The official distance of the Grade 3 Lecomte Stakes is a 1 1/16-mile race, but for all intents and purposes, the prep race for the 2024 Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve for 3-year-olds was over at the half-mile pole.
Flint S. “Scotty” Schulhofer spent almost all of his 80 years on this earth around horses and racetracks, but in a sense he was much like a fine wine.
Born as the son of a horse owner-riding academy operator, he went to work at the racetrack as a 17-year-old youth. Yet when he approached his 60s – at a time when most men would look to slow down and eye retirement – he enjoyed his greatest run of sustained success and assembled a stable that rivaled any in the sport.
The National Thoroughbred Racing Association, Daily Racing Form, and the National Turf Writers and Broadcasters announced Jan. 18 that Tom Hammond, whose dynamic career of more than 50 years in broadcasting, television production, and numerous contributions to the Thoroughbred industry, will be honored with the Special Eclipse Award for Career Excellence at the 53rd Annual Eclipse Awards Dinner and Ceremony at The Breakers Palm Beach in Florida Jan. 25.
The New Orleans path to the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve continues Saturday with the 1 1/16-mile Lecomte Stakes, the second of four qualifying races at Fair Grounds for 3-year-olds targeting the 2024 run for the roses.
Action during the upcoming weekend on the North American horse racing calendar focuses squarely on New Orleans, where on Saturday, Jan. 20, Fair Grounds will host the second of its four qualifying points races for the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, the Lecomte Stakes.
