Saturday, November 24, 2007

Autobahn Girl Accelerates in Pago Hop at FG

NEW ORLEANS, La. (November 24, 2007) --
Live Oak Plantation’s longshot filly Autobahn Girl made an expressway-like rush in the lane to capture Saturday’s $60,000 Pago Hop Stakes by a neck at Fair Grounds.

However, Autobahn Girl’s victory was somewhat of a bittersweet moment for winning jockey Joe Patin Jr., who picked up the mount earlier Saturday in place of close friend and fellow jockey E.J. Perrodin, injured in a pre-race incident Friday.

“We are competitive, but we are like brothers,” said Patin of Perrodin, who remained in intensive care at Tulane Medical Center Saturday. “My thoughts and prayers go out to him right now.”

Concerning the manner in which Autobahn Girl won the Pago Hop, Patin was quick to give the credit to the filly. “At the quarter-pole, I pushed the button and she accelerated,” he said.

Autobahn Girl, trained by Malcolm Pierce, paid $61.80, $23.60 and $12.20 while covering about one mile over the firm Stall-Wilson turf course in 1:38.60. The daughter of A. P. Indy, making her first start on grass, earned the $36,000 winner’s share of the purse to increase her career earnings to $188,325 with her fifth victory from 12 lifetime starts.

Late-closing Our Dancing Babe was up to gain the place in the last strides, finishing a neck to the good of Beautiful Venue. The runner-up returned $11.20 and $7, while Beautiful Venue paid $8.40.

Bold Angel set the early pace with fractions of :24.07 and :48.36 before tiring to finish 11th in the 12-horse field.

The opening week of Fair Grounds’ 136th season concludes Sunday with a 10-race program and a first post time of 12:35 p.m.

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the nation’s third-oldest Thoroughbred racing facility, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and eight off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. Fair Grounds’ 136th season of racing continues through March 23, 2008. Information about Fair Grounds can be found on the Internet at http://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com.

Friday, November 23, 2007

Familiar Faces Come Marching In Opening Day at Fair Grounds

Headlines for Friday, November 23, 2007

· Familiar Faces Come Marching In Opening Day at Fair Grounds

· First Arrivals of Dutrow Stable Now On Site at Fair Grounds

· Jessica Excited About Second Season as TV Analyst

· Track Newcomer Wins $1,000 On Opening Day



Familiar Faces Come Marching In Opening Day at Fair Grounds

The quarterback was here, as was the general manager and other members of the New Orleans Saints’ staff. Drew Brees and Mickey Loomis, two of the 15 partners of Last Mango Racing Stable, headed a large cast on hand to watch their horse Pulaski County compete in the last race on opening day.

Pulaski County finished third, beaten a little more than three lengths, but he really ran quite well, considering the troubled trip he suffered.

“He had a difficult trip,” said Pulaski County’s conditioner Tom Amoss on Friday, speaking over the phone from Baton Rouge as he attended the LSU-Arkansas game. “We were very excited by the way he ran, and hopefully we will be able to have a lot of fun with him this season.”

Certainly, the racing public on hand at Fair Grounds did, shouting encouragement to the popular local connections, and Pulaski County positioned himself to provide them with lot more fun as the Fair Grounds season progresses.

“You know, this horse really did have a lot of trouble,” said Jeff Taylor, Equibase chart caller at Fair Grounds this time of year. “He got stopped a little entering the lane, and then in the stretch it looked like he and another horse went for the same hole and the other horse got there first.

“But then, in the late stages,” Taylor added, “I thought Pulaski County really showed a lot of courage to come on again and get third. He never quit.”

And for Fair Grounds and Saints fans, that’s a good thing.



First Arrivals of Dutrow Stable Now On Site at Fair Grounds

The first wave of Fair Grounds-based horses from the nationally prominent barn of trainer Richard Dutrow Jr. have taken up winter residence in the local barn area.

Dutrow’s initial contingent was unloaded under the watchful eye of Chip Dutrow, who will serve as his brother’s locally based representative throughout the upcoming Fair Grounds meeting.

Dick Dutrow is probably best known for training Saint Liam to Horse of the Year honors in 2005, a season in which Saint Liam also took down an Eclipse Award as top older male horse. That year, the Dutrow barn also sent out the good filly Sis City to capture Keeneland’s Grade I Ashland Stakes in the spring following a winter victory in the Grade III Florida Oaks.

“We’re looking forward to racing at Fair Grounds this winter,” said Chip Dutrow, the youngest in a family of prominent horsemen, as his horses adjusted to their new surroundings in the Crescent City. “The only time we were here before was for a couple of days last spring when we brought in our horse Liquor Cabinet to run in last year’s New Orleans Handicap. Unfortunately, we had to scratch him after we got here, but this season, with some of our horses stabled on the grounds, we would hope to be able to make more of an impact.

