Emerging Market’s Stock Continues to Rise — with Risen Star champ Paladin awaiting the Blue Grass, Brown to give fast maiden winner a chance to prove his class

 

 

New Orleans, La (March 19, 2026) – The road to the Kentucky Derby runs through New Orleans on Saturday, and few trainers have embraced the path more in recent history than Chad Brown. 2024 Risen Star winner Sierra Leone got beat a nose in the Kentucky Derby, and two years earlier Zandon ran third in Risen Star in advance of a show dough finish in the Run for the Roses.  

Brown also trains Magnier, Tabor, Brant, Smith and Summer Wind Equine’s Fasig-Tipton Risen Star winner (G2) Paladin, who closed as the 5-1 favorite in Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager.

“He came out of (the Risen Star) well and he’s right on schedule to compete in Lexington,” Brown said of Paladin’s upcoming appearance in the Toyota Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland on April 4.

There is another exciting prospect in the barn looking to take that next step this weekend. Klaravich Stables Emerging Market, an impressive debut winner at Tampa Bay Downs, has been installed at odds of 6-1 in Saturday’s $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2), but based on the hype surrounding him, that price is likely to drop.

“The horse trained super, so we had high hopes for him going into the debut,” Brown said. “I didn’t think he would be effective sprinting, particularly at Gulfstream, so that wasn’t an option. I don’t really debut too many horses around two turns on the dirt but given the time of year and what my options were close to my training base at Payson (Park), I just had to go for it. Going a mile and 40 (yards at Tampa Bay Downs), he ran a super, super race.”

Emerging Market earned a gaudy 99 Beyer Speed Figure for the maiden win.         

“I’m not surprised he ran that fast,” “He trained brilliantly all last year. He just couldn’t make it to the races with a couple minor issues. Once again, leading up to this first race, he trained A-plus.”

Going directly from a debut maiden win into a Grade 2 stakes race is a challenging task, especially at the Louisiana Derby’s taxing 1 3/16 miles distance, but Brown believes Emerging Market is deserving of the chance.

“First, I like the timing of the race,” Brown said. “I wanted to run the horse around this time (after such a fast debut race). So, when I started to look at what was available within this stretch of time, this week and next, this race just made a lot of sense. We’ve had good luck shipping from Payson to Fair Grounds over the years so that appealed to me, too. I don’t think the added distance will hurt him at all. I like the stretch at Fair Grounds with all that extra room to operate. The Louisiana Derby is a million-dollar race. It’s a lot of money, and I just think it’s worth a shot with an inexperienced horse, especially this one”.

Although the lure of the Kentucky Derby is strong, Brown has not been afraid to skip the Run for the Roses with a horse he feels isn’t quite ready, and run in, and win, the Preakness instead (Cloud Computing in 2017 and Early Voting in 2022), but he is leaving his options open with Emerging Market.

“In all honestly, we’re not looking past Saturday,” Brown said. “He has a tough, outside post but we’ve shipped and we’re going to give it a go. I just want to see how he performs in his second start, if he can navigate a trip from that post and then then how he comes out of the race and go from there. I am under no pressure from the owner to force the Kentucky Derby but I’m not taking it off the table, so let’s just see what happens”.

A son of Candy Ride, Emerging Market cost $180,000 as a Keeneland September Yearling, which right now is looking like a bargain.

“He’s a very athletic horse,” Brown said. “He’s not big. He’s a lightly made horse that has gears and we were lucky enough to pick him up for a reasonable sum and he’s developed. It’s not always the big, fancy, expensive yearlings that develop into good horses. They come in all shapes and sizes. Sierra Leone was the highest priced yearling in America the year we bought him, and he was very well bred. He turned out to be a top horse, the best I’ve trained. Other times we’ve seen on the Derby trail where you have horses who didn’t cost very much but they develop beyond expectations and ‘boom’. That’s one of the great things about our sport and the pursuit of the Triple Crown races – everyone has a chance. Good horses come from everywhere”.

Klaravich Stables Program Trading has been installed as the 9-5 morning line favorite for Saturday’s Muniz Memorial Classic presented by Horse Racing Nation. The multiple Grade 1 winner appears to be the class of the field.

“The horse looks good,” Brown said. “He’s a year older, so we’re going to have to see if he can maintain his top form. He got a good trip in the Pegasus (World Cup Turf Invitational G1 at Gulfstream) and it opened up for him on the inside; he just wasn’t happy there and didn’t fire. I’m not concerned with the outside post in a small field for him because he probably wants a bit of a wide run anyway.”

The Muniz Memorial Classic will run as race on Louisiana Derby Day. The 14-race card begins at noon CT and the wagering menu is stacked with opportunities. The $1 Bayou/Bluegrass Pick Five, a joint wager with Turfway Park, begins with the New Orleans Classic (G2) and ends with the Louisiana Derby (G2). There is also a $1 million estimated pool in the “All Stakes” Late Pick Five which covers races 8-12. Both wagers offer a low 15% takeout.

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