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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
applauding seeks encore in fg’s silverbulletday
· Suntracer, Strike Impact Set for Duel in Grade III Col. E. R. Bradley ’Cap
· Alma d’Oro to Chase the Gold in Saturday’s $100,000
· Joe Hollywood Seeks Stardom in Gaudin; Pan Zareta Attracts ‘ Marie’
By Graham Ross, Staff Writer
NEW ORLEANS (Thursday, January 19, 2012) – Ramona Bass’s Applauding, brilliant and undefeated in her only two lifetime starts – both at one turn – appears poised on the cusp of added stature as she readies to go to the post as the 4-5 morning line choice in Saturday’s $125,000 Silverbulletday Stakes for 3-year-old fillies at Fair Grounds.
The Silverbulletday, contested at a mile and 70 yards, is the first leg of
Saturday at Fair Grounds is also Road to the Derby Kickoff Day Presented by Hotel Monteleone and this weekend’s gala 13-race program offers a total of six stakes worth a total of $650,000 while showcasing the Grade III Lecomte Stakes as a stepping stone to the 99th running of the $1 million Louisiana Derby April 1, Closing Day of Fair Grounds’ season.
A special early first race post time of 12:10 p.m. is scheduled at Fair Grounds for the banner afternoon.
Applauding made her career debut over Keeneland’s Polytrack course Oct. 14 and dispatched a file of maidens with a nine-length romp, and came back to competition Dec. 2 at Fair Grounds to score by six lengths in equally facile fashion under Louisiana native jockey Shane Sellers. Trainer Al Stall Jr. will employ Sellers again in the Silverbulletday as he eagerly awaits her willingness to get a distance of ground.
Greenwood Lodge Farm’s Summer Applause, second choice in the Silverbulletday morning line at 7-2, is another capable of getting further rave reviews. The daughter of Harlan’s
Completing the Silverbulletday field is Pozo de Luna’s Yvete Sangalo, Shaun Bridgmohan (12-1); Jake Ballis’s Inny Minnie, John Velazquez (8-1); Pop-A-Top’s Always Here Too, James Graham (12-1); and Brereton Jones’ Believe You Can, Rosie Napravnik (4-1).
SUNTRACER, STRIKE IMPACT SET FOR DUEL IN GRADE III COL. E. R. BRADLEY ’CAP – Team Block’s Suntracer, hero of Fair Grounds’ $74,000 Woodchopper Stakes Nov. 25, and Chester Miller and Patrick Dupuy’s Strike Impact, runner-up in the local oval’s $72,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial Dec. 26, face off against each other and six others in Saturday’s Grade III Col. E. R. Bradley Handicap at about 1 1/16-miles as first leg of Fair Grounds’ three-race series for older horses over the local Stall-Wilson turf course.
That grass series continues with the Grade III Fair Grounds Handicap on Feb. 25 and concludes with the Grade II Mervin Muniz Memorial Handicap on
Suntracer will shoulder the top impost of 118 pounds in the Col. Bradley, most of which will be made up by defending jockey champion and current leading rider Rosie Napravnik, while second high weight Strike Impact gets 117 including Fair Grounds’ seven-time jockey champion Robby Albarado. Suntracer has been pegged as the 3-1 early choice in the Col. Bradley, while Strike Impact is slated as the 4-1 second choice.
Completing the
ALMA D’ORO TO CHASE THE GOLD IN SATURDAY’S $100,000 LOUISIANA HANDICAP – Bourque Goldstein Thoroughbreds’ Alma d’Oro, stakes-placed on multiple occasions, will carry the assigned high weight of 121 pounds in Saturday’s $100,000 Louisiana Handicap for older horses at 1 1/16 miles on the main track and has been tapped as the 3-1 early favorite in that middle distance affair.
Fair Grounds’ main track series for older horses continues with the Grade III Mineshaft Handicap Feb. 25 and concludes with the Grade II New Orleans Handicap at nine furlongs on
Alma d’Oro, conditioned by five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Todd Pletcher, finished seventh in Churchill’s Grade I Clark Handicap in his last start Nov. 25 but will have the riding services of John Velazquez in the Louisiana Handicap. That Puerto Rican-born reinsman was aboard when Alma d’Oro finished second by a half-length in Churchill’s Grade III Ack Ack Handicap Nov. 4.
Columbine Stable’s Glenwood Canyon, cross-entered in Saturday’s Col. Bradley Handicap, is the 7-2 second choice in the Louisiana Handicap morning line and is assigned 118 pounds with Jamie Theriot named aboard. The Silver Deputy gelding finished fourth in the $125,000 Delta Mile at Delta Downs in his last start and was third behind Alma d’Oro in the Ack Ack before that.
