Louisiana Derby and Jeff Ruby Steaks Headline a Blockbuster Weekend of Racing

Mar 21st, 2026

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Louisiana Derby and Jeff Ruby Steaks Headline Weekend

The Road to the Kentucky Derby kicks into high gear this weekend with two of the biggest prep races of the spring calendar. Saturday, March 21 delivers a double shot of Derby qualifying action as the $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (G2) takes center stage at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans and the $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) anchors a massive card at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky. Both races carry a full 200 qualifying points distributed on a 100-50-25-15-10 scale to the top five finishers, meaning the winners will all but punch their tickets to the starting gate at Churchill Downs on May 2.

A competitive field of nine three-year-olds will load into the starting gate for the 113th running of the Louisiana Derby, contested over 1 3/16 miles on the Fair Grounds dirt - the longest distance of any stateside Derby prep. Morning-line favorite Chip Honcho, trained by Steve Asmussen at odds of 3-1, arrives with 39 Kentucky Derby points already banked following a win in the Gun Runner Stakes and solid efforts in the Lecomte and Risen Star. Asmussen, who tied Todd Pletcher with five Louisiana Derby victories when Tiztastic captured last year's renewal, is hungry to claim the record outright with a sixth win in the Crescent City classic.

Close behind on the morning line at 7-2 is Golden Tempo, a Cherie DeVaux trainee who won the Lecomte (G3) earlier this meet and will don blinkers for the first time. A quartet of contenders sit at 6-1, including Blacksmith, who ships in from Bob Baffert's California base after finally breaking his maiden in his fifth career start; Emerging Market, a flashy debut winner at Tampa Bay Downs stepping directly into graded company; Pavlovian, a California-bred who scored a gutsy nose victory in the Sunland Park Derby; and the lightly raced Easterly, one of two entrants from Brad Cox's barn, who impressed when stretching out to two turns at Gulfstream. The distance is the question for many of these colts - this will be the farthest several have ever traveled - and Fair Grounds' famously long homestretch gives closers every chance to reel in front-runners who have gotten in over their heads. Post time for the Louisiana Derby is 6:42 p.m. ET.

The Louisiana Derby is far from the only attraction on a stacked 14-race Fair Grounds card. The Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) serves as a premier Kentucky Oaks prep for three-year-old fillies, the New Orleans Handicap (G2) pits top older handicap runners against one another, and the Muniz Memorial Classic (G2) showcases some of the best older grass horses in training. Add the Tom Benson Memorial Stakes for turf fillies and mares, plus a pair of Louisiana-bred stakes, and you have the flagship card of the entire Fair Grounds winter-spring meet - a day that demands your attention from first post to last.

Up in northern Kentucky, the Jeff Ruby Steaks presents one of the most intriguing puzzles on the Derby trail. The race is the only major qualifier run on a synthetic surface - Turfway's Tapeta track - which tends to reward fluid, turf-like strides and has historically been a launching pad for surprise Derby contenders. Rich Strike famously emerged from a third-place Jeff Ruby finish in 2022 to pull off one of the most stunning Kentucky Derby upsets in history at 80-1, and the 2023 runner-up Two Phil's also used this race as a springboard.

This year's 11-horse field blends dirt specialists, turf horses, and proven Tapeta runners. Stark Contrast, who competed in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf (G1) last fall, is expected to attract significant interest. Chaos Agent and Fulleffort have established competitive local form, while Argos brings the highest credentials of the group after winning the Summer Stakes (G1) at Woodbine last year - though his form has dipped in recent starts. Brad Cox sends out Medici, and veteran campaigner Baytown Dreamer offers the most experience in the field with seven previous stakes starts to his name. Post time for the Jeff Ruby Steaks is approximately 6:25 p.m. ET, and Turfway's 13-race program also features the Bourbonette Oaks and the Kentucky Cup Classic.

