Do Kentucky and Louisiana Matter Anymore?

In 1996, Grindstone won the Louisiana Derby (which at the time was a grade III and run in mid-March), prepped for the Kentucky Derby in the Arkansas Derby, and went on to capture the roses by a nose.

Three years later in 1999, Charismatic, who had run in a $62,500 claimer at Santa Anita in February, won the Lexington Stakes at Keeneland before shocking the field at 31-1 to win the Derby. Both horses were trained by D. Wayne Lukas but neither were based in Louisiana or Kentucky.