Emerging Market Wins Louisiana Derby by a Head, Earns 100 Derby Points

Emerging Market galloped around the outside of four rivals in deep stretch, ground down stubborn pacesetter Pavlovian by a head, and won the Grade II Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby at Fair Grounds Race Course on Saturday, giving trainer Chad Brown his second stakes victory at the New Orleans oval in five weeks and punching a likely ticket to Churchill Downs.

The $1 million race, run at 1 3/16 miles over a fast track, produced a final time of 1:55.18, the third fastest of seven runnings since Fair Grounds extended the Louisiana Derby to its current distance in 2020. Emerging Market, owned by Klaravich Stables and ridden by Flavien Prat, returned $6 to win, $4 to place, and $2.80 to show. The victory was only his second career start.

Breaking from post nine as the narrow 2-1 favorite, Emerging Market was outrun early by a trio of speedier horses, including Pavlovian, and tucked in behind them to save ground into the first turn. He began his wide sweep with three furlongs remaining and found Pavlovian, the 21-1 longshot trained by Doug O'Neill, refusing to yield down the stretch. The two traded the advantage in the final eighth of a mile before Emerging Market got his head down in front at the wire. Golden Tempo, the Lecomte Stakes winner trained by Cherie DeVaux and ridden by Jose Ortiz, made a late bid from the back but settled for third.

"I was a little worried about the nine hole, but we worked out a good trip," Prat said. "He fought hard. It was a good run, very professional. Honestly, when I turned for home I thought I would win easily, but Pavlovian gave us a good challenge."

Chip Honcho, the 3-1 morning-line co-favorite trained by Steve Asmussen and ridden by Luis Saez, pressed the pace early before fading to fifth in the nine-horse field.

The win boosted Emerging Market's lifetime record to 2-2-0-0 and his career earnings to $618,880, with $600,000 coming from Saturday's winner's share alone. He had debuted Feb. 7 at Tampa Bay Downs with a maiden win that drew a 97 Beyer Speed Figure and earned him a TDN Rising Star designation. The Louisiana Derby marked his first graded stakes start and first black-type win.

Brown, a five-time Eclipse Award winner, had previously taken the Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes on Feb. 14 at Fair Grounds with Paladin. He had described Emerging Market's unconventional debut path, a two-turn dirt route in only his first start, as a calculated decision rooted in the colt's exceptional training. "The horse trained super, so we had high hopes for him going into the debut," Brown said. "Going a mile and 40 (yards at Tampa Bay Downs), he ran a super, super race."

Pavlovian's runner-up effort paid $13.60 and $5.80 and earned 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, lifting his season total to 70. Golden Tempo's third-place finish added 25 points and brought his total to 60. Emerging Market's 100-point haul secures him among the top qualifiers for the Kentucky Derby.