Louisiana Champions Day Nominations Set; $150,000 Classic Could Pit Touchuponastar Against Free Like a Girl

By Kevin Kilroy —-

12/10/2022 – Touchuponastar, with Timothy Thornton aboard, wins the 31st running of the Louisiana Champions Day Classic. Hodges Photography / Jamie Newell.

New Orleans, La (Dec. 3, 2024) – Nominations closed for the stakes action on the Louisiana Champions Day program scheduled for Saturday, Dec. 14 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. With $750,000 in purse money on the line across seven stakes for Louisiana-breds, the reigning king and queen of the Pelican State could face each other in the headliner, as both Touchuponastar and Free Like a Girl have been nominated to the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic.

Run at 1 1/8 miles, the Classic closed with 18 nominations, including both the 2023 and 2022 Louisiana-bred Horse of the Year honorees. Set-Hut’s Touchuponastar has won the last two editions of the Classic. Beyond his dominance against his statebred peers, the 5-year-old son of Star Guitar has three second-place finishes against graded stakes company, including last year’s New Orleans Classic Presented by Relyne GI By Hagyard (G2).

Gerald Bruno Jr, Chasey Deville Pomier, and Jerry Caroom’s multi-millionaire 5-year-old mare Free Like a Girl took the 2023 Louisiana Champions Day Distaff, which was run on the dirt, but with the 2024 edition of the Distaff being written as the Ladies Turf, Free Like a Girl has been nominated for the Classic, along with the Ladies Sprint and Ladies Turf.

Winner of last year’s $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf, Brittlyn Stable’s Behemah Star headlines the 30 older statebreds nominated to the 34th running of the 1 1/16 miles contest. The last horse who was able to repeat in the Turf could stand in his way as Allied Racin Stable’s 2021 and 2022 winner, Who Took the Money has been nominated after showing a strong effort in his last outing, a local allowance where he ran a close fourth to Verstappen.

The 1 1/16 miles $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Turf closed with 22 nominations, led by three put forward by trainer Shane Wilson, including Brittlyn Stable’s Clearly a Test. Cross-nominated in the Ladies Sprint, the 3-year-old filly finished a game second last out in the Valene to Free Like a Girl, who is also nominated.

Winners of the last two editions are among the 27 older males nominated to the 6-furlong $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint: Set-Hut’s Mangum and Scott Gelner’s Big Chopper.

Of the 20 put forward for the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Sprint, Victorious Racing’s Manama Gold and Pendelton Larsen Jr.’s Beleout would be among the top contenders of older fillies and mares, along with Free Like a Girl and Clearly a Test.

Valene Farms nominated two for the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile, a 6-furlong sprint which closed with 21 nominees. A maiden winner at Saratoga, Dapper Moon exits a fourth-place finish in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2). Smoken Wicked racked up his second win last out against allowance company at Churchill Downs. Both are trained by Dallas Stewart.

The $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Lassie, a 6-furlong sprint, attracted 16 nominations including two from trainer Steve Asmussen. Stonestreet Stables and Peter Leidel’s Blue Fire and Coteau Grove Farms’ Mischief Princess.

A full list of nominations for all seven stakes can be found at Equibase: https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaSNHW.cfm?trk=FG.

Entries for Fair Grounds’ Louisiana Champions Day will be drawn Saturday, Dec. 7.

Cover Photo: Free Like a Girl; Hodges Photography

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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 15 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 153rd Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 112th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 22, 2024 through March 23, 2025. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.