NEW ORLEANS – For the first time, Louisiana trainer Keith Bourgeois has a winter base at Fair Grounds, and he’s on pace for one of his most successful meets here. “I like it here, not just because I’m having a good meet,” said Bourgeois, 53, who lives in Lafayette, La., and until this season would send his runners by van to New Orleans. Through Thursday’s races, Bourgeois had won with 13 of 42 starters (31 percent) and ranked sixth in the trainer standings. His in-the-money rate was 55 percent. Bourgeois still relies to some extent on shipping. He is keeping 13 horses in his Fair Grounds barn, overseen by his 23-year-old son, Grant Bourgeois, and another 27 horses at Delta Downs, where assistant Becky LeBlanc oversees the barn. Horses will travel from one track to another to run in appropriate races. “My son stays here full time,” Bourgeois said. “He gallops. He runs the barn. Having him, I can keep the horses here full time.” Bourgeois, who has 2,323 career victories, first won at Fair Grounds in 1988. His season high for wins at Fair Grounds is 22, from 195 starters, in 1999-2000. His victory total this season is his highest at Fair Grounds since he won 14 races from 70 starters in 2008-2009. Years ago, Bourgeois was a fixture among the leading trainers at Fair Grounds. He finished in the top 10 in the standings here for seven consecutive meets, from 1995-96 through 2001-2002. During that span, he averaged 168 starts per meet. Then he became much less active at Fair Grounds and more active at Delta Downs. After making 91 starts at the 2002-2003 Fair Grounds meet, Bourgeois had seven New Orleans meets in which he made no more than 25 starts. Slots-enhanced purses at Delta Downs drew him there. “When the casino came to Delta, we just started running a lot there,” Bourgeois said. “Delta got [slot machines] first, and then Evangeline got them.” Slots came to Delta Downs in 2002. Slots didn’t come to Fair Grounds until 2008. Bourgeois, who runs mainly a claiming operation, has been winning at a steady clip at Delta and Evangeline for many years. Nationally, he has finished in the top 50 in trainer wins 12 times since 2000. His best national finish was 10th in 2009, when he reached single-year bests for wins, 192, and purse earnings, $3.52 million. After this meet, Bourgeois said, he intends to have a string of horses at Churchill Downs for the first time. He and his son will go there, and LeBlanc will oversee the stable’s horses at Evangeline Downs.