Beyond the marquee Derby preps, there is no shortage of live racing across North America this weekend. Santa Anita Park offers full cards on both Saturday and Sunday, highlighted by Sunday's Sensational Star Stakes for older runners sprinting on the downhill turf course. Oaklawn Park continues its powerhouse winter-spring meet with competitive daily programs. Gulfstream Park, Aqueduct, Laurel Park, and Remington Park all host racing over the two-day stretch.

North of the border, Canadian Thoroughbred fans are counting down to the opening of Woodbine Racetrack's 2026 season on April 18. The track recently unveiled an ambitious stakes schedule headlined by the 167th King's Plate on August 15 and the Grade 1 Woodbine Mile on September 12, with 40 graded stakes events across the calendar.

With the 152nd Kentucky Derby now just six weeks away, every weekend raises the stakes higher. Saturday's Louisiana Derby and Jeff Ruby Steaks will reshape the leaderboard and could crown new favorites for the first Saturday in May. The winners will each pocket 100 qualifying points - virtually guaranteeing a spot beneath the Twin Spires at Churchill Downs. For the three-year-olds loaded into the gates in New Orleans and Florence this Saturday, this is the moment their connections have been building toward all winter. Saddle up!

Sign in, pick up your E-Z Win^® Forms, and hit a Big 'Un or two this racing weekend!

Wouldn't That Be Great Again?
by Ed Meyer

Horse racing has given me some of the best memories of my life. There is nothing like the feeling of watching a majestic animal come thundering home doing what God intended them to do. As much as I loved watching, when wagering came into play it became my first love. But looking back and relishing the years of being a young fan to working in the industry for 40 plus years. I’ve always felt it was the people who made the game special. Horses did the heavy lifting, but they can’t sit and have a beer and talk on the front porch with you. But, for me, it was always the people and the memories we had made and shared. Here are a few that bring a tear to my eye and a smile in my heart.

Recent Big 'Uns

Charles Town

Mar 13 (R 3-8)

$1 Pick 6 (5 of 6)

$10,357.00

Tampa Bay Downs

Mar 15 (R 9)

$1 S5 (KEY)

$7,367.50

Turf Paradise

Mar 11 (R 4-8)

50¢ Pick 5

$7,158.05

Charles Town

Mar 13 (R 5-8)

$1 Pick 4

$4,755.80

Turfway

Mar 13 (R 10)

$1 Super High 5

$3,923.21

Turf Paradise

Mar 11 (R 5-8)

50¢ Pick 4

$3,396.60

Laurel

Mar 15 (R 6)

50¢ S5 (KEY)

$3,172.00

Gulfstream

Mar 15 (R 7-10)

50¢ Pick 4

$2,179.45

Tampa Bay Downs

Mar 18 (R 8)

50¢ Super High 5

$1,844.20

Upcoming Weekend Stakes Races

Saturday, Mar 21st

Fair Grounds
$1,000,000 Louisiana Derby (G2)
$500,000 New Orleans Classic (G2)
$400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2)
$300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic (G2)
$150,000 Tom Benson Memorial
$100,000 Crescent City Oaks
Gulfstream
$125,000 Texas Glitter S.
Houston
$102,000 TX Thoroughbred Association Derby
$102,000 TX Thoroughbred Association Oaks
Laurel
$100,000 Beyond the Wire S.
$100,000 Private Terms S.
Oaklawn
$500,000 Essex H. (G3)
$135,000 LaPatourel Overnight S.
Santa Anita
$100,000 San Luis Rey S. (G3)
$100,000 Irish O'Brien S.
Turfway
$777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3)
$300,000 KY Cup Classic (G3)
$300,000 Bourbonette Oaks
$250,000 Animal Kingdom S.
$250,000 Rushaway S.
$250,000 Latonia S.

Sunday, Mar 22nd

Fair Grounds
$100,000 Ova Charged S.
$100,000 Shantel Lanerie Memorial
$100,000 Star Guitar S.
Gulfstream
$125,000 Leinster Melody of Color S.
Santa Anita
$100,000 Sensational Star S.

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Picks/Results For 2019 Florida Derby

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