The Louisiana Stakes is a
Grade III American
Thoroughbred horse race
Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...
for horses aged four years and older over a distance miles on the dirt track held annually during the third week of January at
Fair Grounds Race Course
Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC.
As early as 1838 Bernard de Marigny, Ju ...
in
,
Louisiana
Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...
.
History
Inaugurated on December 12, 1942, the first running of the Louisiana Handicap was won by
Calumet Farm's 1941
U.S. Triple Crown winner
Whirlaway
Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...
. It would be the last race of Whirlaway's brilliant career and he was voted his second straight
American Horse of the Year
The American Award for Horse of the Year, one of the Eclipse Awards, is the highest honor given in American thoroughbred horse racing. Because Thoroughbred horse racing in the United States has no governing body to sanction the various awards, "Hor ...
title.
Since inception, the Louisiana Handicap has been run at two different distances:
* miles : 1947, 1952–present
* miles : 1942–1943, 1945–1946, 1949–1951
The event was not held in 1944, 1948, 2005 and 2006.
The event was renamed to the Louisiana Stakes in 2016.
In 2020 the event was upgraded to
Grade III.
[
]
Records
Speed record: (at current distance of miles)
* 1:42.40 - Soy Numero Uno (1977)
Most wins:
* 3 - Tenacious (1958, 1959, 1960)
Winners
Earlier winners
*1955 - Epic King
*1954 - Roedna
*1953 - Spur On
*1952 - Light Broom
*1951 - Thelma Berger
*1950 - Roseborough
*1949 - Grand Entry
*1947 - Dockstader
*1946 - Flareback
*1945 - South Dakota
*1943 - First Fiddle
*1942 - Whirlaway
Whirlaway (April 2, 1938 – April 6, 1953) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who is the fifth winner of the American Triple Crown. He also won the Travers Stakes after his Triple Crown sweep to become the first and only horse to ...
Notes
References
{{reflist, 2
See also
List of American and Canadian Graded races
The List of American and Canadian Graded races is a list of Thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada that meet the graded stakes standards maintained by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders ...
The 2009 Louisiana Handicap at ESPN
Fair Grounds Race Course
Flat horse races for four-year-olds
Horse races in New Orleans
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian performance sport, typically involving two or more horses ridden by jockeys (or sometimes driven without riders) over a set distance for competition. It is one of the most ancient of all sports, as its basic p ...
Open mile category horse races
Recurring sporting events established in 1942
1942 establishments in Louisiana
Grade 3 stakes races in the United States