Fair Grounds horses to watch: Week of March 8

KEEGAN KOY
Trainer: Alfonso Balderas
Last race: March 1, 9th
Finish: 3rd by 4 1/4
Beyer: 44
He was making a potentially winning move off the turn and into the stretch when his path got blocked at the three-sixteenths pole. When low-level horses lose all their momentum in the stretch, they rarely regain it in time, and he still ran on decently once clear to get third. Found right level (Louisiana-bred $5,000 N2L claiming) after facing better.

STAY PUT
Trainer: Steve Margolis
Last race: March 2, 9th
Finish: 5th by 10 3/4
Beyer: 63
He’s no turf horse, but he stayed in this grass race simply to get into a race. He had been off since June, and the trainer had tried several times to get him in as a main-track-only entrant. He should benefit greatly from this and can win a mid-level dirt claiming route later this meet or back up in Kentucky.

BANK THE EIGHT
Trainer: Michelle Lovell
Last race: Feb. 27, 8th
Finish: 1st by 1 3/4
Beyer: 82
Yep, his connections scored by sneaking this horse in for a $5,000 tag Jan. 20. He’s been eligible for a bottom-level starter allowance for a couple of years now and will be a tiger in spots similar to this one for the foreseeable future.