The winter-spring meet at Fair Grounds wraps up this coming weekend with the track’s signature race, the $1 million, Grade 2 Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. The 1 3/16-mile race on Saturday, March 23, is an important prep on the road to the 2024 Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve, offering a total of 200 qualifying points for the May 4 classic distributed to the top five finishers on a 100-50-25-15-10 basis.

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Five horses have exited the Louisiana Derby and gone on to win the run for the roses at Churchill Downs: Black Gold in 1924; Grindstone in 1996; Funny Cide in 2003; Country House in 2019; and Mandaloun in 2021 (the last two via disqualification). Black Gold and Grindstone both won the Louisiana Derby prior to taking the first leg of the Triple Crown. Read about some of the best Louisiana Derby winners in this article.

This year’s competitive 12-horse field includes six 3-year-olds exiting the Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds on Feb. 17, including runner-up Track Phantom. That colt won both the Gun Runner Stakes and the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds prior to finishing second to Sierra Leone in the Risen Star and currently sits in fifth place on the Road to Kentucky Derby leaderboard with 55 qualifying points.

The 111th Louisiana Derby will be televised on CNBC and FanDuel TV and streamed on Peacock. It has a scheduled post time of 6:42 p.m. ET. Read on for information about all 12 starters.

Bob Coglianese/Gulfstream Park

1. Triple Espresso (20-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Luis Saez

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable

Career record: 5 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 1 third

Career earnings: $94,800

Earnings per start: $18,960

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 84

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Omaha Beach – Natural Rush, by Indian Charlie

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Triple Espresso is the first of three Todd Pletcher-trained starters in the Louisiana Derby, although both this colt (as an also-eligible) and Agate Road are cross-entered in the Jeff Ruby Steaks Saturday at Turfway Park, another 200-point prep for the Kentucky Derby. This colt from the first crop of highly regarded Grade 1 winner Omaha Beach has made all five of his previous starts on turf, and was put into stakes company immediately last fall as his first two starts came in stakes races, including the Pilgrim Stakes on Oct. 4 when he finished fifth behind Agate Road. Triple Espresso broke his maiden in his first appearance at age 3 on Jan. 20 at Gulfstream Park, rallying strongly to win a 1 1/16-mile turf race by 1 ¼ lengths. He subsequently finished fourth of nine in the one-mile Colonel Liam Stakes at Gulfstream on March 2. This colt has top-flight connections and a decent pedigree, but he’s facing a big class test plus a surface switch in the Louisiana Derby and would have to run at a level he’s not previously approached to hit the board. Pletcher is the all-time winningest trainer in the Louisiana Derby with five victories: Circular Quay (2007), Mission Impazible (2010), Revolutionary (2013), Noble Indy (2018), and Kingsbarns (2023). Update: Todd Pletcher told Marcus Hersh of Daily Racing Form that Triple Espresso will start in the Jeff Ruby Steaks if he draws in as an also-eligible, while Agate Road will run in the Louisiana Derby.

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2. Hall of Fame (8-1)

Jockey: Ricardo Santana Jr.

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Owners: Susan Magnier, Michael Tabor, Derrick Smith, Westerberg, Gandharvi, and Brook Smith

Career record: 3 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $64,000

Earnings per start: $21,333

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Flag Day, by Giant’s Causeway

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Based on his $1.4 million yearling purchase price, his name, and his support at the betting windows through three career starts, this well-bred son of 2016 Louisiana Derby winner and 2017 Horse of the Year Gun Runner checks all the boxes of a leading Kentucky Derby prospect… except for the on-track results. He’s only made three career starts, however, and he’s flashed enough potential to still carry the hopes of his elite connections as he makes a final attempt at securing ample Kentucky Derby points with a first- or second-place finish Saturday. After finishing second in his only start at 2, Hall of Fame romped by 10 ¼ lengths in his 2023 debut Jan. 24 going 1 1/16 miles at Fair Grounds, setting him up for a start in the Risen Star Stakes Feb. 17. Sent off as the third betting choice in a 12-horse field, Hall of Fame raced three wide through the backstretch while stalking the pace and briefly loomed a threat on the far turn, but faded late while moving farther outside and finished 8 ¾ lengths behind Sierra Leone. The Risen Star was held on a sloppy track, and this runner should have more favorable conditions for his second stakes start (the forecast five days out from March 23 calls for sunny skies in New Orleans). Santana is back aboard and will attempt to navigate a better trip for this talented, but inexperienced colt, perhaps rating him in second or third behind projected pacesetter and stablemate Track Phantom. Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen has won the Louisiana Derby four times and can tie Todd Pletcher for most win all time with a victory Saturday. His wins came with Fifty Stars (2001), Pyro (2008), the aforementioned Gun Runner, and Epicenter (2022). Asmussen-trained Disarm finished second last year.

