Sharp and Ortiz Claim Back-to-Back Titles at Fair Grounds Meet

Joe Sharp led all conditioners with 47 wins from 211 starts as he and jockey Jose Ortiz repeated as the Fair Grounds' leading trainer and rider, closing out the 154th racing season at the New Orleans oval in a meet defined by record clockings and a farewell to one of the track's most decorated figures.

Sharp's 47 victories came at a 22% strike rate and generated more than $1.7 million in purses, leaving the rest of the trainer standings well behind. Bret Calhoun was the closest challenger with 31 wins, followed by Sam David Jr. at 19. Tom Amoss, the New Orleans native who won 11 Fair Grounds training titles across nearly 40 years, closed out his career with 14 wins this season before announcing his retirement.

Ortiz delivered numbers that would have been remarkable under any circumstances, made more striking by the fact that he missed the first two weeks of the meet entirely. The 33-year-old Puerto Rico native finished with 93 wins, a 29% strike rate and more than $4 million in earnings. Ortiz won the Eclipse Award as the nation's leading jockey in 2017 and added the 2024 Breeders' Cup Mile aboard More Than Looks before arriving in New Orleans, where he has established himself as the dominant force in the jockey standings.

The meet produced a string of track records. Built, the 2024 Gun Runner titleholder trained by Wayne Catalano, became the first horse in Fair Grounds history to break 1:08 for five furlongs, stopping the clock in 1:07.96 on March 13. Kavod set a one-mile dirt track record in 1:35.46 for Sharp, adding a record-setting footnote to the trainer's title-winning season. Alexis Claire's Fit to Fly established two turf records at five furlongs and about five furlongs. Robertino Diodoro's Usually Wrong posted a 5 1/2-furlong turf mark of 1:01.63 while taking the Duncan F. Kenner Stakes. In Amoss's final meet, Ensemble Racing's Higgins Boat set a one-mile turf course record in 1:34.58.

The graded-stakes program drew national-caliber trainers throughout the season. Chad Brown captured both the Louisiana Derby (G2) with Emerging Market and the Risen Star (G2) with Paladin. Brad Cox took 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. Steve Asmussen was represented by multiple standouts, including dual graded-stakes winner Lagynos and Gun Runner champion Chip Honcho. Pat Devereux Jr. conditioned Little Miss Curlin, who swept three Louisiana-bred juvenile filly stakes.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby series anchored the meet's national profile, with the Lecomte (G3) on Jan. 17, the Risen Star (G2) on Feb. 14 and the Louisiana Derby (G2) on March 21 combining for $1.875 million in purses. Amoss's retirement leaves a significant void in a barn that shaped the Fair Grounds backside for four decades; Sharp, now two titles deep in his own run of dominance, arrives at the offseason as the unambiguous standard-setter at the New Orleans oval.