Barn Notes
Legend of LaCombe Lives in Louisiana Lore
FAIR GROUNDS BARN NOTES
Headlines for Friday, March 14, 2008
· Legend of LaCombe Lives in Louisiana Lore
· Asmussen Reaches 80
· La.-Breds Loom Large for Nine-Stakes Closing Weekend
· Elvis in the Building for Successful Crawfish Boil
Legend of LaCombe Lives in Louisiana Lore
NEW ORLEANS, La. – Saturday’s headline attraction at Fair Grounds is the inaugural running of the Allen “Black Cat” LaCombe Memorial Handicap, and although Fair Grounds’ long-time publicity director died in 1989, his legend remains large at Fair Grounds, all over his native New Orleans and throughout the world of Thoroughbred racing.
“He was a treasure,” said Bob Fortus, who has been the turf writer and handicapper for The Times-Picayune for more than two decades. “He was a good friend. I spent a lot of time with him. He was just a lot of fun to be around, and he would bet on anything.”
However, the part of the legend of “Black Cat” is that those bets were not always successful.
“Black Cat liked to bet to show a lot,” said Sandra Salmen, Fair Grounds group sales manager who worked for many years on the same staff as LaCombe. “One time I remember he told me to bet on a horse to show when there were only four horses in the race but they were allowing show betting – and his horse finished fourth. After that, I told him, ‘You know, there’s a reason they call you Black Cat.’
“Also, everybody knows the story about the time he picked all nine winners on a single day’s racing card in the paper, but didn’t bet on any of them because he got touted on other horses during the afternoon.
“He just had a way with people,” said Salmen. “All the media people in those days loved him, and he always reached out to the horsemen. He was the horsemen’s pal.
“He just had that kind of personality that everybody loved, and he loved to play practical jokes on everybody. One time he called four of us up in our office and said he was sending over spaghetti and meatballs for all four of us. Here came someone with four Styrofoam containers. We opened them, and there were for photographs of spaghetti and meatballs. Just then, the phone rings and it’s him on the other end of the line giving us a ‘Bronx cheer.’ He did know how to make you laugh.”
Asmussen Reaches 80
With Gufus’ win in Friday’s third race, trainer Steve Asmussen became only the third trainer in Fair Grounds history to win 80 races in a season.
Asmussen joins Jack Van Berg, who won 80 or more races four times in a five-year span from 1969-74, and Joey Dorignac III, who won 89 races in 1973-74. However, Van Berg’s and Dorignac’s big seasons occurred in an era when Fair Grounds winter meet was approximately 100 days long. Records for leading trainers date back to 1960.
One more win by Asmussen would assure him of being the first trainer in Fair Grounds history to average one win per day for a full season. Asmussen won 38 races in the abbreviated 37-day Fair Grounds meet conducted two seasons ago at Harrah’s Louisiana Downs.
Asmussen has all but wrapped up his seventh Fair Grounds training title in eight years.
La.-Breds Loom Large for Nine-Stakes Closing Weekend
Next Friday, Saturday and Easter Sunday are the last three racing days of the 136th racing season at Fair Grounds, and there will be nine stakes races on Louisiana Laginappe Weekend.
Scheduled for Friday, March 21, are the Louisiana Lagniappe Ladies Sprint and the grassy Red Camelia Stakes, both restricted to Louisiana-bred older fillies and mares, and the Bedanken Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the grass.
Saturday, March 22 features a five-stakes schedule: the Louisiana Lagniappe Sprint, the Crescent City Oaks and the Crescent City Derby, all restricted to state-breds, and the Fortin Handicap for older fillies and mares and the Grindstone Stakes for 3-year-olds, both on the grass.
On Easter Sunday, closing day of the 2007-08 meeting, the Louisiana Lagniappe Classic for older Louisiana-breds will serve as the last stakes event of the session.
Elvis in the Building for Successful Crawfish Boil
More than $20,000 was raised Wednesday at a crawfish boil to benefit veteran Louisiana native jockey Elvis (E.J.) Perrodin, injured at the beginning of the season.
The crawfish boil, organized by jockey Robby Albarado and other members of Fair Grounds’ jockey colony, attracted about 400 people, including Perrodin, who attended the event while using a walker.
“My recovery is going a little slower than I originally anticipated,” said Perrodin. “Originally, I expected to be back riding in May, but I may not make that goal. The important thing for me to do now is not rush things and set myself back.”
When he returns to riding, Perrodin will be 14 wins shy of the 3,000-win milestone.
The jockey colony will make a check presentation to Perrodin in the winner’s circle following Saturday’s fifth race.