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3. Antiquarian (12-1)

Jockey: John Velazquez

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owner: Centennial Farms

Career record: 2 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $53,000

Earnings per start: $26,500

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 84

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Preservationist – Lifetime Memory, by Istan

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Unlike Todd Pletcher’s other two Louisiana Derby starters – Triple Espresso and Agate Road – Antiquarian has raced exclusively on dirt, albeit only through two career starts. He enters the Louisiana Derby off of a maiden win at Fair Grounds on the Feb. 17 Risen Star Stakes undercard, a race in which he pressed the early pace under Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez and drew clear in the stretch to win the 1 1/16-mile test by a length on a sloppy track. He boosted his Equibase Speed Figure from 74 in his Jan. 13 debut at Gulfstream Park (a near-miss second in a one-mile dirt race) to 84 at Fair Grounds, and will need another improvement of 10 points or more to have a chance at the upset in the Louisiana Derby. Antiquarian actually has a pedigree that tilts more toward turf on his dam’s (mother’s) side but he should be able to handle stretching out to 1 3/16 miles – and what’s more, he’s shown the ability to race close to the early lead in his young career. That should be beneficial in a Louisiana Derby field that, aside from Track Phantom, lacks speed on paper. Look for Velazquez to be aggressive with Antiquarian early and position him among the top two or three horses during the run through the backstretch. Velazquez has won this race twice, both on Pletcher-trained runners: Circular Quay in 2007 and Noble Indy in 2018.

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4. Agate Road (8-1)

Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.

Trainer: Todd Pletcher

Owners: Repole Stable and St. Elias Stable

Career record: 6 starts – 2 wins – 3 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $283,500

Earnings per start: $47,250

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 104

Kentucky Derby points: 10

Pedigree: Quality Road – Yellow Agate, by Gemologist

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Agate Road was cross-entered in the Jeff Ruby Steaks Saturday at Turfway Park, but trainer Todd Pletcher told Marcus Hersh of Daily Racing Form that this Grade 2 winner on turf would bypass the Jeff Ruby, run on Turfway’s all-weather track, and target the Louisiana Derby on dirt instead. The Quality Road colt has run very well in all four of his turf starts – including a solid fifth in the 2023 Prevagen Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf – but then, on the other hand, he’s also competed well on dirt, with two runner-up finishes in as many starts. One of those came on Feb. 10 in his first attempt at securing Kentucky Derby points, when he rallied from 11th of 12 horses to check in second behind No More Time in the 1 1/16-mile Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. (No More Time subsequently finished second by a neck in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby). Agate Road has established his credentials as one of the most talented 3-year-olds in training, and he should make some noise if the early pace is fast enough to set up his come-from-behind kick. Todd Pletcher has five wins in the Louisiana Derby, most all-time among trainers, and with Antiquarian and Agate Road he has two chances to get his sixth in 2024.

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5. Catching Freedom (4-1)

Jockey: Flavien Prat

Trainer: Brad Cox

Owner: Albaugh Family Stables

Career record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 0 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $277,350

