Seven will contest Thanksgiving Handicap

Seven horses are entered in Thursday’s $75,000 Thanksgiving Handicap, which for years was Fair Grounds’ traditional opening-day feature, and still serves unofficially as the true local inauguration of the fall-winter-spring race meet in New Orleans.

The six-furlong Thanksgiving has Union Jackson as a 2-1 morning-line favorite, even though he has not raced since June and has started only once in a stakes. Trained by Steve Asmussen, Union Jackson ran powerfully through his second- and third-level allowance conditions early last year before finishing third to Alsvid and Limousine Liberal, both solid sprinters, in the Grade 3 Aristides at Churchill. That June 4 start was his most recent.

Clearly Now drew the rail and was installed as the race’s 5-2 second choice. Yockey’s Warrior is well drawn on the outside and exits a sharp Keeneland allowance-race victory Oct. 15.