BLACK GOLD 5 REACHES $232,501 AT FAIR GROUNDS HEADING INTO SATURDAY RACING

By Grant La Grange —-

New Orleans (February 28, 2020) – Horseplayers will get the chance to take a shot at the Black Gold 5 which now carries a pool of $232,501 going into Saturday’s 10 race card at Fair Grounds Racecourse. The jackpot is paid out when there is only a single winning ticket.

The sequence kicks off in race 6 with an estimated post time of 2:55 pm (CT).

Saturday’s Fair Grounds program will play host to a pair of stakes races, including the $60,000 Dixie Poker Ace for older Louisiana-breds in race 9 at about one mile one turf. Thomas Morley and Paul Braverman’s Ninety One Assault, the 3-1 morning line favorite in the field of 11, eyes his third consecutive win and the seventh in his 31-race career.

Winless from his first 12 starts while competing in California, Florida and New York, the now seven-year-old gelded son of Artie Schiller finally broke through against maiden special weight foes at Belmont in October 2017. Since that time Ninety One Assault has won five races, including his last two – the restricted Louisiana Turf Stakes on Champions Day and a restricted, third-level optional claiming allowance. One could argue he’s in the best form of his career. Ninety One Assault will be ridden by Shaun Bridgmohan and will break from post 11.

Shang will be making his first career turf start in his 12th lifetime go in the Dixie Poker Ace. Third (placed second) in the $250,000 Iowa Derby against open foes last July at Prairie Meadows, he wasn’t seen again for more than six months. He resurfaced with a dominating route win in the Fair Grounds slop, but then faded to finish a tired fifth as the 2-5 favorite in the Premier Night Championship at Delta last time out. Brian Hernandez Jr. has been named to ride this 9-2 shot for trainer Steve Asmussen (post four).

Post time for the Saturday card is 12:30 pm (CST)

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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 is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global