Mobile Bay Returns on Louisiana Champions Day

Sprints. Routes. Dirt. Turf. Colts. Fillies. Thoroughbreds. Quarter Horses. There will be something for everyone when Fair Grounds hosts the 27th Louisiana Champions Day on December 9th.

Thirteen races, all for Louisiana-bred racehorses, are scheduled to be run, with the first race kicking off at 2:00 pm Eastern and the last wrapping up at 8:05 pm.

All told, there are ten stakes races on the card featuring purses of $100,000 or more, with the day’s featured race being the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic Stakes. The nine-furlong event has attracted eight starters, with Mobile Bay the clear favorite to win at morning line odds of 5-2. Trained by Victor Arceneaux, the five-year-old veteran of 25 starts won the 2015 Super Derby (gr. II) and has run in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic Stakes twice before, finishing second in 2015 before winning easily last year.

However, Mobile Bay hasn’t run since winning the LA Bred Premier Night Championship Stakes back in February, and the layoff is an obvious question mark. Bettors looking to beat the reigning champ might want to take a look at Grande Basin, who has finished in the top three in 13 of his 16 races at Fair Grounds, or the filly Seaside Candy, a stakes winner coming off a decisive victory at Delta Downs.

One of the most competitive races on the card might be the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint Stakes, a six-furlong event that will pit the top local sprinters Jockamo’s Song, Nubin Ridge, and Stand Him Up against each other. All three bring two-race win streaks into Saturday’s race, and while Jockamo’s Song figures to be the favorite—having won the Louisiana Legends Sprint Stakes and the Louisiana Cup Sprint Stakes in consecutive fashion during the summer—Stand Him Up fired off an eye-catching 100 BRIS speed figure while winning the Heitai Stakes last month and has the advantage of a recent race under his belt. My Friend Flavin, who defeated Jockamo’s Song in last year’s Louisiana Champions Day Sprint Stakes, will be back as well.

Fans of the Kentucky Derby are advised to check out the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Stakes, in which ten lightly-raced juveniles will square off going six furlongs. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see the winner wind up on the Derby trail this winter, with the impressive debut winner Divine Bean, the two-time stakes winner Ready Prospector, and the stakes-placed Cajun Creed among the most intriguing contenders.

Which races are you looking forward to on Louisiana Champions Day?