1751 Gentilly Blvd.,
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Jim Mulvihill, Communications and Pari-Mutuel Marketing Manager, 504.948.1233, james.mulvihill@fgno.com
Contact: Graham Ross, Staff Writer, 504.948.1255, graham.ross@fgno.com
STRING KING PROVES GENUINE IN OPEN COMPANY
· Daisy Devine in Fine Fettle Sunday Following Latest FG Stakes Score
· Delaunay Delivers Again in F.W. Gaudin Memorial Handicap
· Jack Van Berg on Hand for Stakes Named After His Family
By Graham Ross, Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS (Sunday, January 27, 2013) – Owner-trainer-breeder Charlie Smith was his usual smiling self at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Sunday morning before heading back to his Haughton, La., home base. That was understandable, because late Saturday afternoon String King – a horse he owns, trains and bred in
String King ran second behind Bluegrass Hall’s Optimizer in the Col. Bradley, but he beat the seven others in the race – six of which were bred in
“I’m very proud of him,” said Smith. “I think he’s the best thing
“I’m going to have him picked up Wednesday morning and brought back to the
The $400,000 Mervin Muniz, richest turf stakes of the Fair Grounds season, will be run at about nine furlongs over the Stall-Wilson Turf Course on
DAISY DEVINE IN FINE FETTLE SUNDAY FOLLOWING LATEST FG STAKES SCORE – James Miller’s Daisy Devine, front-running heroine of Saturday’s $75,000 Marie Krantz Memorial and the $75,000 Blushing K.D. Handicap earlier at the meeting, was none the worse for wear Sunday.
“She looks great today,” trainer Andy McKeever said of his brilliant mare, who won the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks in 2011. “I’m very lucky to have her.”
Would the listed $75,000 Bayou Handicap here Feb. 23 be next on her dance card?
“I hope so,” said McKeever.
DELAUNAY DELIVERS AGAIN IN F. W. GAUDIN MEMORIAL HANDICAP – Delaunay won his fourth in a row for Maggi Moss – Fair Grounds’ leading owner the last two seasons – by winning Saturday’s $75,000 F.W. Gaudin Memorial Handicap.
“The horse ran a huge race yesterday,” said trainer Tom Amoss Sunday morning of the horse who also won the $75,000 Thanksgiving Handicap on opening day.
The owner-trainer team claimed Delaunay for $40,000 last spring.
“We just gave him some time off and let him put on 100 pounds,” said Moss last week. “If you’re good to them, they’re good to you.”
In an added Gaudin-related note from others concerned for the welfare of the Thoroughbred, trainer Steve Margolis, who saddled Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Cash Refund to win the Gaudin in 2010 and finish second by a nose last year, reported that the 7-year-old gelding has retired following a fourth-place finish at Fair Grounds Friday.
“He’s sound, and there’s nothing wrong with his legs, but he’s lost a step,” Margolis said. “Richard promised he’d never run him for a tag.”
JACK VAN
The Van Berg was named for him as well as his Hall of Fame trainer father Marion Van Berg – both longtime fixtures with multiple training titles accrued between them at Fair Grounds.
“I’m very appreciative of this honor for me and my family,” Van Berg said during a paddock interview earlier in the day.
About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, the nation’s third-oldest racetrack, has been in operation since 1872. Located in
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James J. Mulvihill
Communications & Pari-Mutuel Marketing Manager
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
A Churchill Downs Incorporated Company
1751 Gentilly Boulevard,
504.948.1233 [office]
504.481.8770 [cell]
100th
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