Fair Ground news desk

NEW ORLEANS — Topping the entries is Brookdale Racing and Fern Circle Stables’ Liberty National, as eight 2-year-old colts were drawn for the $100,000 Gun Runner Stakes, the showcase on Road to the Derby Kickoff Day at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Saturday, Dec. 20. Staged at one and one-sixteenth miles, the Gun Runner opens the 2026 Road to the Kentucky Derby for the local circuit, with points of 10, 5, 3, 2, and 1 awarded to the first five across the wire; think of it as an early qualifier on the pari-mutuel calendar, much like a preseason test.

Among the four stakes on the program — the $100,000 Untapable, $100,000 Tenacious, and $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial share the billing — the Gun Runner is placed as Race 11. A dozen races populate the racecard, and the first post is slated for 12:45 Central; for example, expect the odds board to light up with stakes action mid-card.

Under trainer Kenny McPeek, Liberty National delivered his best to date in a 1 1/16-mile maiden special on Churchill’s Stars of Tomorrow II card, drawing off by 4 1/2 lengths after settling early and kicking clear. That effort — the colt’s second career start and initial try around two turns — produced a field-high 91 Brisnet Speed figure, and Brian Hernandez Jr. takes the call from post 3.

McPeek also sends Dream Big Racing’s Very Connected. The full sibling to Hidden Connection has compiled five Road to the Kentucky Derby points via a fourth in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2) and a third in the Street Sense (G3), a pair of graded efforts that illustrate steady progress, for example when finishing on late.

From the rail, LBD Stable’s homebred Mesquite advertised two-turn ability by breaking his maiden with flair in early November at Churchill Downs. Cherie DeVaux conditions the Union Rags colt, and Jose Ortiz reunites, a pairing that could mirror their prior chemistry if pace unfolds kindly.

Trainer Brad Cox entered a trio, headed by Novogratz Racing Stables’ Mister Punch. The Into Mischief colt crushed his maiden in early November at Churchill, and Luis Saez, in for the stakes schedule, rides from post 8 after choosing this mount for his tactical speed.

Steve Asmussen will tighten the cinch on Chip Honcho in this first of four local Derby preps. Following a debut second to Dr. Kapur that yielded a sharp speed number, the Connect colt wired a sloppy one-mile race at Churchill on Nov. 20; Paco Lopez pilots from post 2, and blinkers are added for the first time to sharpen focus, e.g., into the first turn.

Six of the eight juveniles arrive off maiden victories, leaving dual stakes winner Crown the Buckeye as the lone runner with two wins already. Trained by Mike Maker, the Ohio-bred has taken his last pair by a combined margin in excess of sixteen lengths, including a 4 1/2-length triumph in the Best of Ohio Juvenile at Mahoning Valley — his first journey around two turns — a scenario that often signals stamina.

Gun Runner field and connections, rail out

Mesquite — Ortiz/DeVaux; Chip Honcho — Lopez/Asmussen; Liberty National — Hernandez Jr./McPeek; Quality Mischief — Marcelino Pedroza Jr./Cox; Crown the Buckeye — Jareth Loveberry/Maker; Arabia Wild — Axel Concepcion/Cox; Very Connected — Colby Hernandez/McPeek; Mister Punch — Saez/Cox

Pashmina sets out on Oaks path in Saturday’s Untapable at Fair Grounds

Off an eye-catching maiden breaker, Red White and Blue Racing’s Pashmina figures a primary threat in the fifth running of the $100,000 Untapable Stakes on Saturday, Dec. 20, at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Contested at one mile and seventy yards, the Untapable serves as this venue’s opening step on the 2026 Road to the Kentucky Oaks, with 10, 5, 3, 2, 1 points to the top five; essentially the filly counterpart to the Derby trail, for example for assessing early-class fillies.

Eight 2-year-old fillies have signed on, and the Untapable is positioned as Race 10 of 12 on Road to the Derby Kickoff Day. As a scheduling note, that spot can influence tactics for barns doubling back later on the card.

Judged much the best in her local unveiling, Pashmina powered away in career start number two to score by upwards of ten lengths, and Ben Curtis retains the mount. Trained by Rob Atras, the Constitution filly drew post 7, a lane that can offer options if the break is sharp.

Breaking immediately to Pashmina’s outside is Actis, trained by Tom Amoss for Joel Politi, who exits a commanding My Trusty Cat Stakes victory at Delta Downs. The Hard Spun filly owns two wins thus far, and Jose Ortiz climbs aboard for this assignment.

Another key player is Gary and Mary West’s homebred Hit Parade. Under Brad Cox, the Street Sense filly captured both of her dirt starts at Churchill Downs this fall, and Luis Saez takes the call, a rider-jockey combo that has clicked before in similar spots.

Also multiple on the board is Holy Cow Stables’ Have Faith. Dallas Stewart trains the Vekoma filly, whose pair of victories came in sprinting company; Paco Lopez guides from post 2, a draw that often invites early placement.

Untapable full field, rail to outside, with rider and trainer

Luv Your Neighbor — Axel Concepcion/Mike Stidham; Have Faith — Lopez/Stewart; Hit Parade — Saez/Cox; Hurricane Kate — Isaac Castillo/Jonathan Wong; Funny Bunny — Jareth Loveberry/Whit Beckman; Miss Call — Brian Hernandez Jr./Kenny McPeek; Pashmina — Curtis/Atras; Actis — Ortiz/Amoss