“We’re looking forward to being in New Orleans for the winter and having a successful season racing at Fair Grounds,” Dutrow concluded.

Dutrow’s stable is just one of several nationally known outfits coming to the Fair Grounds for the first time this winter, or in some cases, after a long absence.

Trainer Bill Mott, for instance, is returning with a string to Fair Grounds after an absence of almost two decades. Although Mott has been a member Fair Grounds’ Hall of Fame for a number of years, since leaving the local scene the talented trainer of 1995 Horse of the Year Cigar was inducted into the National Museum of Racing Hall of Fame in 1998, becoming the youngest trainer in history to receive that honor.

Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, trainer of 2004 Horse of the Year Ghostzapper, was represented with a local stable for the first time last season, but has almost doubled the number of horses he will have stabled on the grounds here for Fair Grounds upcoming 136th race meeting.



Jessica Excited About Second Season as TV Analyst

Handicapper Jessica Pacheco, who made her debut as racing analyst at Fair Grounds last winter, is back in residence locally and looking forward to her sophomore season as the face of Fair Grounds’ racing signal.

“I’m very encouraged by all the energy everybody seems to have going into this meeting,” said Pacheco. “Wherever I go, whenever I talk to the trainers, owners and racing fans about Fair Grounds, they are all very excited to be back on the grounds, and looking forward to the meeting. I think it’s going to be a really good meet, and everybody is excited.”

Pacheco’s handicapping abilities and television personality at Fair Grounds last season became so evident that by the time the season ended she had been asked to join Churchill Downs’ television department for a Kentucky Derby week stint prior to resuming her summertime television analyst role at Louisiana Downs.

“I was thrilled when I was approached and asked if I would like to do website videos for Churchill Downs during Kentucky Derby week last spring,” said Pacheco. “It was the first time I ever got to attend the Kentucky Derby after watching it on television all my life. To be able to go to the backstretch every morning of Kentucky Derby week was an unbelievable thrill for me.

“Also, on Thursday of Derby Week, I substituted as the between-the-races analyst in the paddock for some of the races that afternoon,” said Pacheco. “That was a lot of fun.

“However, I think what I’ll always remember most was being in the Churchill Downs paddock as the horses were being saddled for the Kentucky Derby. That was an unbelievable feeling. I remember thinking to myself: ‘There is absolutely nowhere else in the world I would want to be right now at this particular time.’

“I got so excited I called my mother back home in Texas and said: ‘Can you guess where I am right now?’ ” added Pacheco. “I’ll never forget that feeling I enjoyed at that moment.

“Now that I’m here, I’m starting to get that excited feeling again,” concluded Pacheco.



Track Newcomer Wins $1,000 On Opening Day

Nathan Griggs of Elgin, Okla., had never seen a live horse race before Thanksgiving Day. It’s safe to say he’ll never forget his initial experience at the track.

Griggs, who just turned 21 last month, won the $1,000 drawing as part of Fair Grounds’ opening day calendar giveaway.

“I hadn’t even cashed a bet yet,” said Griggs, who was joking with friends that his name would be called just before track announcer John G. Dooley announced the winner.

Griggs is working in New Orleans, assisting in moving FEMA trailers out of the city.

Fair Grounds Tops 7,000 Again on Opening Day

NEW ORLEANS, LA. (November 22, 2007) --
For the eighth time in 10 opening days in its new facility, Fair Grounds attracted more than 7,000 fans to the first day of its 136th race meet.

A total of 7,278 fans passed through the turnstiles Thursday, 16.6 percent below last year’s facility record of 8,732 but on par with comparable opening days since the track opened its new grandstand/clubhouse in 1997.

Excluding last season, which was Fair Grounds’ first live racing since Hurricane Katrina; the first day in the new facility in 1997, and the 2003 opener when five inches of rain fell, the average for the other six opening days in the new facility is 7,272.

Patrons on-track wagered $474,960, 22.9 percent below last year’s total of $616,078, and all-sources handle of $3,013,699 was 15.9 percent below the $3,584,111 wagered in 2006.

This year’s numbers were comparable to opening day of 2004, when 7,465 fans on-track wagered $473,725, and all-sources handle was $2,906,168.

“Last year’s opening day was extraordinary because of the return of racing to New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina,” said Fair Grounds president Randy Soth. “We knew we would have a difficult time reaching those numbers again this year, but nonetheless, it was a very satisfying day. As someone who comes from a long horse racing background, it was great to hear the roar of the crowd again.”

Thursday was the first of 81 racing days over the next 18 weeks.

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the nation’s third-oldest Thoroughbred racing facility, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN); it also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and eight off-track betting parlors throughout southeast Louisiana. Fair Grounds’ 136th season of racing runs through March 23, 2008. Information about Fair Grounds can be found on the Internet at http://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com.