Meet the New FG Hall of Fame Inductees

After being inactive since the ravages of Hurricane Katrina, two horses and one trainer who was long overdue were inducted into the Fair Grounds Hall of Fame during ceremonies at the New Orleans oval Thursday evening.

Edmund Gann’s Peace Rules, who won the 2003 Louisiana Derby and came back the next winter to take down winning honors in the 2004 New Orleans Handicap, was the first inductee honored, with Fair Grounds’ horsemen’s relations director Sandra Salmen accepting the plaque on behalf the Peace Rules’ late owner as well as his Hall of Fame trainer Bobby Frankel, who died at the age of 68 in November of 2009 after being stricken with cancer less than a year earlier.

“I know how much Peace Rules meant to both Mr. Gann and Bobby,” Salmen said when accepting the award. “They both would have been very proud to be here.”

Next up to the podium to accept his plaque at Thursday’s ceremonies was conditioner Steve Asmussen, who will be winning his 10th trainer Fair Grounds training title when the 2010-2011 New Orleans racing season comes to a close Sunday evening, joining Hall of Fame trainer Jack Van Berg who also won 10 local titles.

“It’s truly a great honor to be in this position,” said Asmussen when accepting his plaque, “and I’m very grateful for it.”

The last inductee honored at the Thursday ceremonies was 2009 Horse of the Year Rachel Alexandra, who became the fourth Fair Grounds Oaks winner in its last six renewals to go to go on to capture the Kentucky Oaks later that spring.

Trainer Hal Wiggins, now retired, was Rachel Alexandra’s conditioner when she won the Fair Grounds Oaks and Kentucky Oaks in 2009.

“First of all I’d like to congratulate Steve (Asmussen, who took over Rachel Alexandra’s training shortly after the Kentucky Oaks) on his honor and also to thank Fair Grounds for recognizing Rachel Alexandra with her honor,” Wiggins said. “I am proud to be able to accept it, especially on behalf of Mr. and Mrs. (Dolphus) Morrison. I trained for them for over 40 years, and over that period of time we also became close friends.”