Louisiana-Breds to Showcase Talent at Churchill Downs on Saturday

Louisiana-bred runners have continued to build a strong national reputation in recent years, and that momentum will be on display Saturday, June 27, at Churchill Downs. Two promising Louisiana-bred 3-year-olds are set to contest maiden special weight events against Kentucky-bred competition.

Preside, a colt from the second crop of Tiz the Law, will start in Race 2, a $120,000 maiden special weight at 1 1/16 miles. Bred in Louisiana by Schwing Thoroughbreds, Preside is out of the Souper Speedy mare Georgian Dancer, a half-sister to a Canadian champion sprinter and the dam of Grade 1–placed Cocktail Moments. The colt commanded $1.5 million at the April 2025 OBS Two-Year-Olds in Training Sale and is owned by Spendthrift Farm, St. Elias Stable, and West Point Thoroughbreds.

In Race 3, Flashy Rich Deal (El Deal–Flashy Prize, by Flashy Bull) will compete in a 6 1/2-furlong maiden special weight, also worth $120,000. The colt is a full brother to standout Louisiana-bred Free Like a Girl, a multiple champion who earned divisional honors every year from age 2 through 6 and was named Louisiana Horse of the Year in both 2022 and 2024. Over the course of a distinguished career, Free Like a Girl won 19 stakes races and placed in nine graded stakes, including a runner-up finish in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Stakes, with total earnings of $2,565,628. Retired in the fall, she was scheduled to be bred in 2026 but was euthanized following a trailer accident in January.