Touchuponastar Tops Trio of Defending Winners on Louisiana Derby Undercard
NEW ORLEANS (March 15, 2026) – Defending champions return across three stakes on Saturday’s Louisiana Derby Day undercard at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, led by reigning titleholder Touchuponastar in the Grade 2 $500,000 New Orleans Classic presented by Hagyard, returning winner Idratherbeblessed in the Grade 2 $300,000 Muniz Memorial Classic presented by Horse Racing Nation, and turf mare Way to Be Marie in the $150,000 Tom Benson Memorial.
With total stakes purses of $2.55 million, Louisiana Derby Day will feature seven stakes races, including the Grade 2 $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby and the Grade 2 $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Fair Grounds Oaks, each offering 200 qualifying points on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks, respectively. First post for the 14-race card on Saturday, March 21 is noon.
Reigning champion Touchuponastar heads a compact field in the New Orleans Classic, a 1 1/8-mile dirt test scheduled as Race 9. Installed as the 6-5 morning-line favorite, the Set-Hut homebred owned by former NFL quarterback Jake Delhomme and trained by his brother Jeff Delhomme has compiled a lifetime record of 27-20-4-2 and earnings approaching $1.76 million. His signature victory came in last year’s New Orleans Classic, when he defeated 2024 champion 3-year-old and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone. The Louisiana-bred son of Star Guitar owns a historic four-peat in the Louisiana Champions Day Classic from 2022 through 2025. He enters with a Marcelino Pedroza Jr. rides.
Among his challengers are West Coast shipper Westwood, who enters off a front-running victory in the San Pasqual Stakes and will be making his first start for Peter Eurton after previously being trained by John Shirreffs; Life And Times, a lightly raced 4-year-old who was third in the Grade 3 Fred W. Hooper; and Not This Boy, winner of the Tenacious Stakes in December.
Returning winner Idratherbeblessed seeks another upset in the Muniz Memorial, a 1 1/8-mile turf test scheduled as Race 10. Trained by Chris Hartman for JD Thoroughbreds and Wayne Scherr, the gelding produced one of the meet’s most memorable performances last year, wiring the field at odds of 86-1 for his first graded stakes victory. A front-running specialist who has earned more than $500,000, he again figures to show speed from the outset.
Multiple Grade 1 winner Program Trading (GB) tops this year’s lineup as the 9-5 morning-line favorite. Trained by Chad Brown for Klaravich Stables, the British-bred son of Lope de Vega has established himself among North America’s leading turf horses, compiling nearly $1.6 million in earnings with consistently strong speed figures. His resume includes three Grade 1 victories — the 2024 Turf Classic at Churchill Downs, the 2023 Hollywood Derby at Del Mar and the 2023 Saratoga Derby Invitational — and runner-up finishes last fall in both the Bernard Baruch and the Coolmore Turf Mile (G1). Flavien Prat rides.
Multiple graded stakes winner Lagynos looms as a major threat. Trained by Hall of Famer Steve Asmussen for HRH Prince Sultan Bin Mishal Al Saud, he enters in sharp form after capturing the Fair Grounds Stakes (G3) in February. Jose Ortiz has the mount.
In the Tom Benson Memorial, defending champion Way to Be Marie leads an evenly matched field of seven older fillies and mares in the 1 1/16-mile turf event scheduled as Race 6. Installed as the 3-1 morning-line favorite, she returns to the course where she produced her signature performance last spring. Graded stakes-placed Way to Be Marie, previously trained by Rob Atras, will be making her first start for Eddie Kenneally after being purchased by Twin Oaks Bloodstock for $750,000 at Keeneland’s January Horses of All Ages Sale. Luis Saez retains the mount.
Among the leading challengers is Ready for Shirl, winner of last summer’s Grade 2 Canadian at Woodbine, who exits a troubled run in the Grade 2 Pegasus World Cup Filly and Mare Turf Invitational and will be making her first start for trainer Dallas Stewart with Brian Hernandez Jr. aboard.
Here is the complete field for the New Orleans Classic from the rail out with jockey, trainer, and morning line odds:
Westwood (Tyler Gaffalione, Peter Eurton, 10-1)
Touchuponastar (Pedroza Jr., Delhomme, 6-5)
Accelerize (John Velazquez, Todd Pletcher, 3-1)
Life and Times (Flavien Prat, Todd Pletcher, 6-1)
Not This Boy (Jose Ortiz, Doug Cowans, 7-2)
Corporate Power (Luis Saez, Steve Asmussen, 8-1)
Here is the complete field for the Muniz Memorial from the rail out with jockey, trainer, and morning line odds:
Chasing the Crown (Jareth Loveberry, Mike Maker, 12-1)
Montador (Tyler Gaffalione, Mike Stidham, 7-2)
Idratherbeblessed (Marcelino Pedroza Jr. Hartman, 12-1)
Lagynos (Ortiz, Asmussen, 2-1)
Tom’s Magic (Luis Saez, Mike Stidham, 5-1)
Faber (Florent Geroux, Gary Scherer, 15-1)
Program Trading (GB) (Prat, Brown, 9-5)
Here is the complete field for the Tom Benson Memorial from the rail out with jockey, trainer, and morning line odds:
Ready for Shirl (Hernandez, Stewart, 7-2)
Sophie’s Cruiser (Isaac Castillo, Brett Brinkman, 10-1)
Way to Be Marie (Saez, Kenneally, 3-1)
For Love and Honor (Tyler Gaffalione, Joe Sharp, 5-1)
Cupids Crush (MArcelino Pedroza, Jr., Hugh Robertson, 5-1)
Sea To Sky (IRE) (Jose Ortiz, Cherie DeVaux, 7-2)
Gavea (GER) (Falvien Prat, Al Stall Jr., 6-1)
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About Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots
Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, one of the nation’s oldest racetracks, has been in operation since 1872. Located in New Orleans, La, Fair Grounds, which is owned by Churchill Downs Incorporated (NASDAQ Global Select Market: CHDN), also operates a slot-machine gaming facility and 13 off-track betting parlors throughout Southeast Louisiana. The 154th Thoroughbred Racing Season–highlighted by the 113th running of the Louisiana Derby–will run from Nov. 20, 2025 through March 22, 2026. More information is available online at www.fgno.com.
