The Road: Fair Grounds, Turfway Offer 200-Point Races

Tim Sullivan’s excellent story in the March 22 issue of BH Daily recounts the mystery of Black Gold’s 1924 Kentucky Derby trophy.

It is well-timed as the 2024 Louisiana Derby (G2) is scheduled for March 23 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Black Gold was the first Louisiana Derby winner to capture the Kentucky Derby and it would be another 72 years before Grindstone became the second horse to sweep those two races.

But three other Louisiana Derby starters have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby (G1) and two of those have arrived in the past five years. Funny Cide finished second at Fair Grounds and first at Churchill in 2003, while Country House   did the trick in 2019 and Mandaloun   followed suit in 2021. Oddly enough, each of those latter two runners reached the Churchill Downs wire second as Country House was put up following the stewards’ decision to place first-to-the-wire Maximum Security   17th for interference in the far turn while Mandaloun was put up after Medina Spirit was disqualified because of a failed post-race drug test.

This year’s $1 million Louisiana Derby, which offers 200 qualifying points toward the Kentucky Derby (100-50-25-10-5 to the top five finishers), is six weeks before the Kentucky Derby, a timeframe that used to present a tough call for conditioners in terms of training up to the race or finding one more start ahead of the classic. But these days, it is fairly common for the top finishers to train up to the Kentucky Derby, although an unlucky runner would have the option of wheeling back for another crack at Derby points. Country House did that in 2019, running third in the Arkansas Derby (G1) when that race was previously run in mid-April.

The connections of Risen Star Stakes (G2) winner Sierra Leone  will not return for Fair Grounds’ main event on its Derby prep schedule, avoiding the six-week layoff by skipping Saturday’s test in favor of the Blue Grass Stakes (G1) April 6 at Keeneland. Chad Brown, the trainer of Sierra Leone, clearly has a comfort zone with the Blue Grass, as his Derby on-the-board finishers Good Magic   (second in 2018) and Zandon   (third in 2022) both prepped and won there.

While that decision removes from Saturday’s field Sierra Leone, who has earned 55 qualifying points toward the Derby, the Louisiana Derby field still features five runners in the top 30 by Derby points. Lecomte Stakes (G3) winner Track Phantom , the 3-1 morning-line favorite, despite drawing widest in the field of 12, ranks fifth with 55 Derby points. Track Phantom is owned by L and N Racing, Clark Brewster, Jerry Caroom, and Breeze Easy and is trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen.

The other four Louisiana Derby horses in the top 30 by Derby points include Rebel Stakes (G2) runner-up Common Defense , 10th with 27; Smarty Jones Stakes winner Catching Freedom , 12th with 25; 2023 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (G2) winner Honor Marie , 25th with 15; and Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3) runner-up Agate Road , 28th with 10.

Agate Road is cross-entered in the weekend’s other Derby prep with 200 qualifying points on the line: the $700,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) on the all-weather surface at Turfway Park, though Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher told BloodHorse Agate Road would run in the Louisiana Derby.

The 5-2 morning-line favorite in the overdrawn Jeff Ruby, a 1 1/8-mile race on synthetic, is Endlessly , who already boasts a stakes victory on Tapeta after posting a clear victory in the El Camino Real Derby Feb. 10 at Golden Gate Fields.

The El Camino Real, an official Preakness Stakes (G1) prep, did not carry any Derby points but a first- or second-place finish Saturday would figure to make the son of Oscar Performance   eligible for the Kentucky Derby. Should the connections of owner/breeder Amerman Racing and trainer Michael McCarthy point to the Churchill classic, it would be Endlessly’s first start on dirt; he also three wins from four turf starts.

Turfway’s top prep to the Kentucky Derby has produced three Derby winners in 2022 upsetter Rich Strike , 2011 winner Animal Kingdom , and 1992 winner Lil E. Tee. Turfway offered a dirt surface in 1992 but served up a synthetic surface for the two most recent winners.