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#1
08-11-2009, 05:04 PM
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LA Derby will lengthen, richen, compete with FL Derby
Major changes for Louisiana Derby
By Marty McGee http://www.drf.com/news/article/106268.html The Louisiana Derby will have a bigger purse, longer distance, and a date closer to the Kentucky Derby when the longtime Fair Grounds fixture is run in 2010. Officials at Churchill Downs Inc., which owns Fair Grounds in New Orleans, issued a media release Tuesday announcing that the Louisiana Derby will be worth $750,000, up from $600,000, when the race is run March 27, 2010, which is two weeks later than what had been customary. The 2010 date is just five weeks before the 136th Kentucky Derby, to be run May 1 at Churchill Downs. In addition, the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby has been lengthened by a sixteenth of a mile to 1 1/8 miles. The new date will put the Louisiana Derby in competition with other major Derby prep races. This year the Grade 1, $750,000 Florida Derby was run five weeks befoe the Kentucky Derby.
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All ambitions are lawful except those which climb upward on the miseries or credulities of mankind. ~ Joseph Conrad A long habit of not thinking a thing wrong, gives it a superficial appearance of being right. ~ Thomas Paine Don't let anyone tell you that your dreams can't come true. They are only afraid that theirs won't and yours will. ~ Robert Evans 
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#2
08-11-2009, 05:08 PM
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Interesting. I think the timing difference will help more than the purse.
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#4
08-11-2009, 05:12 PM
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So dumb. They now get lesser fields having to compete with all the other final preps and make it impossible for horses to run in the New Orleans Handicap and Oaklawn Handicap. Moving it up one week to give 8 weeks until the Derby would have made so much more sense.
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#5
08-11-2009, 05:27 PM
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i like the distance increase
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#6
08-11-2009, 05:43 PM
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Quote:
As for the NO Handicap, there is such a dearth of legitimate handicap races in the country at that time of year that they could run it whenever they want. FG had a field of 14 entered in the NO Cap last year. Oaklawn had 7 in the Oaklawn Handicap. They shouldn't be concerned with allowing horsemen to run at Oaklawn, a track that had a significantly stronger meet than FG last year. I like the move, it adds some starch to their closing weeks and puts it in position to be a legitimate prep. This will keep people like Larry Jones, Todd Pletcher and all the rest from using the La Derby as a final Derby prep eight weeks off the race. NT Last edited by NTamm1215 : 08-11-2009 at 05:53 PM.
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#7
08-11-2009, 05:50 PM
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This is a good move on the part of the Fair Grounds. Their race was becoming less popular with its odd distance/spacing at that time of year. Now they've taken a stand. Going the other way could have worked, but then you're still another round away from the Derby.
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#8
08-11-2009, 08:42 PM
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#9
08-11-2009, 10:16 PM
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I know it, because that is just what this sport needs, more cannabalism
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"In sports there are just two Opening Days, the Opening Day of Baseball and Opeining Day of Saratoga, all the rest are just season openers"
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#10
08-11-2009, 10:28 PM
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Still trying to outsmart me, aren't you, mule-skinner? You want me to think that you don't want me to go down there, but the subtle truth is you really don't want me to go down there!
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#11
08-11-2009, 11:32 PM
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And let's not forget that the World Cup moves to synthetics next year so all the top dirt horses won't be a guarantee to go over there. That means between the Donn and the Met Mile there is a huge gap for races like the New Orleans Handicap and Oaklawn Handicap to gain G1 status. By having the two races compete with each other instead of feed into each other it assures that neither will get there anytime soon.
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