Road to the Derby Day Nominees Released; Lecomte (G3) and Silverbulletday signal next points stage on Road to the Derby and Oaks

By Kevin Kilroy —-

Road to the Derby Day Nominees Released

New Orleans, La (Jan. 10, 2024) – Nominations for Road to the Derby Day’s six scheduled stakes at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Saturday Jan. 20 have been released. The day’s headline races include the 80th running of the $200,000 Lecomte (G3) and the 32nd $150,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for fillies. Both stakes are the first Kentucky Derby and Oaks prep races on the calendar to award 20-10-6-4-2 points to the top five finishers. All 60 early nominees for the $1 million Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) are eligible for the Lecomte and the Risen Star (G2). The Silverbulletday closed with 16 nominations.

Post positions for the Jan. 20 card, which also includes the Louisiana Stakes Presented By Relyne GI By Hagyard (G3), Duncan F. Kenner, Colonel E.R. Bradley, and Marie G. Krantz Memorial, will be drawn on Saturday, Jan. 13. First post on Road to the Derby Day is scheduled for noon CT.

Run over 1 1/16 miles, the Lecomte is the next prep race on the road to the $3 million Kentucky Derby (G1) presented by Woodford Reserve to be run at Churchill Downs on Saturday, May 4.

Of the 60 nominees, the Gun Runner winner Track Phantom leads the way and is on target to enter the Lecomte for trainer Steve Asmussen. The Quality Road colt has earned 10 points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and has not lost going two turns. Nash earned 3 points towards the Run for the Roses when finishing third last out in the Gun Runner as the betting favorite for trainer Brad Cox. After a dominating performance breaking his maiden at Churchill, the son of Medaglia d’Oro was made the third-choice in Kentucky Derby Future Pool #2. Nash is pointing towards a rematch with Track Phantom in the Lecomte. Connections have decided to see if Can Group’s turf prowess translates to the dirt track. Touting a fourth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) and a last-to-first win in the Bourbon (G2), the Good Samaritan colt trained by Mark Casse has put in two local drills. Trainer Ken McPeek confirmed Lat Long is targeting the Lecomte. The last-out maiden winner has never finished out of the money in five races. On the Stars of Tomorrow II card at Churchill Downs, the Liam’s Map colt finished second to Track Phantom.

Ten of the 16 fillies nominated to the 1 mile 70 yards Silverbulletday are on the local worktab. Brad Cox nominated three fillies, and while the Untapable winner Alpine Princess will aim for the Rachel Alexandra, the runner up West Omaha breezed on Jan.5 with the Silverbulletday targeted. Godolphin’s debut winner at Keeneland, Tarifa has been training like clockwork for Cox with four Friday morning breezes beginning Dec. 15.

Trainer Tom Amoss leads the Silverbulletday list with four nominees. Ba Dee Yah and Broughty Ferry have both drilled since their impressive maiden wins, and Noriskit Nobiscuit has been steady in her works since finishing third in November’s My Trusty Cat Stakes at Delta Downs. The impressive Louisiana Champions Day Lassie winner, Accommodate Eva is back on the worktab for Dallas Stewart. With a maiden win at Keeneland and a tenth-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1), the Louisiana-bred is no stranger to open company.

Nineteen were nominated for the $175,000 Louisiana Stakes Presented by Relyne GI By Hagyard (G3). At 1 1/16 miles, the second step in the older dirt route stakes series will likely see the 2023 Pennsylvania Derby winner Saudi Crown enter the starting gates. Top last out in the Tenacious, trainer Grant Forster reported Five Star General is on track for the Louisiana. Neil Pessin confirmed his 2023 Louisiana Stakes winner Happy American is likely to defend his crown after running third in the Tenacious last out.

The 71st running of the $100,000 Duncan F. Kenner has 21 nominees, including the likely entrant Just Might. The 8-year-old trained by Michelle Lovell earned a career-top Brisnet Speed figure (108) when winning the Scherer last out. The Kenner is scheduled to be contested at 5 1/2 furlongs over the Stall-Wilson turf course.

Of the 27 nominated for the 38th running of the $100,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley Stakes, eight are from trainer Mike Maker, led by the United Nations (G1) winner Therapist. After the successful stab at the sod on Louisiana Champions Day, the $100,000 Turf winner Behemah Star is nominated by meet-leading trainer Shane Wilson. Written for 1 1/16 miles, the Bradley is the second stakes in the turf series for older males. It’s female counterpart, the $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial closed with 19 nominations, including the top three finishers in the Broussard: Lovely Princess, Creative Cairo, and Join the Dance–nominated by trainers Ken McPeek, Lindsay Schultz, and Dallas Stewart, respectively. Mike Stidham nominated the Pago Hop winner Tufani, who has two local wins so far this meet.

The list of nominees and the past performances for all six stakes to be run at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Jan. 20 can be found at Equibase here: https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaSNHW.cfm?trk=FG.

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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, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 16 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 152nd Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 111th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 17, 2023 through March 24, 2024. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.