Top thoroughbreds shine at Super Derby
Whether you’re a racing enthusiast or first-time spectator, come post time expect the Super Derby to deliver a day of racing as it showcases America’s top 3-year-old thoroughbred talent. The well-anticipated Sept. 7 event attracts today’s nest racers with rivals gathering at Bossier City’s premier race ready to fiercely vie for their one shot at Super Derby glory and its $500,000 purse.
Newly minted millionaire gelding Departing is a top contender, which puts trainer Al Stall in line for his third Super Derby victory, although he is sure to face some stiff competition from trainer Bob Baffert’s colt, Power Broker. In addition to his wins at the Kentucky Derby, Preakness and Belmont Stakes, Baffert took home the Super Derby’s top prize two years ago with Prayer for Relief’s victory over Awesome Bet.
Bolstering the tension for the 1 1/8- mile-stretch showdown is Joe Offolter’s Holiday Mischief, after the colt’s surprise win over favorite Sunbean at the Super Derby Prelude in early August. With Bashaar, Mylute and Sunbean topping the list of possible derby contenders, spectators are guaranteed a memorable day of track action.
“Every set of eyes watching horse racing that day will be focused on Louisiana Downs,” Travis Stone, Louisiana Downs track announcer and manager of Mutuels since 2006, said. “The Super Derby is one of the most prestigious races in the country, with a lot of big names rolling through here from horses to trainers to jockeys,” he said. “It’s an exciting event.”
Operated by Caesars Entertainment since 2002, Louisiana Downs brings racing excitement to Bossier City from May through September, with the Super Derby as the season’s crown jewel. From the free grandstand seats to the more intimate, albeit pricier third-floor clubhouse boxes, where $50 gets you private seating for up-to four guests and a TV monitor, the track offers a myriad of pricing options.
Seemingly undaunted after a sixth-place finish at Pimlico, owner Claiborne Farms and Adele B. Dilschneider’s Departing dusted the competition in his first-place win earlier this month at the West Virginia Derby. The Kentucky homebred son of War Front, Departing is favored for the derby’s top honor, winning five out of seven career starts, including the Illinois Derby, Texas Heritage.
“The Super Derby ts our schedule perfectly,” Stall who has deep ties to the Shreveport-Bossier community as former city resident and horse trainer at Louisiana Downs, said. “Coming off our win at the West Virginia Derby by 8 ¾ lengths, we are coming into this race with a lot of confidence.”
Stall’s garnered two prior Downs’ Derby victories with Apart in 2010 and My Pal Charlie in 2008, but a third win would secure the New Orleans native a place in racing history as the Super Derby’s trainer with the most wins.
Excited about how Departing performed in his last race, Stall praised the colt by saying he is a very consistent horse, only failing to place in the top three once in his career, and right now he is training out of this world.
“The Super Derby is the build-up to the entire year – and it’s a build-up in a way,” Stone said. “Departing is a developing 3-year-old that has a big future, which is what the Super Derby has done a lot. It helps establish future stars,” he said.
It may not have the fabled history of some of the bigger racing events, but the Super Derby has proved an important career win for many thoroughbreds, including four Kentucky Derby winners and five Belmont Stakes winners. Moreover, the annual Louisiana Downs event is a point of hometown pride, weaving the Shreveport-Bossier community into the fabric of American horse racing.
– Elizabeth Branca
MORE INFORMATION:
For more information on the Louisiana Downs Super Derby or to make reservations, call Harrah’s Louisiana Downs at 800-551-7223 or 318-747-7223.
