000 Explosive Bid Handicap (gr. IIT) at the Fair Grounds.
Friday, March 22, 2002Fair Grounds in New Orleans will kick off its 130th season Thanksgiving Day with daily average purses of more than $270,000 a day. The 89-day meet will run through March 25 and feature 60 stakes headlined by the $750,000 Louisiana Derby, a grade II event set for March 10.
Tuesday, November 20, 2001
Copyright © 2012 Blood-Horse Publications. All rights reserved internationally.
