Star Guitar Ready for Champions Day Classic

The 20th anniversary edition of Louisiana Champions Day will be run this Saturday at Fair Grounds as an expanded 13-race program with a special early first race post time of 12:10 p.m., but the main attraction of the afternoon, as always, will be the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic, the richest race of the day, run at nine furlongs for 3-year-olds and up.

Emerging as the main attraction in the Classic for the second consecutive year will be Brittlyn Stable’s Star Guitar, who would make history by winning a Champions Day race for the fourth consecutive year.

Star Guitar will be trying to repeat his victory in last year’s Classic, while in 2008 he took down winning honors in the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint and in 2007 captured the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile. 

On Monday, the 5-year-old son of Quiet American went an easy half-mile in 49.20 just after the break with trainer Al Stall Jr. looking on intently from his backstretch perch.

“That was just about what I was looking for,” said Stall to those standing nearby. “He went fine. The important work was last week (when Star Guitar went a bullet five-eighths 1:00.40). He should be ready.”

After being idle almost three months since his victory in the $100,000 Evangeline Mile Handicap August 14, Star Guitar ran fourth in Delta Downs’ $100,000 Gold Cup Nov. 5, but now appears ideally set up for his run at history on Saturday. Along with Jac Mac Stable’s mare Superior Storm, who will be running in Saturday’s $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies, they could become the first horses to ever win four Louisiana Champions Day races at Fair Grounds, and up the ante once again in the public consciousness of the accredited Louisiana-bred program in the process.