Fair Grounds swaps five Monday dates for Sundays

Fair Grounds in New Orleans will swap five Mondays for Sundays during its upcoming Thoroughbred meet in an amendment to its calendar approved by the Louisiana Racing Commission. The panel also granted the track an additional race date, Feb. 16.

Fair Grounds made the request at a Monday meeting during which the commission also determined that the track had complied with license conditions that called for improvements to the turf course and stable area.

Fair Grounds will move the following Mondays to the preceding Sundays: Nov. 24, Dec. 1, Dec. 8, Dec. 15, and Dec. 22.
The track is scheduled to open Nov. 21 and race through March 29.

In other dates allotments, the commission approved a request from Louisiana Downs near Shreveport for an 84-date Thoroughbred meet for 2015 from May 1 through Sept. 19. The parameters of the meet are the same, but Louisiana Downs will race on a Wednesday-through-Saturday schedule in a departure from its traditional Thursday-through-Sunday schedule. The track also received approval for a 46-date Quarter Horse meet from Jan. 10 to March 25.

Evangeline Downs near Lafayette was awarded an 84-date Thoroughbred meet from April 8 through Aug. 29. Delta Downs in Vinton was granted a 46-date Quarter Horse meet from April 22 to July 11.

Dates for other Louisiana meets were previously awarded in April.

Also at the meeting, Bob F. Wright was announced as the new chairman of the commission. Jerry Meaux, chairman since 2008, died in a car accident in April. The panel also announced two new commissioners: Hamilton Davis and Delia Taylor.