Flashback: Risen Star paved a way for Fair Grounds' Derby trail

It’s worth marveling at how Fair Grounds — in the span of just 30 years — has transformed a series of small stakes races for 3-year-olds into a lucrative path to the Kentucky Derby.

Just look at the history of the Risen Star Stakes (G2) that renews on Saturday. The race has attracted so many entries it split into two divisions, both carrying a purse of $400,000. How can a race like the Risen Star — inaugurated in 1989 with a purse of just $25,000 — have elevated so far in such a short period of time?

Many factors have played a part. But you can thank Risen Star himself for getting the ball rolling.

Back in 1988, when the equine Risen Star was 3 years old, there weren’t as many major routes to the Kentucky Derby. The Louisiana Derby — Fair Grounds’ signature winter race for sophomores — was merely a Grade 3, $150,000 race held in March, serving as a steppingstone toward more coveted prep races.

And to prepare for the Louisiana Derby, the Fair Grounds locals didn’t have the same rich opportunities they do today. The Lecomte Stakes — then the Lecomte Handicap — was an established February test for 3-year-olds, but in 1988 it was an ungraded race carrying a $20,000 purse. The Risen Star had yet to be inaugurated, but in its place was the “Derby Trial,” a 1-mile and 40-yard event also carrying a $20,000 prize.

Then Risen Star entered the picture. A son of Triple Crown winner Secretariat out of the graded stakes-winning mare Ribbon, Risen Star had sold for $300,000 as a 2-year-old in training to Louie J. Roussel III, who subsequently trained and raced the dark bay colt in partnership with Ronald Lamarque.

Although he was generally unremarkable as a juvenile, Risen Star slowly came to hand during the winter of 1988. He kicked off the season with a 10-length allowance victory at Fair Grounds, then battled to a runner-up effort in the Lecomte, efforts that prompted Risen Star’s connections to nominate their colt to the Triple Crown.

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It might have seemed like an ambitious goal, but then Risen Star tackled the Derby Trial and delivered a performance so eye-catching folks couldn’t help but take notice.

Breaking from post 11 out of a dozen runners, Risen Star was slow into stride under jockey Shane Romero. Typically, Risen Star could be trusted to display some semblance of tactical speed, but in the Derby Trial he did his best impression of a turtle, falling some 14 lengths off the lead as longshot Louisiana Bred sprinted through quick fractions of :23 3/5 and :46 1/5.

But as the field progressed down the backstretch and around the far turn, Risen Star — racing wide — lengthened his stride to gain ground on the leaders. The Lecomte winner Pastourelles got the jump on Risen Star, surging to the lead in the stretch, but by that point Romero had Risen Star in full flight. With a sixteenth of a mile remaining, Risen Star’s momentum carried him to even terms with his Lecomte conqueror, and in the final yards he forged clear to score by a length in 1:40 flat.

With this impressive stretch-running victory, Risen Star turned a corner. Over the next 3 1/2 months he went on a tear, developing into a nearly unbeatable sophomore beast. He rallied to a comfortable score in the Louisiana Derby. He battled tenaciously to win the Lexington Stakes. He finished third with a wide trip in the Kentucky Derby.

And then, with a burst of glory, Risen Star’s tactical speed returned to the equation. No longer reliant on fast fractions to set up his rallies, Risen Star employed pace-tracking tactics to win both the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. In the latter race, he brought back memories of his great sire Secretariat, surging clear with utmost authority to win by a stunning 14 3/4 lengths.

Fair Grounds was proud of Risen Star, and in 1989, the track renamed the Derby Trial in his honor. Some 30 years later, Fair Grounds can boast of hosting some of the most lucrative prep races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.

It’s safe to say Risen Star helped pave the way.

J. Keeler Johnson is a writer, videographer, handicapper, and all-around horse racing enthusiast. A great fan of racing history, he considers Dr. Fager to be the greatest racehorse ever produced in America, but counts Zenyatta as his all-time favorite. You can follow him on Twitter at @J_Keelerman.