Louisiana Derby purse bumped to $1 million

The Louisiana Derby (G2) will be worth $1 million when it is run at Fair

Grounds for the 98th time on March 26, 2011. The $250,000 increase will make it

the richest Thoroughbred horse race ever run in New Orleans and the first such

race worth seven figures.

The Louisiana Derby's purse hike is the highlight of a robust 2010-2011

Thoroughbred stakes schedule that features 63 stakes cumulatively worth nearly

$6.7 million, an average of more than $106,000 per race.

The Louisiana Derby, contested at 1 1/8 miles over Fair Grounds' storied main

track, is among the nation's premier events for three-year-olds preparing to

make their next start in the Kentucky Derby (G1).

"Our goal is to make the Louisiana Derby the number one Kentucky Derby prep

race and a $1 million purse puts us on par with any of them," Fair Grounds Vice

President and General Manager Eric Halstrom said. "When you consider the nice

monthly progression of our three-year-old stakes series, comprised of three

graded races that can help a horse accrue the earnings they need to make the

Kentucky Derby, along with the reputation of our main track as a forgiving

surface that gets horses exceptionally fit, there's no better place to get a

promising three-year-old ready for the Triple Crown.

"I'm especially pleased that we were able to substantially boost the

Louisiana Derby purse to this historic level without impacting any of the money

committed to our hefty overnight purses," Halstrom added.

"The Kentucky Derby is the most famous horse race in the world and our most

important asset at Churchill Downs Inc.," CDI Vice President of Racing Donald R.

Richardson said. "As a company it is important to build awareness around the key

races and horses that lead to a historic 'Run for the Roses.' If the Kentucky

Derby is our sport's Super Bowl, then the Louisiana Derby should be our must-see

conference championship game."

The 2010 Louisiana Derby, won by Mission Impazible (Unbridled's Song), has

proven to be the deepest of this spring's Kentucky Derby prep races. The

Louisiana Derby superfecta was rounded out by runner-up A Little Warm (Stormin

Fever), winner of last month's Jim Dandy S. (G2) at Saratoga; third-place

finisher Drosselmeyer (Distorted Humor), the eventual Belmont S. (G1) winner;

and fourth-place finisher Discreetly Mine (Mineshaft), one of the top

three-year-old sprinters in North America after a powerful win in Saratoga's

Amsterdam S. (G2). The stellar field of 13 also included eventual Dwyer S. (G2)

winner and Belmont runner-up Fly Down (Mineshaft); Woodbine's Wando S. winner

Hotep (A.P. Indy); and Arlington Park's American Derby (G2) runner-up Mister

Marti Gras (Belong to Me). Every Louisiana Derby starter that remained in

training has since won a race.

"A Louisiana Derby purse boost will make it easier for the top few finishers

to amass the graded earnings they need to make the gate for the Kentucky Derby,"

Richardson added. "This year it took more than $225,000 in graded earnings to be

in the Kentucky Derby field, the highest cutoff ever. Next year I believe

horsemen are going to be more careful about choosing to run only in the richest

graded events."

The Fair Grounds Oaks (G2), a race that has been won by the eventual Kentucky

Oaks (G1) heroine in four of its last six runnings, will move back to Louisiana

Derby Day, a Saturday, after a one-year stint anchoring Friday's stakes

extravaganza the day before. Louisiana Derby Day will feature six open-company

stakes worth at least six figures, including four of Fair Grounds' five Grade 2

events: the Louisiana Derby, Fair Grounds Oaks, New Orleans H. and Mervin H.

Muniz Jr. Memorial H.

The Friday of Louisiana Derby Week will still feature a stakes extravaganza,

but this year's program will instead showcase Louisiana-breds. Five races for

horses bred in the Bayou State will be run on March 25.

The Fair Grounds stakes schedule includes 10 graded stakes, five Grade 2s and

five Grade 3s. In addition to the four graded stakes on the final Saturday of

the meet, the others are the Risen Star S. (G2) for three-year-olds at 1 1/16

miles on February 19, the Lecomte S. (G3) for three-year-olds on January 22, the

Silverbulletday S. (G3) for three-year-old fillies, the Mineshaft H. (G3) for

older horses, and both the Fair Grounds H. (G3) and Colonel E.R. Bradley H. (G3)

for older turf horses. The Silverbulletday, Mineshaft and Fair Grounds H. will

be run February 19, while the Bradley is scheduled for January 22.

Five stakes races that appeared on last season's schedule have been

discontinued, primarily because those editions produced small fields. The

eliminated stakes are the Daily Racing Form Distaff for fillies and mares on the

main track, the Furl Sail H. for fillies and mares on the turf, the Old Hickory

S. for two-year-olds, the Pontalba S. for two-year-old fillies, and the Si Cima

S. for Louisiana-bred fillies and mares on the main track. The Furl Sail has

been replaced by the Blushing K.D. H.

"The only people that like to see short fields are the connections of the

favorites," Fair Grounds Racing Secretary Jason Boulet said. "With our season

starting three weeks later this year, on Thanksgiving Day instead of the first

weekend of November, we had an opportunity to make these adjustments while still

featuring quality stakes racing every single week. It creates a better product

overall when we can shift money to more competitive races."

The only race to see its purse reduced from last season is the New Orleans

Ladies S.. Initially created to attract Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra (Medaglia

d'Oro), the 1 1/16-mile contest for fillies and mares will be worth $100,000 in

2011, down from $200,000 for the inaugural running.