Intense Holiday, Palace Malice arrive for Louisiana Derby Day

Intense Holiday, Palace Malice arrive for Louisiana Derby

Day

Intense Holiday, who has been installed as the 2-1 morning-line favorite in Saturday's 101st running of

the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby, arrived at Fair Grounds Thursday shortly after noon along with Palace Malice, the 8-5

early-line favorite for Saturday's 90th anniversary edition of the Grade 2,

$400,000 New

Orleans Handicap.

Conditioned by Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher,

the two were also accompanied by King Cyrus, a lightly-raced

sophomore who will also run in Saturday's Louisiana Derby, annually the

showcase race of the season at the historic New Orleans oval.

Intense Holiday inherited his Louisiana Derby favorite's

mantle based on his late-charging nose tally in the February 22 Risen Star over

the track. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith rode him that day and will return

for the mount in Saturday's main event.

Palace Malice, hero of last spring's Belmont Stakes as the

final jewel of racing's 2013 Triple Crown, returned to the winner's circle in

his first start and only trip to the post this season in South Florida's Grade

II Gulfstream Park Handicap on March 8.

King Cyrus, who broke his maiden by 11 lengths last summer,

most recently finished second in South Florida's Smooth Air at Calder on

March 2.

"They all went to track this morning and I was really

pleased with them," said longtime Pletcher assistant Ginny DePasquale, who

traveled with the horses on Friday morning. "Somehow we managed to dodge the

raindrops and they all did really well."

Friday's racing program at Fair Grounds was canceled

about an hour later by the stewards due to increasing thunderstorms in the area

that were forecasted to continue through Friday afternoon.

Fans are reminded that Saturday's Louisiana Derby Day

13-race program will have a special early post time of 12:30 p.m. (CDT).

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