Earnings per start: $69,338

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 97

Kentucky Derby points: 25

Pedigree: Constitution – Catch My Drift, by Pioneerof the Nile

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This son of good young sire Constitution is a leading win candidate in the Louisiana Derby coming off of a solid third-place finish in the Risen Star Stakes Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds. He rallied at the top of the stretch while eight wide in the 1 1/8-mile race and remained on his wrong lead for most of that final charge while also being boxed in near the finish between a closing Sierra Leone to his outside and pacesetter Track Phantom to his inside. Catching Freedom shipped in from Oaklawn Park for the Risen Star after winning the 1 1/16-mile Smarty Jones Stakes Jan. 1 at the Hot Springs, Ark., track, where he had an easier time of it in the stretch and won going away by 2 ½ lengths. Jockey Flavien Prat takes the mount for the first time Saturday, and he could position Catching Freedom a bit closer to the early lead than in prior races in order to reduce chances of traffic trouble when the stretch running begins. This colt’s Equibase Speed Figures in both of his stakes appearances are in the upper rank of Louisiana Derby contenders, and it would be a surprise to see him finish out of the top four if he gets a clean trip. Prat won the Louisiana Derby last year aboard front-running Kingsbarns, and trainer Brad Cox won the 2020 edition with Wells Bayou.

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6. Awesome Ruta (30-1)

Jockey: Mitchell Murrill

Trainer: Joseph Foster

Owners: Tri-Star Racing and Cimarron TTT Farms

Career record: 7 starts – 1 win – 1 second – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $47,570

Earnings per start: $6,796

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 86

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Mendelssohn – Awesome Prayer, by Awesome Again

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This longshot enters the Louisiana Derby off of a sixth-place finish in the Risen Star Stakes Feb. 17, in which he faded from a stalking spot to check in 8 ¼ lengths behind winner Sierra Leone. Overall, Awesome Ruta’s best efforts came last summer and fall at Louisiana Downs and Delta Downs, winning his second start, a six-furlong sprint, at the former track by nine lengths and then coming up a neck short in Delta Downs’ Jean Laffitte Stakes held at seven furlongs. Since moving to Fair Grounds, Awesome Ruta has not threatened in four starts, his best finish a third-place effort, beaten by 5 ¼ lengths, in a Jan. 18 allowance-optional claiming race held at six furlongs. In a best-case scenario, a blazing early pace could help him run past tired horses in the stretch to fill out the superfecta at gigantic odds, and that is still unlikely.

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7. Honor Marie (8-1)

Jockey: Ben Curtis

Trainer: D. Whitworth Beckman

Owners: Ribble Farms, Michael Eiserman, Earl Silver, Kenneth Fishbein, and Daniel Fishbein

Career record: 4 starts – 2 wins – 1 second – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $326,175

Earnings per start: $81,554

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 98

Kentucky Derby points: 15

Pedigree: Honor Code – Dame Marie, by Smart Strike

Color: Bay

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Honor Marie finished 2023 as an intriguing longshot Kentucky Derby contender and received some support over the winter months in future wager pools based on his visually impressive win in the Nov. 25 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs, where he closed from last to win the 1 1/16-mile test by two lengths. His 3-year-old bow in the Feb. 17 Risen Star Stakes on this track, however, was less encouraging, as he settled 10 lengths off of the early pace before mustering a mild rally that helped him pick off several contenders in the stretch to finish fifth, 6 ¼ lengths behind Sierra Leone. Trainer Whit Beckman said that the Risen Star was not an ideal return race for his charge based on the lack of speed horses entered (pacesetter Track Phantom held on for second), and truthfully, the Louisiana Derby doesn’t look much better in that regard. It will be interesting to see if jockey Ben Curtis, who replaces Rafael Bejarano and will ride Honor Marie for the first time Saturday, attempts to keep this deep-closing runner more in touch with the field through the first half-mile of the Louisiana Derby. He has the running style, speed figures, and pedigree to be a factor in this race as he makes his second start off the layoff, and Honor Marie will need to finish second or better to remain in the Kentucky Derby picture.

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8. Next Level (30-1)

Jockey: Jose Riquelme

Trainer: Keith Desormeaux

Owner: Don’t Tell My Wife Stables

Career record: 8 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $146,350

Earnings per start: $18,294

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 94

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Vino Rosso – Devious d’Oro, by Medaglia d’Oro

