Nine colts, a field lacking anything approaching a standout, were entered Saturday in the $1 million Louisiana Derby. The 1 3/16-mile Louisiana Derby, a major Kentucky Derby prep race, headlines the March 21card at Fair Grounds, which also includes the Fair Grounds Oaks and a pair of Grade 2 routes, the Mervin Muniz on turf and the New Orleans Classic on dirt, for older horses. The field from the rail out with rider and morning-line odds consists of Pavlovian (Edwin Maldanado, 6-1), Autobahn (Martin Pedroza Jr., 8-1), Chip Honcho (Luis Saez, 3-1), Universe (Brian Hernandez Jr., 12-1), Golden Tempo (Jose Ortiz, 7-2), Spirit of Royal (Francisco Arrieta, 20-1), Blacksmith (Floreng Geroux, 6-1), Easterly (Edgard Zayas, 6-1), and Emerging Market (Flavien Prat, 6-1). Chip Honcho’s position as the tepid morning-line favorites comes after his rugged runner-up finish last month in the Risen Star Stakes, his first start wearing blinkers and under Saez. The Risen Star winner, Paladin, runs next in the Blue Grass at Keeneland but his trainer, Chad Brown, sends Emerging Market from his Payson Park base in Florida. Emerging Market won a highly-rated Tampa Bay Downs maiden race in his lone start; the horse beat by three-quarters of a length, Powershift, finished sixth at odds of 7-2 last weekend in the Tampa Bay Derby. :: DRF Road to the Derby Package Available Now! Save 37% on key handicapping essentials through Kentucky Derby day. Risen Star third-place finisher Golden Tempo won the Jan. 17 Lecomte Stakes, where Chip Honcho checked in a tough-trip fourth, and on Saturday races for the first time in blinkers. Golden Tempo went last to first in a six-furlong maiden win and did the same in the Lecomte, but his lack of positional pace proved too much to overcome in the Risen Star, and trainer Cherie DeVaux has been pleased with Golden Tempo’s blinkered post-Risen Star works. Blacksmith finished second in the Los Alamitos Futurity but only cleared the maiden ranks Feb. 20 while making his fifth start. Bob Baffert trains Blacksmith and hasn’t started a horse at Fair Grounds since the 2012-14 meeting. Baffert won the 2004 Louisiana Derby with the generally forgotten colt Wimbledon. Pavlovian ships from California along with Blackmith having won the Sunland Derby in his most recent outing. His trainer, Doug O’Neill, was suspended when Hot Rod Charlie won the 2021 Louisiana Derby, and O’Neill assistant Leandro Mora is credited with that win. Brad Cox has failed to land a blow in the first three Fair Grounds races in this division but has two new faces shipping from Payson Park in Easterly and Autobahn, both of whom won Gulfstream Park maiden routes last month. Universe and Spirit of Royal will be the longest prices in the Louisiana Derby, which is carded as the 12th race (post time 5:42 p.m. Central) on a 14-race program that begins at noon. The Louisiana Derby is the first race in the so-called Championship Series segment of Churchill Downs Road to the Kentucky Derby, the series of races for 2- and 3-year-olds that determines the 20 Derby starters, and the first five finishers Saturday earn 100, 50, 25,15, and 10 qualifying points. Bella Ballerina, unbeaten after three races, winner of the Golden Rod in November and the Rachel Alexandra last month in her 3-year-old debut, will be favored over six foes in the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile contest that carries the same status on the Road to the Kentucky Oaks as the Louisiana Derby does vis a vis the Kentucky Derby. Bella Ballerina, a Godolphin homebred trained by Brendan Walsh, drew post 5 and will have Tyler Gaffalione in the irons. Among her rivals is Luv Your Neighbor, who seized the lead from pace-setting Bella Ballerina in the Rachel Alexandra before being turned away. Life of Joy finished second behind divisional stalwart Zany last out in the Suncoast at Tampa Bay, while Love and Trust won a maiden dirt route last month at Fair Grounds. Touchuponastar, second in the 2024 New Orleans Classic and the winner of last year’s renewal, heads the six horses entered in the $500,000 New Orleans Classic, contested over 1 1/8 miles on the main track. His five opponents, none an easy toss, are Westwood, Accelerize, Life and Times, Not This Boy, and Corporate Power. Lagynos, who hit a career peak last month in the Fair Grounds Stakes, will attempt to run back to that showing in the $300,000 Muniz Memorial. The competition includes the Fair Grounds runner-up, Montador, as well as his Michael Stidham-trained stablemate Tom’s Magic. Program Trading and Chasing the Crown ship from Florida. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.