Fair Grounds Set For 2008 Louisiana Derby Preview Day
The brightest stars in the horse racing industry will gather on Louisiana Derby Preview Day at Fair Grounds Saturday, February 9.
All three Eclipse Award champion jockey finalists, winner Garrett Gomez, Robby Albarado and John Velazquez will be riding at Fair Grounds this Saturday. The top 2 Eclipse Award vote-getters for top trainer, winner Todd Pletcher and Steve Asmusse will also send out their horses to participate in Saturday’s horse racing program.
And with the spotlight on the 3-year-old divisions, half of the six Eclipse Award finalists for champion 2-year-old male and 2-year-old filly of 2007 are scheduled to run at Fair Grounds on Louisiana Derby Preview Day, including filly champion Indian Blessing.
Proud Spell will get a rematch against Indian Blessing in Saturday’s $200,000 Silverbulletday Stakes (gr. III). Indian Blessing came in front of Proud Spell in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies in October at Monmouth Park.
In the featured $300,000 Risen Star Stakes (gr. III), a prep race for the 2008 Kentucky Derby, Eclipse Award finalist Pyro will make his seasonal debut. He has not raced since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. He has prepped for the Risen Star Stakes with a month-long series of workouts, two of which were in tandem with Horse of the Year Curlin.
Among individual horses, Pyro and Indian Blessing are co-favorites on the morning line for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks Future Wagers, respectively.
Also on Saturday’s card, a pair of Grade I winners, Better Talk Now and Daytona, are set to collide in the $150,000 Fair Grounds Handicap (gr. III) for older horses on turf, and the $150,000 Mineshaft Handicap (gr. III) will feature millionaire Magna Graduate, the highly regarded Grasshopper and Louisiana Handicap winner Silver Lord.
The other two stakes on Louisiana Derby Preview Day are for sprinters: the $100,000 Pan Zareta Stakes for fillies and mares and the $100,000 Colonel Power Stakes on the turf scheduled as the 4th and 5th horse races in Fair Grounds’ Saturday card.
"Fair Grounds Set For 2008 Louisiana Derby Preview Day" was posted on 6 February 2008 9:47 PM under Horse Racing News, Horses, Jockeys, Race Tracks, Racing Picks & Betting Tips, Stakes Races, Trainers
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