The Louisiana Derby is a

Grade II In the United Kingdom, a listed building is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

run annually at the

Fair Grounds Race Course Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC. The ''Carrollton Race Cours ...

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. Run in late March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race miles on the dirt. It currently offers a purse of $1,000,000. The Louisiana Derby is one of the major prep races on the

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

Race history

The first race at the "Louisiana Race Course", now the

took place spring 1838, proprietors

Bernard de Marigny Jean-Bernard Xavier Philippe de Marigny de Mandeville (1785–1868), known as Bernard de Marigny, was a French- Creole American nobleman, playboy, planter, politician, duelist, writer, horse breeder, land developer, and President of the Louisian ...

, Julius C. Branch, and Henry Augustine Tayloe – son leading turfman

John Tayloe III Col. John Tayloe III (September 2, 1770March 23, 1828), of Richmond County, Virginia, was the premier Virginia planter and scion of the tidewater gentry. Although his father and grandfather had served on the Virginia governor's council and we ...

founder of the Washington (DC) Jockey Club (1789) – offered on the fifth race day "The Louisiana Plate." A race was held in 1894 and called the Crescent City Derby. The race was later renamed in honor of Fair Grounds' home state, Louisiana. Two winners of the Louisiana Derby have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby: Black Gold in 1924, and

Grindstone A grindstone, also known as grinding stone, is a sharpening stone used for grinding or sharpening ferrous tools, used since ancient times. Tools are sharpened by the stone's abrasive qualities that remove material from the tool through friction ...

in 1996. The 1988 winner, Risen Star, went on to become a "Dual Classic Winner" by winning the

Preakness Preakness may refer to: * The Preakness or Preakness Stakes, an American flat thoroughbred horse race held in Baltimore, Maryland * Preakness (horse), an American thoroughbred racehorse from Preakness Stables * Preakness, New Jersey, a section of W ...

and

Belmont Stakes The Belmont Stakes is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race for three-year-old Thoroughbreds run at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York. It is run over the worldwide classic distance of . Colt (horseracing), Colt ...

Race venue

The race was held at Crescent City Race Course from 1894 through 1908. It was also held at Jefferson Park from 1920 through 1931. The race was not held in 1895 through 1897, 1909 through 1919, 1921 through 1922, 1940 through 1942, 1945 and 2006. In 2006, the race was cancelled because the track was partially destroyed by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a powerful, devastating and historic tropical cyclone that caused 1,392 fatalities and damages estimated at $125 billion in late August 2005, particularly in the city of New Orleans and its surrounding area. ...

Race distance

The race was run at one mile in 1894; it was run at miles from 1898 until 1988. The race has been run at miles from 1989 through 2009. On August 11, 2009 the owner of Fair Grounds,

Churchill Downs Incorporated Churchill Downs Incorporated is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company has evolved from one racetrack in Louisville, Kentucky, to a multi American-state-wide, publicly traded company with racetracks, casinos and an online wagering comp ...

, announced that they were moving the Louisiana Derby from eight weeks prior to the

Kentucky Derby The Kentucky Derby () is an American Graded stakes race, Grade I stakes Thoroughbred racing, race run at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky. The race is run by three-year-old Thoroughbreds at a distance of . Colt (horse), Colts and geldin ...

to only five weeks prior. They also announced that the distance of the Louisiana Derby would be increased back to miles. Starting in 2020 the Louisiana Derby will be run at miles.

Records

Speed record: * miles – 1:42.60 – Crypto Star (1997) * miles – 1:48.80 – Clev Er Tell (1977) * miles – 1:54.38 –

Epicenter The epicenter (), epicentre, or epicentrum in seismology is the point on the Earth's surface directly above a hypocenter or focus, the point where an earthquake or an underground explosion originates. Determination The primary purpose of a ...

(2022) Most wins by a

jockey A jockey is someone who rides horses in horse racing or steeplechase (horse racing), steeplechase racing, primarily as a profession. The word also applies to camel riders in camel racing. The word "jockey" originated from England and was used ...

: * 5 –

Pat Day Patrick Alan "Pat" Day (born October 13, 1953, in Brush, Colorado) is a retired American jockey. He is a four-time winner of the Eclipse Award for Outstanding Jockey and was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame in 1991 an ...

(1986, 1987, 1991, 1992, 1997) Most wins by a trainer: ¹ * 5 –

Todd Pletcher Todd Pletcher (born June 26, 1967, in Dallas, Texas) is an American thoroughbred horse trainer. He won the Eclipse Award eight times as Trainer of the Year, four of these in consecutive years. His horses Super Saver (2010) and Always Dreaming ( ...

(2007, 2010, 2013, 2018, 2023) * 5 – Steven M. Asmussen (2001, 2008, 2016, 2022, 2025) Most wins by an owner: * 4 – Joe W. Brown & Dorothy D. Brown (1949, 1953, 1954, 1965, 1968, 1982)

Winners

* Winners in bold won a Triple Crown Race * * Denotes amount of money awarded to winner.

References

External links

The Louisiana Derby at Pedigree Query

The Louisiana Derby at the NTRA
{dead link, date=January 2018 , bot=InternetArchiveBot , fix-attempted=yes Fair Grounds Race Course Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Graded stakes races in the United States Horse races in New Orleans

Horse racing Horse racing is an equestrian performance activity, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its bas ...

Horse races established in 1894 1894 establishments in Louisiana Grade 2 stakes races in the United States