Luv Your Neighbor, Love and Trust Take on Bella Ballerina in Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks
Stidham Duo Montador, Tom’s Magic Target Muniz Memorial Upset
Fair Grounds, Turfway Team Up for “Bayou Bluegrass 5” Cross-Track Wager
NEW ORLEANS (March 19, 2026) — Luv Your Neighbor, second in all three local Kentucky Oaks preps this meet, gets another shot at stakes glory Saturday in the Grade 2 $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. The Mike Stidham trainee will try to turn the tables on Bella Ballerina, who edged her in the final strides of the Rachel Alexandra Stakes. But five fresh faces await in the seven-filly field competing for 200 qualifying points, including Love and Trust, who makes her stakes debut off an impressive maiden win and aims for a fast track to the 152nd Kentucky Oaks.
In the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra Stakes, Lael Stables’ Luv Your Neighbor pressed the pace and briefly headed Bella Ballerina before finishing second. It was her first start wearing blinkers and the fastest performance of her six-race career. Despite the career-best effort, Stidham said the quick turnaround raises some concern about a possible regression.
“I think that (new top effort) fits with how she’s been developing,” Stidham said. “She’s been going in that direction. Probably my biggest concern would be that the number she went to last time was a lot and then we’re coming back, not on real short rest, but we’re coming back relatively quickly. And you worry about a reaction to that number. But I was a little bit surprised that her previous numbers weren’t a little better than they were, but it is what it is.”
In spite of that, Stidham said consistency has been her defining trait.
“Every time we’ve sent her out there she’s performed, except for the one race on the synthetic at Woodbine,” Stidham said. “And the only reason we sent her there is because she’s Canadian-bred, that’s her only bad race ever. She goes out there and just runs hard every time, and you hope that she’ll be able to do the same this time.”
Trained by Cherie DeVaux, Love and Trust will step into stakes company for the first time after an impressive maiden win at Fair Grounds on Feb. 17.
Owned by Belladonna Racing, Twin Brook Stables, Woodford Racing and B.C.W.T., Love and Trust broke her maiden in her first start around two turns, showing speed and stamina — enough for connections to skip an allowance race and move straight into graded company.
“She has always acted like she has a lot of talent,” DeVaux said. “She’s acted like a two turn filly, and she’s acted like she has speed, so it was nice when she broke her maiden, that it all translated. Everything that we saw in the stretchout was what we were hoping for. She has a lot of constitution to her, so to go into a stakes race like this, I think she can handle it. She has speed, but I also don’t think she has to have the lead –– I think she can sit off of it. She has all those things going for her, which makes you feel confident in taking a big step up at this time.”
With tactical speed, Love and Trust will try to carry her form into tougher company as both fillies take aim at Bella Ballerina, who is unbeaten in three starts, including two graded stakes wins.
Stidham Duo Montador, Tom’s Magic Target Muniz Memorial Upset
NEW ORLEANS (March 19, 2026) — Trainer Michael Stidham will send out a two-pronged challenge in Saturday’s Grade 2 $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic Stakes presented by Horse Racing Nation at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Stablemates Montador and Tom’s Magic will face odds-on morning-line favorite Program Trading.
“I like my position with both horses and I think that we’re very live,” Stidham said.
Godolphin’s Montador exits a troubled-trip second to fellow entrant Lagynos in the Grade 2 Fair Grounds Stakes. Sixth at the stretch call, Montador was boxed in while full of run early in the stretch, but rallied gamely to finish second.
“I thought he got a little bit out of position early,” Stidham said. “It cost him, being a little farther back than he should have been. That was my biggest concern with the race. And then he just had too much to do down the lane. He wasn’t able to make up the ground.”
With just over $314,000 in career earnings from an 8-3-3-0 record, the 4-year-old son of Nyquist earned his first stakes title earlier this meet, winning the Woodchopper Stakes.
“He goes out there and runs hard every time,” Stidham said. “You hope with a better trip, that can make up the difference from what he got beat last time.”
CJ Thoroughbreds and Mo Speed Racing’s Tom’s Magic, a multiple stakes winner at distances up to 12 furlongs, enters the Muniz with a proven resume on turf that includes victories in the Breeders’ Stakes and Tale of the Cat Stakes last year. The son of Justify has shown versatility in his running style, capable of winning on the lead or from off the pace, and returns to Fair Grounds, where he won the 2025 Black Gold, after finishing a game second in the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes at 1 1/16 miles.
“I think a mile and around a mile and an eighth is probably his sweet spot,” Stidham said. “So I think the added distance (from the Tampa Bay) is only going to help him. He’s going to have to take a step forward to be competitive with these horses, but I think he’s got it in him. He’s another one that continues to develop. He’s only had one race as a 4-year-old, and hopefully each race, as he matures, is going to be a little bit better.”
Slated as Race 10 of Louisiana Derby Day’s 14-race program, the Muniz Memorial is the first leg of the Late Pick 5. First post is noon CT.
Fair Grounds, Turfway Team Up for “Bayou Bluegrass 5” Cross-Track Wager
NEW ORLEANS (March 19, 2026) — Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots and Turfway Park will once again team up Saturday to offer bettors a special $1 Pick 5 featuring an all-stakes sequence anchored by the Grade 2 $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby and the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks.
Dubbed the “Bayou Bluegrass 5,” the cross-track wager will feature a $1 minimum, a 15% takeout and a mandatory payout at the conclusion of the sequence.
The five-race sequence begins at Fair Grounds at 4:04 p.m. CT with the Grade 2 $500,000 New Orleans Classic presented by Hagyard, headlined by Louisiana-bred millionaire Touchuponastar. The second leg shifts to Turfway Park at 4:43 p.m. CT for the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks, featuring a full field of 3-year-old fillies led by Cincinnati Trophy winner Resplendence.
The sequence returns to Fair Grounds at 5:08 p.m. CT for the Grade 2 $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks presented by Fasig-Tipton, where undefeated Bella Ballerina tops the field. The fourth leg moves back to Turfway Park for the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at 5:25 p.m. CT, led by multiple stakes winner Stark Contrast.
The wager concludes at Fair Grounds at 5:42 p.m. CT with the TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby, featuring a competitive field of 3-year-olds led by Grade 2 Risen Star runner-up Chip Honcho and impressive maiden winner Emerging Market.
The Bayou Bluegrass 5 will be available at wagering outlets nationwide, including TwinSpires, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated.
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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, 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.
