Fair Grounds: Rain forces 4 races, including 3 stakes, off turf
Races at Fair Grounds on Saturday will be taken off the turf after rainy weather. All races will happen on the dirt track, which was rated sloppy as of Saturday morning.
Fair Grounds announced races being removed from the grass course in a post on X on Saturday morning. The post cited "too much rain" as the reason for the move.
Four of Saturday's 12 races were originally carded for the grass. Those include the 1 1/16-mile Colonel E. R. Bradley for older horses, the Marie G. Krantz memorial at the same distance for fillies and mares, the 5 1/2-furlong Duncan F. Kenner and a first-level allowance race for older horses. The condition book did not note any distance changes for the races if they were taken off turf.
As of 12:45 p.m. EDT, three horses had been scratched from the Duncan F. Kenner. 9-5 Morning-line favorite Nobals was already expected to scratch due to the threat of rain. Mischievous Rogue (7-2), Gilded Ruler (6-1) and Felix (15-1) were also scratched.
The morning-line favorite for the Marie. G. Krantz, Cupids Crush (4-1), remained in the field. Scratches include morning-line second-favorite Nanda Dea (5-1), Way to Be Marie (6-1), Austere (10-1), Join the Dance (10-1), Lady Firefoot (15-1), Autism Community (20-1) and Hurry Up Hannah (20-1).
Gigante, the 7-2 morning-line favorite in the Colonel E. R. Bradley, likewise stayed in the race. Joint morning-line second choice Northern Invader and Wadsworth (5-1), What Say Thee (6-1), Higgins Boat (8-1), Gray's Fable (12-1), Tonka Warrior (12-1), Velocitor (20-1) and Stitched (30-1) were scratched Saturday from the Bradley.
The card also includes three stakes originally carded for dirt. The Lecomte (G3) offers Kentucky Derby qualifying points, the Silverbulletday offers Kentucky Oaks qualifying points and the Louisiana (G3) drew a competitive field of older runners.
Admiral Dennis (8-1), cross-entered in an allowance optional claiming race Monday, was scratched from the Lecomte. California Sunset (5-1) and Gowells Delight (8-1) are out of the Silverbulletday. Velocitor (15-1) has been scratched from the Louisiana.
According to the National Weather Service, 0.39 inches of rain fell Saturday morning in New Orleans. Forecasters called for a 40% chance of rain Saturday, with showers and thunderstorms possible through 1 p.m. EDT and a slight chance of more rain until 3 p.m. EDT.