Ride On Curlin, Eagle head Tenacious Stakes

NEW ORLEANS – With the recently implemented week-distant draw system in place, the six stakes to be run this Saturday at Fair Grounds were assembled last Saturday. Some of the races are decent, but with purses of just $50,000 and $60,000, the stakes offer about the same money as a maiden race over the inner dirt track at Aqueduct right now, which puts a low ceiling on their quality.

The Tenacious, for older dirt-route horses, lured two interesting runners, Ride On Curlin and Eagle. Ride On Curlin is trying to regain the early-season 3-year-old form that landed him the runner-up spot in the 2014 Preakness Stakes, while Eagle looked good in winning consecutive allowance races in Kentucky this fall.

The Blushing K. D. is the most appealing betting race in the stakes sequence, having lured 12 older female turf routers. The pair of 2-year-old dirt-sprint stakes, the Letellier and the Sugar Bowl, drew relatively short fields that lack obvious standouts.

◗ Marcelino Pedroza, who went down when Benwill clipped heels in the Louisiana Champions Day Turf, appeared to avoid serious injury, agent Fred Aime said Monday. Pedroza has a sore left leg and bruising, but X-rays on his injuries were negative. Aime said Pedroza, 22, intends to ride the Thursday card. He has five winners at the meet.

This was the second time at Fair Grounds that a jockey has come off Benwill and gotten injured. In January 2010, the horse acted up going onto the turf course before a race and threw Rosie Napravnik, spraining both her ankles.