Fair Grounds Adds March 9, March 16 Dates After Strong Purses

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has added two race days to its 2025-26 meet, announcing Monday, March 9 and Monday, March 16 as new card dates after citing stronger-than-projected purse sources and commitments from stakeholders. The track said the move follows a purse meeting with the Louisiana HBPA and the Louisiana Racing Commission, and will turn March into two five-day race weeks.

“Following the purse meeting with the Louisiana HBPA and Racing Commission, all parties involved were confident that the addition of two race days fits within our current projections and reflects a shared commitment to the strength of the meet,” said Jason Boulet, senior director of racing at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots.

Under the revised calendar, March will now feature the five-day weeks of March 5-9 and March 12-16; the Thursday-through-Sunday schedule remains intact for the remaining dates in February and closing week stays Thursday, March 19 through Sunday, March 22. The added March Mondays are scheduled in advance of the track’s Grade 2 Louisiana Derby and Grade 2 Fair Grounds Oaks, both slated for March 21 and carrying 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points for the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks, respectively.

The announcement is backed by administrative entries on the state racing calendar, which lists Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots at 1751 Gentilly Blvd., New Orleans 70119, with phone (504) 944-5515 and website fairgroundsracecourse.com. The Louisiana State Racing Commission calendar excerpt also records related scheduling actions for the 2025-26 meets and notes an agreement that the meet will be held at Delta Downs per an LSRC action approved at the 2/13/25 meeting. The commission’s calendar excerpt lists “76 THOROUGHBRED DAYS 15 QUARTER HORSE DAYS” for the Fair Grounds meets.

From a racing operations perspective, the newly added Mondays expand late winter opportunities for overnight cards and prep racing in the critical lead-in to the March 21 stakes day that awards Kentucky Derby and Oaks points. Entries material on Fair Grounds examples shows typical midweek program structure: one sample listing reads Fair Grounds Race #2, 6 f, Dirt, $30,000 Maiden Claiming, Open | 3 Year Olds And Up, Purse: $22,000, with runners such as Gold Dollar, Tickle Me Unclemo, Prince Ben, Sully, El Maximo, Somekinda Mischief and Calling On Heaven appearing on program sheets.

The track framed the additions as a direct response to stronger purse funding rather than a reshuffle of closing week, and cited coordination with horsemen and regulators in the decision. With the Grade 2 Louisiana Derby and Fair Grounds Oaks offering sizable Kentucky qualifying points on March 21, the added March 9 and March 16 dates formalize a denser March racing window and reflect Fair Grounds’ stated confidence in available purse sources heading into the spring prep season.