Bet on the Lecomte Stakes
The Lecomte Stakes is a race for three-year-old thoroughbreds held every January at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Currently rated as a Grade 3 event, with a total purse of $200,000, for the past several years the lecomte has been a part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby series, with the top four finishers earning points toward a spot on the starting gate on the first Saturday in May.
Online Racebook Reviews
While it's great to get to spend a day at the track, it's not always possible to get to big races like the Lecomte Stakes. That's the reason every horse racing fan should explore the possibility of opening an account with an online racebook, like Bovada. In addition to being able to bet all the races you want, bonuses and promotions tip the odds in the bettor's favor.
Playing the Lecomte Stakes Odds
Although the past few years have seen horses that go off at single-digit odds win the Lecomte, savvy horseplayers have been able to score some nice exotics, with the average trifecta payout over the past three years being $275 on a $2 wager. Placing a bet through a racebook like Bovada also gaurantees cash back on top of any bets, win or lose.
2017 Lecomte Stakes Contenders
A handful of pre-race scratches still left a field of nine battling for the 2016 Lecomte title, and in the end it was favored Mo Tom who hit the wire first, after having overcome gate trouble. Bouncing out of the gate, Mo Tom settled near the back of the pack, with only longshot Tarpon Bay Road beaten early. Coming out of the turn, jockey Corey Lanerie was forced to find running room in the middle of the track, and from there the Uncle Mo colt dug in to grind down the leaders and win by a comfortable 2 1/4 lengths. Running second was Tom's Ready, who briefly held the lead, and Uncle Walter, who ran well throughout but could not sustain his bid.
Results and Payouts Win Place Show
1) Mo Tom $6.40 $3.60 $2.40
2) Tom's Ready $5.60 $3.40
3) Uncle Walter $3.00
(Also Ran: Destin, Z Royal, Pinnacle Peak, Fish Trappe Road, Mending Fences, Tarpon Bay Road Scratched: Battle Tap, Dolphus, Indygo Breeze, Noble Thought, Riding The Wind, Tiznoble)
Check back closer to race day for the 2017 Lecomte Stakes contenders!
Did you know?
First run in 1970, the Lecomte has been held every year since then except 2006, when Hurricane Katrina the previous summer caused widespread destuction throughout New Orleans and affected the Fair Grounds racing season due to damage at the track.
The Lecomte is named in honor of a son of racing Hall of Famer Boston, who won 40 races in 45 lifetime starts in the mid-1800s. Lecomte himself won 11 times in America, and set what was at the time a world record for a four-mile race. His half-brother (against whom he raced twice) was another Hall of Famer, Lexington, for whom the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland is named.
In 2014 and 2015, owners and breeders Ken and Sarah Ramsey scored back-to-back Lecomte wins, first with Louisiana-bred Vicar's In Trouble, followed by International Star. Vicar's In Trouble would go on to win the Louisiana Derby and make the field for the kentucky Derby, but finished that race 19th and last. International Star, meanwhile, would also win the Risen Star Stakes and Louisiana Derby, to sweep all three of the major races on the Fair Grounds calendar. An early Derby favorite, International Star suffered and injury in the spring and missed all of the Triple Crown races.
2013 Lecomte winner Oxbow would go on to run in all three Triple Crown events, finishing sixth in the Derby, winning the Preakness Stakes and running second in the Belmont.
