Salute to Kentucky Derby Winner Mystik Dan Scheduled for Louisiana Champions Day; Maycocks Bay is Back!
New Orleans, La (Dec. 10, 2024) – On Louisiana Champions Day, fans at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots will have the opportunity to honor this year’s winner of the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve (G1), Mystik Dan, who will be paraded in the Fair Grounds paddock during Race 3, from approximately 1:25 p.m CT to 1:45 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 14.
Four G Racing, Lance Gasaway, Daniel Hamby III, and Valley View Farm’s Mystik Dan will join the field for the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic during the walkover to the paddock and remain there throughout the race, giving fans a unique opportunity to celebrate the winner of Kentucky Derby 150 up close.
Returning to the track where he trained ahead of his “Run for the Roses,” Mystik Dan will winter at Fair Grounds as trainer Ken McPeek plans out his 4-year-old campaign.
Maycocks Bay is Back, Returns to Fair Grounds Winner’s Circle
After 11 months away from the races, Godolphin’s 3-year-old Maycocks Bay made a return to action on Saturday at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, winning a second-level allowance going 1 1/16 miles for trainer Mike Stidham.
“We’re delighted to have him back,” Stidham said. “He had been training so well coming up to this that anything short of that would have been a disappointment. Hopefully he comes out of it well and we can start looking for some bigger and better things.”
In his first race since a 10-length local win in January, Maycocks Bay sat just off the lead for most of the race before kicking clear to win by 1 1/2 lengths over Snead.
“We didn’t really want to jump out on the lead and do what he did before the layoff,” Stidham said. “We were hoping to get him to relax just off a horse. It worked out perfectly.”
Last February, Maycocks Bay was made the morning line favorite in the Southwest Stakes (G3), a Kentucky Derby points prep at Oaklawn Park, but was scratched due to spiking a fever.
“He had shipped to Oaklawn for the Southwest but once he got there he had a 104 degree temperature,” Stidham said. “We scanned his lungs and found out he had pneumonia. He went to the farm and it lingered, and it took way longer than we expected. It’s been his lungs (that kept him away)–he’s always been very sound.”
Ben Curtis piloted the son of Speightstown, who stopped the clock in 1:44.45 and earned a 91 Brisnet Speed figure.
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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, La, Fair Grounds, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 15 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 153rd Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 112th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 22, 2024 through March 23, 2025. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.
