War of Will favorite in Louisiana Derby as 11-horse field drawn

War of Will, winner of the Lecomte and Risen Star Stakes, was installed as the 6-5-morning-line favorite when an 11-horse field was drawn Saturday for the Grade 2, $1 million Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds on March 23.

Half his rivals are familiar foes, having chased him unsuccessfully in the Feb. 16 Risen Star at Fair Grounds. They include runner-up Country House, third-place Roiland, fourth-place Hog Creek Hustle, fifth-place Limonite, and seventh-place Mr. Money.

Two others come to the Louisiana Derby after last racing at Oaklawn, with Sueno and Bankit running there in the Feb. 18 Southwest Stakes, in which Sueno was second and Bankit fifth.

The three remaining entrants are maiden winners Lemniscate and By My Standards, plus Spinoff, a 11 3/4-length allowance winner at Tampa Feb. 22. The latter breezed five furlongs in 1:00.59 Saturday at Palm Beach Downs for trainer Todd Pletcher, traveling comfortably in a sharp move while just ahead of workmate Biblical, a 4-year-old that won a second-level allowance at Gulfstream on Feb. 23. Spinoff is the co-third favorite in the race at 8-1 odds with Sueno.

The Louisiana Derby understandably goes through War of Will, who seeks to sweep the series of Kentucky Derby preps at Fair Grounds, as International Star last did in 2015. He is one of only two horses in the race that rank among the top 20 Kentucky Derby contenders in Daily Racing Form’s Derby Watch, the other being Country House, the 9-2 second favorite.

A 3-year-old son of War Front owned by Gary Barber and trained by Mark Casse, War of Will breezed a half-mile in 47 3/5 seconds Friday morning at Fair Grounds over a sealed track in his final workout leading up to the race.

“I’m tickled to death with him,” assistant trainer David Carroll told Fair Grounds publicity on Friday.

Tyler Gaffalione rides him in the Louisiana Derby, as he did in his earlier stakes triumphs at Fair Grounds and in a maiden race at Churchill Downs in November.

The Louisiana Derby, the longest of the Fair Grounds Derby preps at 1 1/8 miles, is the first major qualifier this spring on Churchill Downs’s Road to the Kentucky Derby, offering 170 qualifying points distributed 100-40-20-10 to the first four finishers. Not in any particular need of points is War of Will, who already has 60 points, double the usual threshold of around 30 that is typically required to gain entry into the Derby, which typically oversubscribes.

Country House, 2 1/4 lengths behind War of Will in the Risen Star, looms a threat if able to avoid errors. In each of his last two races, he has broken slowly, and in the Risen Star, he lugged in down the stretch, slowing his momentum. Luis Saez, who like Gaffalione typically rides at Gulfstream, is aboard.

Here is the field with morning-line odds and jockeys:

1) Roiland 12-1 James Graham

2) Lemniscate 15-1 Brian Hernandez Jr.

3) Limonite 20-1 Jose Ortiz

4) Sueno 8-1 Corey Lanerie

5) By My Standards 12-1 Gabriel Saez

6) War of Will 6-5 Tyler Gaffalione

7) Mr. Money 20-1 Adam Beschizza

8) Country House 9-2 Luia Saez

9) Bankit 20-1 Irad Ortiz Jr.

10) Spinoff 8-1 John Velazquez

11) Hog Creek Hustle 12-1 Miguel Mena

The Louisiana Derby is one of eight stakes at Fair Grounds on March 23 for a 13-race card that begins with an early 11 a.m. Central first post. The Louisiana Derby will be televised on NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) during a program airing from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. with the race itself set for 5:13 p.m.

In addition to the Louisiana Derby, three other Grade 2 stakes are part of the March 23 card: the $300,000 Muniz Memorial Handicap on turf, the New Orleans Handicap, and the Fair Grounds Oaks, both of which carry a $400,000 purse. All three drew quality fields.

Bricks and Mortar, fresh off winning the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf, is the star horse competing on the undercard, landing in the Muniz, where the opposition is topped by defending champion Synchrony. Copper Bullet, who took the Saratoga Special in 2017 as a 3-year-old, is the headliner of what seems a contentious New Orleans Handicap. And the Fair Grounds Oaks features another local throwdown among the top four finishers from the Grade 2 Rachel Alexandra, a race Serengeti Empress took wire to wire.