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: This son of 2019 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Vino Rosso has flopped in all three of his two-turn stakes tries going back to last fall when he was based in California. Otherwise, he’s been competitive at a lower level for trainer Keith Desormeaux, who has had success with longshots in recent years on the Kentucky Derby trail. Next Level was a pace factor three starts back in the Gun Runner Stakes Dec. 27 at Fair Grounds, dueling for the early lead with eventual winner Track Phantom, but he gave way readily entering the far turn and finished last of seven in the 1 1/16-mile race. He then was sent to Oaklawn Park and ran much better in a one-mile, two-turn allowance-optional claiming race on Jan. 28, finishing second by a head when rallying from off the pace, but then moved up in class again in the Feb. 24 Rebel Stakes and was no threat whatsoever, finishing eighth of 12. Now he’s back at Fair Grounds, where he won his only career race, a 1 1/16-mile maiden by a length after leading from start to finish. Look for local jockey Jose Riquelme to attempt to revert Next Level to the more forwardly placed running style he displayed in his maiden win as he tries to post a massive upset. 

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9. Real Men Violin (20-1)

Jockey: Corey Lanerie

Trainer: Ken McPeek

Owner: Tilted Shamrock Stables

Career record: 7 starts – 1 win – 4 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $220,825

Earnings per start: $31,546

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 95

Kentucky Derby points: 5

Pedigree: Mendelssohn – Meg Fitz, by Tapit

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker/closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: The first of two Ken McPeek-trained colts in the Louisiana Derby comes off of a mildly disappointing eighth-place finish in the Feb. 17 Risen Star Stakes at Fair Grounds, his 3-year-old debut. He was a 20.50-1 longshot in the Risen Star and had some appeal at those inflated odds as he’d posted Equibase Speed Figures in the mid-90s in his final two starts as a juvenile, a half-length win over Track Phantom in a one-mile, one-turn maiden special weight race at Churchill Downs in late October on a sloppy track and then an encouraging runner-up finish to Honor Marie in the 1 1/16-mile Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill on Nov. 27. In the Risen Star, Real Men Violin saved ground through both turns but was shuffled around a bit when he tried to find racing room in early stretch and ended up 12 ½ lengths behind winner Sierra Leone. Like Honor Marie, who finished fifth in the Risen Star, Real Men Violin is eligible to improve in his second start of his sophomore season. The Risen Star was the first time in seven starts that he failed to finish in the top three, which makes him worthy of consideration as an exacta and trifecta filler at the very least. Of note: jockey Brian Hernandez Jr., who rode this colt in the three abovementioned races, instead takes the mount on McPeek’s other trainee, Common Defense, in the Louisiana Derby. Corey Lanerie, who was aboard Real Men Violin in his debut runner-up effort last July on turf at Ellis Park, gets back aboard. Ken McPeek won the 2002 Louisiana Derby with Repent.

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10. Common Defense (6-1)

Jockey: Brian Hernandez Jr.

Trainer: Ken McPeek

Owner: Tony Holmes

Career record: 4 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $325,450

Earnings per start: $81,363

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 102

Kentucky Derby points: 27

Pedigree: Karakontie – Allusion, by Street Cry

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Closer

Notable achievements and interesting facts: McPeek’s other Louisiana Derby starter boasts the best Equibase Speed Figure in the field on a dirt track, which came in his lead-in race to Saturday’s tilt. Common Defense outran his 27.20-1 odds Feb. 24 in the 1 1/16-mile Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park to finish second by two lengths behind favored Timberlake, earning a 102 Equibase Speed Figure for the effort. The son of Japan-bred, Europe-based Breeders’ Cup Mile winner Karakontie had a perfect ground-saving trip in the Rebel under Brian Hernandez Jr. and shot through on the rail in midstretch to briefly loom a threat to Timberlake closing on the outside before leveling off late. That was a solid bounce-back race for Common Defense after he finished fifth by 17 ¼ lengths in the Southwest Stakes Feb. 3 at Oaklawn won by stablemate Mystik Dan. He ran on a muddy track in the Southwest and may not have liked that surface, as his three other career starts (including a 3 ½-length score in a one-mile maiden at Oaklawn Jan. 14) have all come on tracks rated fast or good. As with Real Men Violin, Common Defense is a good horse to consider for exotic bets and possibly as an upset win candidate if the price is right come post time, keeping in mind that Hernandez chose this colt rather than his stablemate in the Louisiana Derby after riding both of them in their prior starts. Like McPeek, Hernandez has a prior Louisiana Derby victory: his came aboard Girvin in 2017.