Completing the Louisiana Handicap field, with respective jockeys and weights assigned, is: Jim Tafel’s Fast Alex, Robby Albarado (120); Terry Hamilton and Robert Morgan’s Gleam of Hope, Corey Lanerie (119); Zollars and Wagner’s Thiskyhasnolimit, Shane Sellers (118); Hugh Zurkulen’s Harmonizer, Rosie Napravnik (115); Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein’s Stay Put, Shaun Bridgmohan (115); Jay Em Ess Stable’s Worldly, Miguel Mena (114); and Danny Keene’s Heavenville, Jermaine Bridgmohan (111).
JOE HOLLYWOOD SEEKS STARDOM IN GAUDIN; PAN ZARETA ATTRACTS ‘MARIE’ – Whispering Oaks Farm’s Joe Hollywood, favored at 8-5 in Saturday’s $75,000 F. W. Gaudin Memorial morning line, faces former Gaudin winner Cash Refund, owned by Richard, Bertram and Elaine Klein and three others in the sprint for older horses on the main track, while last year’s local $60,000 A. B. Leggio winner Wild About Marie, owned by Ike and Dawn Thrash, is slated as the 4-1 early choice in Saturday’s $75,000 Pan Zareta Stakes – a grass dash for fillies and mares at about 5 1/2 furlongs over the Stall-Wilson turf course.
SPECIAL $100,000-GUARANTEED PICK FOUR SATURDAY – Fair Grounds will offer a special $100,000-Guaranteed Pick Four on Races 8-11 Saturday, a challenging and potentially lucrative sequence starting with a 12-horse 3-year-old maiden special weight and continuing with the competitive, nine-horse $100,000 Louisiana Handicap, the 13-horse $75,000 Pan Zareta Stakes for female turf sprinters and the featured Grade III, $175,000 Lecomte Stakes with a wide-open field of 13 sophomores. The $100,000-Guaranteed Pick Four is special for the graded stakes day and is sandwiched between the two everyday Pick Fours on Races 2-5 and the last four, Races 10-13. Fair Grounds also features the new Black Gold 5, a jackpot carryover wager beginning on Race 5 that pays the entire pool to anyone holding the lone perfect ticket.
POST TIMES – First post for Starlight Racing on Friday is 5 p.m. CST and gates open at 3:30 p.m. First post on Saturday for Road to the Derby Kickoff Day is a half-hour earlier than normal, at 12:10 p.m. CST, and gates open at 11 a.m. First post on Sunday is the usual 12:40 p.m. with gates at 11 a.m.
ADMISSION REMINDER – There is a General Admission charge of $5 on the four graded stakes days this season: Saturday (Road to the Derby Kickoff Day), Feb. 25 (Louisiana Derby Preview Day), March 31 (Fair Grounds Oaks Day) and April 1 (Louisiana Derby Day). Clubhouse general admission is $10 on those dates.
FORTUS, WEST TO PREVIEW RACES AT SATURDAY SEMINAR – The Times-Picayune’s Bob Fortus, recently inducted into the Fair Grounds Press Box Hall of Fame, and ESPN.com contributor Gary West will preview the Road to the Derby Kickoff Day card at a free handicapping seminar Saturday morning in the Phoenix Room on the third floor at 11:30 a.m.
HALFWAY POINT – Sunday will mark Day 42 of the 84-day meet.
FREE “BRISNET.COM EARLY PICK FOUR” PAST PERFROMANCES – Players can access free Ultimate Past Performances for the “Brisnet.com Early Pick Four” daily at Brisnet.com beginning Friday. The “Brisnet.com Early Pick Four” starts on Race 2 every day.
GOLD ROOM ACCESS FOR $10 BEGINNING WEDNESDAY – Access to Fair Grounds’ VIP Gold Room will be available for $10 per day beginning Wednesday. Twin Spires Club Gold and Platinum VIPs (soon to be TSC Elite Gold and Platinum VIPs) will continue to receive free access to the room. To purchase VIP Gold Room access on live racing days, see Simone, the Gold Room Attendant stationed inside the VIP Gold Room main entrance on the first level of the Grandstand, east side, next to the program booth. On simulcast days, Gold Room Access can be purchased from the Gold Room mutuel teller. The Gold Room offers the most comfort and convenience of any are at Fair Grounds, with 30 flat-screen HD monitors showing racing from across the country, as well as a live teller and self-service machines with no waiting to bet. Players can watch from private carrels, or relax in plush lounge chairs and couches.
LOUISIANA DERBY GOLF TOURNAMENT DATE SET – The Louisiana Derby Golf Tournament, which annually raises thousands of dollars for backstretch initiatives, including the weekly shuttle to Wal-Mart, will be held March 13 at Lakewood Golf Club, beginning at 1 p.m. The cost to play is $100 per person or $400 for foursomes with hole sponsorships available for $100. The tournament is limited to 30 teams. More details will be announced in coming weeks. To reserve your spot in advance contact Sandra Salmen in Horsemen’s Relations at 504-948-1150.
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]
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140th Thoroughbred Racing Season, Nov. 24-April 1
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