Fair Grounds Race Course Concludes 134th Meet.NEW ORLEANS New Orleans (ôr`lēənz –lənz, ôrlēnz`), city (2006 pop. 187,525), coextensive with Orleans parish, SE La., between the Mississippi River and Lake Pontchartrain, 107 mi (172 km) by water from the river mouth; founded -- 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. History The track was initially opened as the "Union Race Course" in 1852. concluded a shortened and relocated 134th season of racing on Sunday. The meet was moved to Harrah's Louisiana Downs Harrah's Louisiana Downs is a horse racing track and racino located in Bossier City, Louisiana. Louisiana Downs opened in 1974. It was built by shopping center developer Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. in Bossier City Bossier City (bō`zhər), city (1990 pop. 52,721), Bossier parish, NW La., on the Red River, across from Shreveport, with which it is connected by several bridges; inc. 1907. Barksdale Air Force Base, home of the Second U.S. , La., after Hurricane Katrina  Editing of this page by unregistered or newly registered users is currently disabled due to vandalism. caused significant damage to and forced the temporary closure of
Fair Grounds' home site in New Orleans.Fair Grounds' traditionally hosts 80-plus days of live racing, from Thanksgiving Day through late March. The 2005-2006 season was comprised of 37 race days, spread from Nov. 19 through Jan. 22. Due to the difference in the number of race days, average daily wagering figures are used to compare the just-finished season with the 2004-2005 race meet, which featured 82 days of live racing. Total wagering, which includes wagers made on track and at simulcast outlets, was $134.6 million, or an average of $3.64 million per day. Average daily wagering from all sources was 13.1 percent below the 2004-2005 daily average of $4.18 million. On-track wagering totaled $5.96 million, or $161,252 per day, a drop of 27.2 percent from last season's average of $221,481. Average daily simulcast wagering, which includes wagering at Fair Grounds' off-track betting off-track betting n. Abbr. OTB A system of placing bets away from a racetrack. parlors, was $3.48 million, a decline of 12.3 percent from the 2004-2005 season. Because admission is free at Louisiana Downs, attendance was not counted this season. Fair Grounds President and General Manager Randy Soth attributed declines to the hurricane and its aftermath, which impacted Fair Grounds' primary customer base in southeast Louisiana as well as the meet's schedule and location. "Our objective from the outset was to ensure that our Louisiana horsemen had a place to compete within their home state, regardless of the disruption and economic uncertainty brought by one of the most damaging natural disasters in American history," said Soth. "Making this meet happen took real teamwork on behalf of our horsemen and state regulators and the great management team at our host site, Harrah's Louisiana Downs. Through the support and cooperation of all of those stakeholders, we were able to offer 37 days of competitive racing with the highest average daily purses in Louisiana history. Just as important, we were able to keep Fair Grounds' legacy alive, and that makes our just-completed season especially gratifying grat·i·fy tr.v. grat·i·fied, grat·i·fy·ing, grat·i·fies 1. To please or satisfy: His achievement gratified his father. See Synonyms at please. 2. . "Now that the meet has ended, our next focus will be completing the necessary repairs to our home site in New Orleans to ensure another great tradition continues, the New Orleans Jazz New Orleans Jazz can refer to:
"Fair Grounds and Churchill Downs Incorporated Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ: CHDN) is the parent company of Churchill Downs. The company owns several other thoroughbred and standardbred racetracks. History should be commended for all that they have done to assist the racing industry in Louisiana and for having this meet during trying times," said Louisiana Downs' Vice President of Racing Operations Ray Tromba. "Harrah's Louisiana Downs was happy to have been part of it." Total purse distribution In horse racing, the term purse distribution may refer to the total amount of money paid out to the owners of horses racing at a particular track over a given period of time, or to the percentages of a race's total purse that are awarded to each of the highest finishers. was $14.3 million, for an average of $388,126 per day, highest ever for a meet in Louisiana and up 44.9 percent over last year's average of $267,784 per day. Better-than- expected business levels at six southeast Louisiana off-track betting parlors that Fair Grounds operates and was able to reopen after the hurricane accounted for three purse increases - one before the meet began and two in December. Horsemen responded to the record purses, as the average field size of 9.46 was up 13.7 percent over last season's average of 8.32 horses per race. The highlight of the season was "Road to the Derby" Kickoff Day on Jan. 14, in which an 11-race card with four $250,000-added stakes attracted $7,556,781 in wagering, the fifth-highest total in Fair Grounds history and the most ever for a Louisiana Downs-hosted card. The $250,000-added Grade III Risen Star Stakes The Risen Star Stakes is a race for thoroughbred horses run at the Fair Grounds Race Course each year. The race is open to three year olds willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt. A Grade III, it offers a purse of $300,000. , won by James T. Hines Jr.'s Lawyer Ron Lawyer Ron (foaled March 1, 2003 in Kentucky) is an American thoroughbred race horse. He was bred and owned by James T. Hines, Jr., an entrepreneur who started his first company, Premium Allied Tool, in Owensboro, Kentucky in 1966, and it became a multi-million dollar business. , was the first graded stakes race A graded stakes race is a term applied by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to a Thoroughbred horse race in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay. on dirt for 3-year-olds this year. On the track, Steve Asmussen won 38 races to capture his sixth consecutive Fair Grounds training title, matching Jack Van Berg's streak of six straight from 1966-71. Asmussen won a nation-leading 474 races in 2005, the third time in four years he has achieved the feat. Jockey Roman Chapa, who rode many of Asmussen's winners, won 45 races for his first Fair Grounds riding title. Heiligbrodt Racing Stable and Maggi Moss shared the Fair Grounds owner's title with six victories each. Lawyer Ron, who had a 10-length allowance romp in addition to his Risen Star triumph, was named "Horse of the Meeting" in a vote of media and racing officials. Fair Grounds conducted five graded stakes in 2005-2006, three of them on "Road to the Derby" Kickoff Day. The track added another graded stakes race in December when the Fair Grounds Breeders' Cup Handicap was awarded Grade III status, increasing its portfolio of graded stakes to 10. Because of the shortened meet, five graded stakes, including the Louisiana Derby and Fair Grounds Oaks The Fair Grounds Oaks is a race for Thoroughbred horses run at Fair Grounds Race Course each year. The Grade II Oaks is open to fillies, age three, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt, and offers a purse of $400,000. , were placed on hiatus for 2006. Fair Grounds Race Course, the nation's third-oldest Thoroughbred racing facility, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, Fair Grounds is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on : CHDN) and also operates off-track betting parlors in southeast Louisiana. Information about Fair Grounds can be found on the Internet at www.fairgroundsracecourse.com.
Fair Grounds at Harrah's Louisiana Downs
2005-06 Final Statistics
2005-2006 2004-2005
(37 days) (82 days)
Louisiana Fair
Downs(i) Grounds % Change
----------- ----------- -----------
Daily Avg. Wagering, All Sources $3,638,102 $4,184,980 -13.1%
Daily Avg. Wagering, On Track(i) $161,252 $221,481 -27.2%
Daily Avg. Wagering, Off-Track $3,476,850 $3,963,499 -12.3%
Daily Avg. Purse Distribution $388,126 $267,784 +44.9%
Horses Per Race (Thoroughbreds
only) 9.46 8.32 +13.7%
(i)NOTE: Different locations
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