Led By Hit Show, Kentucky Derby Alumni Set to Clash in Louisiana Stakes

By Kevin Kilroy —-

12/23/2023 – Track Phantom with Cristian Torres aboard wins the 3rd running of the $100,000 Gun Runner Stakes at Fair Grounds. Hodges Photography / Kylie Wellington

Led By Hit Show, Kentucky Derby Alumni Set to Clash in Louisiana Stakes

New Orleans, La (Jan. 13, 2025) – Coming off a 4-year-old campaign where he strung together three graded stakes wins, Gary and Mary West’s Kentucky Derby 149 alumni Hit Show is set to make his next start in the $175,000 Louisiana Stakes presented by Relyne GI By Hagyard (G3) on Saturday, Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. One of six stakes slated for the “Road to the Derby Day” card, the 1 1/16 miles Louisiana attracted a field of 10 older males, including L and N Racing, Clark Brewster, and Breeze Easy’s 2024 Lecomte winner Track Phantom, who will make his third start since his run in the 150th Derby.

The average field size across the 12-race “Road to the Derby Day” program is 12 runners, highlighted by the $250,000 Lecomte Stakes (G3), which drew a full field of 14 vying for 20-10-6-4-2 qualifying points to the $5 million Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1). The co-feature race is the $150,000 Fasig-Tipton Silverbulletday, a prep race offering 20-10-6-4-2 points for the Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1).

A trio of added money events are scheduled for the Stall-Wilson Turf Course on “Road to the Derby Day.” The stakes action will kick off in Race 6 with the $100,000 Duncan F. Kenner, written for older horses going 5 1/2 furlongs on the grass. The first leg of an All-Stakes Late Pick 5, the $100,000 Marie G. Krantz Memorial is scheduled as Race 8. Both the Krantz for fillies and mares and its sibling stake, the $100,000 Colonel E.R. Bradley (Race 10), will see older horses go 1 1/16 miles on the sod. The three grass stakes average 13.6 entries per field.

Trained by Brad Cox, Hit Show’s hot streak this summer and fall included the Fayette (G2), the Lukas Classic (G2), and the West Virginia Governor’s (G3). Fifth in the 2023 Derby, four of the gray horse’s seven wins have come going longer than the Louisiana’s task of 8.5 furlongs. The 5-year-old son of Candy Ride was tabbed as the 5-2 morning line favorite in what will be his first local start. Florent Geroux will reunite with Hit Show, who drew the rail.

One year since his victory in the 2024 Lecomte, Track Phantom will be making his second local start as a 4-year-old, his third since finishing eleventh in last year’s Kentucky Derby. Last out the Steve Asmussen trainee led the Tenacious pack but could not fend off Saudi Crown, fading to fourth after setting honest fractions. A new pilot will take the reins on Saturday, as Brian Hernandez Jr. will break Track Phantom from post 8.

Chief among their competition are CRK Stable’s Skinner and Godolphin’s Maycocks Bay, both of whom flirted with a “Run for the Roses.” Previously trained by John Shirreffs, Skinner had earned a spot along Hit Show in Kentucky Derby 149 but was scratched due to spiking a fever. After a quiet 4-year-old campaign, Skinner has already made noise as a 5-year-old, taking the Native Dancer (G3) at Santa Anita before being transferred to Cherie DeVaux’s barn. In his first local breeze, the son of Curlin covered four furlongs in 47 and 4, the fastest of 67 on December 31, 2024. The current meet leading rider Jose Ortiz will pilot Skinner from post 5.

Last February, Maycocks Bay was made the morning line favorite in the Southwest Stakes (G3), a Kentucky Derby points prep at Oaklawn Park, but was scratched due to spiking a fever. Trained by Mike Stidham, the Speightstown colt didn’t return to the races until early December, winning a local second-level allowance going 1 1/16 miles. Drawing the far outside post, Maycocks Bay will be guided by Ben Curtis.

The Louisiana is scheduled as Race 11. First post on Saturday is noon CT.

The complete field for the Louisiana from the rail out (with jockey, trainer, and morning line):

1. Hit Show (Geroux, Cox, 5-2)

2. Warrior Johny (Jamie Torres, Phil Bauer, 10-1)

3. Pipeline (Luis Saez, DeVaux, 12-1)

4. Heroic Move (Harry Hernandez, Robertino Diodoro, 8-1)

5. Skinner (Ortiz, DeVaux, 9-2)

6. Cooke Creek (Joel Rosario, Mike Maker, 9-2)

7. Velocitor (David Cohen, Gary Scherer, 15-1)

8. Track Phantom (Hernandez Jr., Asmussen, 8-1)

9. Komorebino Omoide (Jansen Melancon, Robertino Diodoro, 8-1)

10. Maycocks Bay (Curtis, Stidham, 10-1)

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will host live racing on Monday, Jan. 20, Martin Luther King Jr. Day. The 5-day racing week begins on Thursday, Jan. 16. First post will be 12:45 p.m. CT each day, except for an early start of noon on “Road to the Derby Day,” Saturday, Jan. 18.

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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.