Turf course holding up despite rain

The New Orleans area got between 1 1/2 and two inches of rain Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, but to the great surprise of many, Fair Grounds was able to conduct turf racing on opening day Thursday. The course started out yielding but was upgraded to good and didn’t seem especially wet, laboring, or difficult to handle.

“It’s a little soft because of the rain, but it’s in great shape,” said jockey Florent Geroux, who won an opening-day grass race.

Fair Grounds performed repairs to the course’s drainage system prior to the 2014-15 meet and was rewarded with a long-troubled grass course that performed admirably throughout last season and apparently is ready for another long winter meet.

◗ Sunday’s program lacks a stakes race but still offers a bevy of appealing betting races. Six of the nine races on the program are maiden special weight or allowance races, and top to bottom, Fair Grounds hardly could have hoped for better opening-weekend cards, given the horse population currently on hand.

Among the entrants in race 6 Sunday is first-time starter Dolphus, a 2-year-old by Lookin At Lucky and out of Lotta Kim, making him a half-brother to the great Rachel Alexandra.