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Weekend GamePlan: Picks for Jeff Ruby Steaks, Louisiana Derby, Essex Handicap
Weekend GamePlan: Picks for Jeff Ruby Steaks, Louisiana Derby, Essex Handicap
Marcus HershMar 19, 2026
Weekend GamePlan: Picks for Jeff Ruby Steaks, Louisiana Derby, Essex Handicap
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Skippylongstocking likes to operate on “Skippy Time,” and that might lead to a stalking trip Saturday when he starts in the Grade 3, $500,000 Essex Handicap at Oaklawn Park.
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Way to Be Marie is looking to win the $150,000 Tom Benson Memorial for a second straight year on Saturday at Fair Grounds but will do so with entirely new connections.
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Derick Giwner's analysis of the Saturday 3/21 card at The Meadowlands.
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The $1 million Louisiana Derby – and its implications on the Kentucky Derby six weeks hence – is the marquee event on Saturday's 14-race Fair Grounds card. For the fans of Louisiana racing, however, it is far from the only highlight on the program. The Louisiana-bred Touchuponastar, who last year on this day upset the 2024 3-year-old champion Sierra Leone in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic, seeks a repeat victory in the $500,000 race for older males at 1 1/8 miles.
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Program Trading drew the outside post and faces six rivals Saturday in the Grade 2, $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic at Fair Grounds. And in this case, being on the outside looking in probably is a good thing.
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Kevin Plowcha's analysis of the Saturday 3/21 card at Woodbine Mohawk Park.
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IGrand Slam Smile won for the second time in three starts on the hillside in the Sunshine Millions Filly and Mare Turf Classic for statebreds at about 6 1/2 furlongs on Jan. 17. She is back on the same course in Saturday's $100,000 Irish O'Brien Stakes for statebred fillies and mares.
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Two come from California, three from Florida, but the horses front and center in the Louisiana Derby have been in New Orleans all winter. Chip Honcho was second in the Risen Star last month behind Paladin, one of the top contenders for the Kentucky Derby. Golden Tempo, racing against the grain of the track, closed for third in the Risen Star.
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Fulleffort is looking to defend his home court against the likes of California Grade 3 winner Stark Contrast; Black Hornet, coming off a stakes win at Fair Grounds; and new stablemate Argos, a Grade 1 winner at Woodbine last year who is a recent arrival to Kentucky, as the racing version of March Madness tips off with the Grade 3, $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks on Saturday at Turfway Park.