Louisiana Derby Preview Day Nominations Include Paladin, Renegade for Risen Star
NEW ORLEANS (Feb. 1, 2026) — Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has released nominations for six stakes races scheduled for Louisiana Derby Preview Day, headlined by the Grade 2 $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes and the Grade 2 $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra Stakes. Potential newcomers to the local Derby prep series include Remsen one-two finishers Paladin and Renegade.
Both the Risen Star and Rachel Alexandra are the first Derby and Oaks prep races on the calendar to award 50-25-15-10-5 points to the top five finishers. Louisiana Derby Preview Day will take place Saturday, Feb. 14, with first post at noon CT.
An additional five 3-year-old colts were nominated to the 54th running of the Risen Star, bringing the total to 62, including those published during the early bird period. The third of four local prep races for the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) will be contested at 1 1/8 miles.
Among the newly added nominees is Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Peter Brant, Brook Smith and Summer Wind Equine’s Paladin. Trained by Chad Brown, Paladin is unbeaten in two starts and has earned 10 Derby prep points with his victory in December’s Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct.
Finishing second in the Remsen, two lengths behind Paladin, Robert Low, Lawana Low and Repole Stable’s Renegade could seek a rematch in New Orleans. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the Into Mischief colt is also under consideration for the race, along with Courting. An early bird nominee, owned by Whisper Hill Farm, Stonestreet Stables and Windancer Farm, Courting exits the same Derby prep, where the Curlin colt finished fourth.
Nominations for the 46th running of the Rachel Alexandra closed with 22 fillies. With 105 qualifying points toward the $1.5 million Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) on the line, the fillies will race 1 1/16 miles over the main track.
Godolphin’s Bella Ballerina tops the list. In her most recent start, she captured November’s Golden Rod (G2) at Churchill Downs on Nov. 29 for trainer Brendan Walsh. Bella Ballerina is a half-sister to the 2023 Rachel Alexandra winner Pretty Mischievous, who went on to win Kentucky Oaks 149.
Brad Cox leads all trainers with four fillies nominated, led by a duo of stakes winners Hit Parade and Life of Joy. The Silverbulletday victress Taken by the Wind, trained by Kenny McPeek, has been nominated for the Rachel Alexandra, along with stablemate Spitfire.
Three fillies from Cherie DeVaux’s barn are on the list, including January’s Silverbulletday third- and sixth-place finishers Atropa and White Smoke.
Beyond the Risen Star and Rachel Alexandra, the card includes two additional graded stakes. The Grade 3 $250,000 Mineshaft Stakes presented by Hagyard, run at 1 1/16 miles, closed with 18 nominations, none more significant than Wathnan Racing’s Hit Show, who boasts $8,902,183 in lifetime earnings. The list of older males also includes winners from each of the series’ first two stakes: Louisiana Stakes (G3) winner Accelerize, trained by Pletcher, and Tenacious Stakes winner Not This Boy for trainer Doug Cowans.
Closing with 22 nominations, the Grade 3 $175,000 Fair Grounds Stakes presented by Horse Racing Nation, scheduled for the turf at 1 1/8 miles, could see the return of Klein Racing’s Brilliant Berti. The multiple graded stakes winner for DeVaux has logged five local workouts since running third in October’s Turf Mile (G1) at Keeneland. Also nominated are Flying P Stable’s Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes winner Kupuna and Godolphin’s Woodchopper Stakes winner Montador.
Along with the Fair Grounds Stakes, the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial and the $100,000 Colonel Power are scheduled for the Stall-Wilson Turf Course. Written for older fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles, the Albert M. Stall closed with 20 nominations, led by Marie G. Krantz Stakes winner Medoro for C R K Stable. The 5 1/2-furlong Colonel Power drew 23 older males, none more formidable than BG Stables and Selman Shaby’s 8-time winner Usually Wrong, who set a course record when scoring in the Duncan F. Kenner Stakes.
A full list of Louisiana Derby Preview Day nominees is available on Equibase at https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaSNHW.cfm?trk=FG.
Entries for the stakes-laden card will be drawn on Saturday, Feb. 7.
-30-
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, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 13 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 154th Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 113th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 20, 2025 through March 22, 2026. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.
