Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans is set to kick off its 142nd thoroughbred horse-racing season, with 84 days of live racing starting this Friday, November 22. This marks an early opening for Fair Grounds, which typically in the past has started live racing on the US Thanksgiving weekend. The 2013-14 race meet at Fair Grounds will include 58 stakes races with a total purse of more than $7.5 million, and will culminate with the $1,000,000 Grade II Louisiana Derby on March 29, the second-last day of the meet.
Stakes racing at Fair Grounds will kick off with the $60,000 Mr. Sulu Stakes for Lousiana-breds aged three and up going one mile on the turf. That will be followed by the $100,000 Thanksgiving Handicap for three-year-olds and up sprinting six fulongs in the dirt, scheduled for Thanksgiving Day, Thursday November 30. The second Saturday in December has been designated Louisiana Champions Day, with both quarter horses and thoroughbreds contesting 11 races restricted to state breds, including the $150,000 LA Classic Stakes. Over $1,000,000 in purses will be up for grabs on the day.
The Road to the Kentucky Derby passes through the Fair Grounds on February 22, with the running of the $400,000 Grade II Risen Star Stakes for three-year-olds hoping to accumulate all important points toward earning a spot in the Churchill Downs starting gate and a shot at immortality in the Run for the Roses. Finally, Louisiana Derby Day will close out the meet, with three other Grade II events setting the stage for the Louisiana Derby itself. Throughout the meetl live racing will take place Thursday through Sunday, but special events days, with the first post at 1:00 pm.
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