Ryan Thompson/Coglianese Photo

11. Tuscan Gold (8-1)

Jockey: Tyler Gaffalione

Trainer: Chad Brown

Owners: William Lawrence, Walmac Farm, and Stonestreet Stables

Career record: 2 starts – 1 win – 0 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $47,100

Earnings per start: $23,550

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 83

Kentucky Derby points: 0

Pedigree: Medaglia d’Oro – Valadorna, by Curlin

Color: Bay

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Tuscan Gold joins Antiquarian as the only two Louisiana Derby entrants without stakes experience. He gets a slight edge over that foe as a longshot win candidate based on his breakout 6 ¼-length win Jan. 31 at Gulfstream Park in his first start at age 3 and only the second of his career. The son of Medaglia d’Oro took over in the 1 1/16-mile maiden race coming out of the far turn and coasted home to an easy victory under Tyler Gaffalione, who travels from Florida to ride him again Saturday. In his only start last year, Tuscan Gold finished fourth by 3 ¼ lengths behind Chad Brown-trained stablemate Sierra Leone, and that colt has since developed into a leading Kentucky Derby contender based on his sharp win in the Risen Star Stakes last month. In his Jan. 31 win, Tuscan Gold earned the same 83 Equibase Speed Figure that he did last November, and he’ll need to improve by about 15 points to be a factor in the Louisiana Derby. That, of course, is entirely possible with lightly raced runners who possess good bloodlines, and Tuscan Gold qualifies in that regard as his dam (mother) is the Curlin mare Valadorna, who won a pair of stakes races at one mile and 70 yards and 1 1/16 miles and also finished second in the 2016 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. This colt is the wild card in the Louisiana Derby, and he will have to overcome an outside post position in his third career start to snatch the headlines away from his more experienced rivals.

Lou Hodges, Jr. /Hodges Photography

12. Track Phantom (3-1)

Jockey: Joel Rosario

Trainer: Steve Asmussen

Owners: L and N Racing, Clark Brewster, Jerry Caroom, and Breeze Easy

Career record: 6 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 1 third

Career earnings: $365,000

Earnings per start: $60,833

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 100

Kentucky Derby points: 55

Pedigree: Quality Road – Miss Sunset, by Into Mischief

Color: Bay

Running style: Pacesetter

Notable achievements and interesting facts: In a Kentucky Derby prep season featuring no breakout star to date, Track Phantom makes a strong case as one of the top two or three contenders for the May 4 150th anniversary edition based on his consistency. He has maintained top form for nearly four months now, following up a 4 ¾-length maiden win in a 1 1/16-mile race at Churchill Downs on Nov. 25 with wins in the Gun Runner Stakes Dec. 23 and the Lecomte Stakes Jan. 20, both held at Fair Grounds at 1 1/16 miles, and then a game runner-up effort to Sierra Leone in the 1 1/8-mile Risen Star Stakes Feb. 17 at Fair Grounds. This Quality Road colt has either set or pressed the pace in every one of his starts, and he nearly pulled off a gate-to-wire win in the Risen Star before yielding in the final strides while running on a sloppy track. Track Phantom broke from an outside post (11 of 12) in the Risen Star but was hustled out of the gate by jockey Joel Rosario to secure the lead, and look for Rosario to employ the same strategy again with a bit more room to work with in the Louisiana Derby before the field reaches the first turn. The big question mark is, can this talented colt carry his speed another half of a furlong after failing to seal the deal going a mile and an eighth last time out? Track Phantom settled for second in both the Risen Star and in a maiden race last October at Churchill Downs after leading in the stretch on sloppy tracks, so perhaps the forecast of sunny skies for March 23 will benefit him as he tries to go 3-for-4 in Fair Grounds’ Kentucky Derby prep series. It’s also worth pointing out that he already has 55 qualifying points for the run for the roses and could probably make the field with a third-place finish Saturday. Rosario and Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen teamed up to win the 2022 Louisiana Derby with Epicenter (the most recent of Asmussen’s four overall winners) and they finished second last year with Disarm. Rosario also took the 2021 Louisiana Derby aboard fan favorite Hot Rod Charlie.