FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Contact: Grant LaGrange
Racing Media Relations Coordinator
ALL STAKES PICK FOUR WITH A $100,000 GUARANTEED POOL OFFRED ON “ROAD TO DERBY KICKOFF DAY”
Wide-open sequence a treat for horseplayers
New Orleans (January 15, 2020) – The Late Pick Four (races 10-13) on Saturday’s “Road to the Derby Kickoff Day presented by Hotel Monteleone” at Fair Grounds Racecourse will offer a $100,000 guaranteed pool. The “All Stakes” sequence includes (in order) the Louisiana Stakes (G3) for older dirt routers, the Colonel E R. Bradley for older turfers, the Silverbulletday for three-year-old filly routers and the Lecomte (G3) for three-year-old routers. The minimum wager on the Pick Four at Fair Grounds is 50-cents.
Race 10, the recently upgraded Louisiana Stakes (G3), will be run at 1 1/16 miles over the main track and will kick off the All Stakes Pick Four sequence with a scheduled post time of 4:21 p.m. CT (5:21 p.m. ET). Tom Durant’s Silver Dust, who is listed as Mike Diliberto’s 3/1 morning line favorite, exits a second place finish in the Lukas Classic Stakes (G3) at Churchill in September. The 6-year-old son of Tapit will look for his first victory since taking the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes (G3) at Mountaineer Park in August. The Bret Calhoun trainee will be ridden by Jack Gilligan and break from post two.
Run at about 1 1/16th miles on the Stall-Wilson turf course, the $125,000 Colonel E.R Bradley Stakes goes as race 11 and it drew a full field of 14, although six of those runners are cross-entered in the Louisiana Stakes. Flurry Racing Stable LLC’s Mr. Misunderstood is listed as the 7/2 morning line favorite for trainer Brad Cox. The 13-time winner exits a victory in the River City Handicap (G3) at Churchill Downs, a race he has won two years in a row. The 5-year-old son of Archarcharch has earned over $916,000 in his career. Mr. Misunderstood will be ridden by Florent Geroux and the pair will break from post 14.
Race 12 is the $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for 3-year-old fillies. Run at 1 mile & 70 yards on the main track, the Silverbulletday will award points (10-4-2-1) for the Longines Kentucky Oaks. Steve Asmussen’s rising star Finite, owned by Winchell Thoroughbreds and Thomas J. Reiman, headlines the field as the 6/5 morning line favorite. The 3-year-old daughter of Munnings has strung together three straight wins, including her first career graded stakes victory win in the Golden Rod Stakes (G2) at Churchill Downs last time out. Finite has never finished worse than second in her five career tries, and will look to stamp herself as an early Oaks contender when she breaks from post six with Ricardo Santana Jr. aboard.
Capping off the Road to Derby Kickoff card as well as the All Stakes Late Pick Four will be the featured race of the day, the $200,000 Lecomte (G3). Run at 1 1/16 miles after being contested at 1 mile & 70 yards in recent years, the Lecomte (G3) will award points (10-4-2-1) for the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve.
Joseph W. Sutton’s Scabbard has been installed as the lukewarm 7/2 morning line favorite in the full and wide-open field of 14. The 3-year-old son of More Than Ready was last seen running fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) at Santa Anita Park in early November. The Eddie Kenneally trainee owns a pair of graded stakes placings in his short four-race career, finishing second in both the Saratoga Special (G2) over the summer at Saratoga and the Iroquois (G3) in September at Churchill. Breaking from post 4, Scabbard will be ridden by Corey Lanerie.
The “Road to Derby Kickoff Day” card will feature 13 races, six of them stakes. Doors will open at 11:00 am CT with a special first post time of noon CT (1 p.m. ET).
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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, LA, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global
Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 13 off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. The 148th Thoroughbred Racing Season – highlighted by the 107 th running of the Louisiana Derby – will run from November 28, 2019 through March 29, 2020. More information can be found online at www.FairGroundsRaceCourse.com.
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