Premier Night brings together top Louisiana-breds
Delta Downs will put on its second-richest program of the meet Saturday night with the running of the $1 million Louisiana Premier Night. The card features six stakes restricted to horses bred in Louisiana. There are also four starter handicaps. First post is 5:40 p.m. Central.
Delta’s richest program is in November, when it puts on a card of eight stakes worth more than $2.3 million, led by the Grade 3, $1 million Delta Downs Jackpot.
The Premier Night card is topped by the $150,000 Championship, a 1 1/16-mile race for 4-year-olds and up. Mobile Bay, a Grade 2 winner coming off a dominant victory in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds, will break from post 3 in a field of 10. His chief rivals include The Pickett Factor, the winner of the 2015 Champions Day Classic who will break from post 6, and Chocopologie, the winner of the $175,000 Governor’s Cup at Remington Park who will break from the rail Saturday.
Other highlights of the card include the $100,000 Premier Night Prince, a one-mile race for 3-year-olds. Saint’s Fan, an undefeated stakes winner, will be making his two-turn debut in a field that includes Tip Tap Tapizar, the Sapling Stakes winner last year at Monmouth Park who will be making his first start in a Louisiana-bred race. Freakonthelead, who pulled a 70-1 upset in the $100,000 Pelican last month at Delta, will be seeking his third straight win when he runs in the Prince.
The Louisiana Thoroughbred Breeders Association will award a pair of $1,000 college scholarships Saturday as part of a long-standing scholarship drawing held at all of the state’s tracks during cards with multiple stakes for Louisiana-breds.