On Saturday at Fair Grounds, the featured race on Louisiana Champions Day is the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic. Restricted to horses bred in Louisiana, the race will be contested at a mile and an eighth and has drawn a field of nine colts and geldings.
Mobile Bay has been tabbed as the morning line favorite in the competitive field at odds of 9-5 for trainer Victor Arceneaux. Bred and owned by Tigertail Ranch, the three-year-old son of Lone Star Special has been on the board in eleven of his twelve starts has six wins. The multiple stakes winner earned his biggest win in the Super Derby (G2) at Louisiana Downs and was last seen winning the Zia Park Derby. Edgar Prado will be aboard and they will break from the outside post.
Second choice at morning line odds of 2-1 is The Pickett Factor for trainer Ralph Irwin. A gelded son of Gold Tribute, the bay three-year-old has five wins from seven starts and is a multiple stakes winner. After a fourth-place finish in the Super Derby (G2), he rebounded to win the Gold Cup Stakes at Delta Downs last time out. Luis Quinonez will be aboard from post position five.
Also in the field at morning line odds of 9-2 is One King’s Man for trainer Joe Sharp. A gelded son of K One King, the five-year-old will carry the colors of Ken and Sarah Ramsey as he tries to earn his tenth career victory. He was second in this race last year and has had two wins from five starts this year. Miguel Mena will be aboard and they will break from post position four.
The field is set for the $1 million Haskell, where Nyquist will be trying to re-stake his claim as the top three-year-old in the country.
On Sunday at Monmouth Park, the featured race is the $300,000 United Nations Stakes. Scheduled to be run at a mile and three-eighths on the turf, the Grade 1 event has drawn a field of ten colts and geldings.
On Sunday at Monmouth Park, the featured race is the $150,000 Pegasus Stakes, a key prep race for the Haskell Invitational (G1). The Grade 3 event will be contested at a mile and a sixteenth and has drawn a field of seven three-year-olds.
With five grade 1 races and a grade 2, the undercard for the June 11 Belmont stakes could be the best single day of racing on the calendar outside of the Breeders’ Cup.
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