The New Orleans Ladies Stakes is an 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 ...

created in 2010 at

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 ...

to attract 2009

American Horse of the Year The American Award for Horse of the Year, or simply Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to san ...

Rachel Alexandra Rachel Alexandra (foaled January 29, 2006) is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse and the 2009 Horse of the Year. When she won the 2009 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, she became the first filly to win the race in ...

to train and compete there. A $200,000 stakes raced in mid March, it is open to

fillies A filly is a female horse that is too young to be called a mare. There are two specific definitions in use: *In most cases, a ''filly'' is a female horse under four years old. *In some nations, such as the United Kingdom and the United States, th ...

and

mare A mare is an adult female horse or other equidae, equine. In most cases, a mare is a female horse over the age of three, and a filly is a female horse three and younger. In Thoroughbred horse racing, a mare is defined as a female horse more th ...

s, age three and older. It is contested on dirt at a distance of a mile and a sixteenth (8.5

furlong A furlong is a measure of distance in imperial units and United States customary units equal to one-eighth of a mile, equivalent to any of 660 foot (unit), feet, 220 yards, 40 rod (unit), rods, 10 chain (unit), chains, or a ...

s). The name of the race comes from the 1978 song of the same title written by Hoyt Garrick and Leon Medica and originally recorded by Louisiana Music Hall of Fame rock band, LeRoux. The inaugural running was won by

Zardana Zardana (, also spelled Zerdana or Zirdana) is a village in northwestern Syria, administratively part of Idlib Governorate. The village lies in a relatively flat plain. Nearby localities include Taftanaz to the southeast, al-Fu'ah and Binnish to ...

with Rachel Alexandra finishing second.The 2010 New Orleans Ladies Stakes at the ''Bloodhorse.com''
/ref> The purse for its 2011 running was $100,000. It was raised to $150,000 for 2012.

Winners

References

{{reflist Fair Grounds Race Course Ungraded stakes races in the United States Horse races in New Orleans Mile category horse races for fillies and mares Horse races established in 2010 2010 establishments in Louisiana