Repeat champions, record-setting performances and national implications highlighted the 2025-26 meet at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, as trainer Joe Sharp and jockey Jose Ortiz led a standout 154th racing season at the New Orleans oval.
Trainer Joe Sharp and jockey Jose Ortiz each secured back-to-back titles. Sharp led all conditioners with 47 wins from 211 starts, earning more than $1.7 million in purses while posting a 22% strike rate. He finished well ahead of Bret Calhoun, who tallied 31 victories, while Sam David Jr. added 19 wins and veteran Tom Amoss closed out his Fair Grounds career with 14. The New Orleans native, who won 11 titles, announced his retirement after nearly 40 years as a trainer.
Ortiz once again topped the jockey standings despite missing the first two weeks of the meet, finishing with 93 wins -- just three shy of his total from last season -- and more than $4 million in earnings. He posted a 29% win rate and was a key presence aboard several standout runners.
The ownership title went to the partnership of Earl Hernandez, Keith Hernandez and John Duvieilh, who won 13 times from 77 starts and earned more than $545,000. CRK Stable posted a meet-best 36% strike rate, while Allied Racing Stable and Calumet Farm each recorded double-digit victories. Keith Plaisance led all prominent owners by percentage, winning eight of 15 starts.
Among other trainers, Steve Asmussen was represented by multiple leading runners, including dual graded stakes winner Lagynos, four-time winner Braken Poppa, and Gun Runner champion Chip Honcho. Chad Brown captured the Louisiana Derby (G2) with Emerging Market and the Risen Star (G2) with Paladin. Brad Cox added the Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) with Life of Joy, Brendan Walsh saddled Rachel Alexandra (G2) winner Bella Ballerina, and Cherie DeVaux trained Lecomte (G3) winner Golden Tempo. Pat Devereux Jr. conditioned Little Miss Curlin, who swept three Louisiana-bred juvenile filly stakes.
In the jockey colony, Marcelino Pedroza Jr. finished second with 65 wins, the most in his local tenure, while Ben Curtis placed third with 49 victories. First-year rider Sofia Vives made an immediate impact, recording 27 wins and more than $759,000 in earnings.
Veteran jockey Jareth Loveberry reached a career milestone during the meet, earning his 2,000th victory aboard Island Cabana on Dec. 8 for trainer Justin Jeansonne.
On March 21, Set-Hut's Touchuponastar set a new track record in the Grade 2 New Orleans Classic under Marcelino Pedroza Jr. for trainer Jeff Delhomme, surpassing $2 million in career earnings while also securing a historic fourth Louisiana Champions Day Classic.
Built, the 2024 Gun Runner titleholder, became the first horse in track history to break 1:08, stopping the clock in 1:07.96 on March 13 for trainer Wayne Catalano. Kavod set a one-mile dirt track record in 1:35.46 for Joe Sharp, while Fit to Fly, trained by Alexis Claire, established two turf records at five furlongs and about five furlongs. Usually Wrong, trained by Robertino Diodoro, set a 5 1/2-furlong turf mark in 1:01.63 while winning the Duncan F. Kenner Stakes. In his final meet, Tom Amoss saw Ensemble Racing's Higgins Boat set a one-mile turf course record in 1:34.58.
Fair Grounds' prep races once again positioned several runners for success on the national stage, continuing the track's role as a key stop on the road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks. The depth of competition, record-setting performances and a robust turf program that featured 200 races reinforced Fair Grounds' standing as one of the nation's premier winter racing destinations.
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