Horse Racing Odds: Fair Grounds Louisiana Champions Day Classic

by Patricia Woo | Dec 7 2009

Plenty of familiar faces will be on hand for the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic at Fair Grounds Race Course, the richest race and the highlight of the Champions Day card which will take place on Saturday, Dec. 12. Break Up, Star Production and Star Guitar, three of the standouts from last year's Champions Day, have all been nominated to the 1 1/8-mile Classic and will make this event one that any horse bettor should not miss.

In the 2008 edition of the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Stakes, Break Up was the shocking 68-1 longshot winner; the then-2-year-old accelerated past four rivals in the stretch to claim a 1-length victory in his last race of the year. 2009 started off slowly for this Sunday Break colt: It wasn't till his fourth and fifth start of the year that Break Up finally found his way back to the winner's circle (the $50,000 Acclaim Stakes in June and the $75,000 B.B. “Sixty” Rayburn Stakes in July, both at Evangeline Downs). And despite a fifth-place finish in an allowance race at Fair Grounds on Nov. 6 for this Brett Brinkman trainee, he has shown that he is more than capable of turning in a big performance. Break Up is 6-2-1-0 with $98,970 in earnings so far in 2009.

Last year's runner-up in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic, Star Production, is scheduled to take another crack at the title. Sent off as the race favorite in 2008, Star Production was on the losing end of a tremendous stretch duel with the eventual winner, Autobeacat. Trained by James Hodges, this Run Production 4-year-old is so far winless in 2009, with his best performances netting a duo of show finishes: an allowance race at Louisiana Downs in June and the $100,000 Pola Benoit Memorial Stakes at Evangeline Downs in July. This year, Star Production is 7-0-0-2 and has $15,660 in earnings.

Winner of the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint Stakes last year, Star Guitar has returned to Fair Grounds for a chance at the more lucrative Classic purse this year. This Quiet American 4-year-old has had an incredible 2009; he will be going into the Classic looking for this fifth consecutive win. Trained by Albert Stall, Star Guitar has captured such titles as the $100,000 Louisiana Cup Turf Classic on Aug. 1, the $150,000 Evangeline Downs Mile Handicap on Aug. 15 and most recently, the $100,000 Gold Cup at Delta Downs on Oct. 16. He also has graded stakes experience, coming in third behind the likes of Bullsbay and Cool Coal Man in the $150,000 Gr. 3 Alysheba Stakes back in May. With a race record of 8-6-0-1 and $442,358 in earnings so far this year, Star Guitar should be the race favorite for Saturday's Champions Day Classic.

Also among those nominated are: Peteadoris, Ide Like a Double, Grand Minit and Desert Wheat.

Who do you like to win the Louisiana Champions Day Classic? Bet on horse racing at Fair Grounds with the Bodog Racebook!