Three longtime veterans of the New Orleans press corps will be inducted into the Press Box Hall of Fame at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots during ceremonies to be held following the races March 12.
New Orleans natives Glenn Gremillion, who started with the Fair Grounds television department in 1972; A. J. Paretti, who began his Fair Grounds career as a chart maker in 1991 for Daily Racing Form; and track photographer Lou Hodges Jr., who joined his track photographer/father in a professional capacity in 1976, will become the three latest Press Box Hall of Fame members during ceremonies in the Black Gold Room.
Those three, all sexagenarians now but with childhood memories at the local racetrack, will be honored as part of a dual ceremony to be held in conjunction with this year's latest additions to the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame, which honors owners, trainers, jockeys, and horses that have played a significant role in local racing lore.
Those who will be inducted into the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame, which currently has 124 members, are expected to be announced later in January, but Gremillion, Paretti, and Hodges will expand the list of Press Box Hall of Fame members to 34.