Fair Grounds media update

From NEW ORLEANS, the 7–5 morning‑line choice for the $100,000 Tenacious Stakes is Just a Touch, topping an eight‑horse group of older males slated for Road to the Derby Kickoff Day at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. That cast numbers eight veterans (for example, stallions or geldings) with Just a Touch positioned as the one to beat.

Among the quartet of stakes on Road to the Derby Kickoff Day — joining the $100,000 Gun Runner, $100,000 Untapable, and $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial — the Tenacious goes as Race 8. Twelve races fill the card, and the opening post on Saturday comes at 12:45 p.m. CT (for example, early multi‑race wagers start then).

Although Qatar Racing and Marc Detampel campaign Just a Touch and four graded events have produced only placings so far (for example, seconds and thirds), a stakes win has not yet appeared on his résumé. That absence could be corrected as the Brad Cox trainee returns to Fair Grounds, the scene of two of his three career victories. Booked for Road to the Derby Kickoff Day, Luis Saez will pilot from post 2.

For trainer Doug Cowans, Zimmer Ridge Ranch’s Not This Boy has never missed the money, and in two stakes attempts he ran second — by a head to Hit Show in the West Virginia Governor’s Stakes and by a nose to Most Wanted in the 2024 Ellis Park Derby. The Not This Time 4‑year‑old has lured Jose Ortiz and was made 2–1 on the morning line (e.g., an exacta‑type quote).

Other logical threats include Willis Horton Racing and Whisper Hill Farm’s Hanshin Stakes winner Will Take It, who competed in this year’s Breeders’ Cup Mile (G1), as well as Perry Martin’s Komorebino Omoide, runner‑up in both the Louisiana Stakes (G3) and Mineshaft Stakes (G3) last year and most recently a gritty second in the Thanksgiving Classic. Pace and trip, for example, could shape their chances.

Here is the complete Tenacious roster, listed rail to outside with rider, trainer, and the morning‑line odds for handicapping:

Komorebino Omoide (JPN) (Paco Lopez, Robertino Diodoro, 4-1); Just a Touch (Saez, Cox, 7-5); Will Take It (Axel Concepcion, Dallas Stewart, 20-1); Stowaway (Jareth Loveberry, Whit Beckman, 12-1); San Siro (Ben Curtis, Brendan Walsh, 20-1); Sir Greylind (Brian Hernandez Jr., Kenny McPeek, 6-1); Not This Boy (Ortiz, Cowans, 2-1); Number One Dude (Colby Hernandez, Dallas Stewart, 30-1).

Gigante targets a repeat in the $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial

Having taken this event last season, Gigante returns in search of a repeat score in the $100,000 Buddy Diliberto Memorial at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots on Road to the Derby Kickoff Day.

As one of four stakes on Road to the Derby Kickoff Day — alongside the $100,000 Gun Runner, $100,000 Untapable, and $100,000 Tenacious — the Diliberto is scheduled as Race 9. There are twelve races on the program, and Saturday’s opening post is 12:45 p.m. CT.

With career earnings topping $1.3 million, L and N Racing and Clark Brewster’s Gigante reaches this year’s Diliberto in sharp form after back‑to‑back wins at Remington Park. During the previous meet, the Steve Asmussen trainee landed the Buddy Diliberto Memorial and the Col. E.R. Bradley Stakes, and he also finished a gritty second in the Muniz Memorial. Jose Ortiz has the call on the 3‑1 morning‑line favorite, who drew post 9.

Chief among the threats is Flying P Stable’s Kupuna. After a September claim for $100,000 by Norm Casse and a switch to the turf course, Kupuna beat a tough allowance cast that included Northern Invader and Epic Ride; Ben Curtis rides.

Additional contenders include last year’s longshot Muniz Memorial winner Idratherbeblessed and CRK Stable’s Theismann, who has stacked three consecutive allowance victories for trainer Peter Eurton (for example, consecutive wins build momentum).

Here is the full Buddy Diliberto Memorial field, rail to outside, showing jockey, trainer, and morning‑line odds for pari‑mutuel players:

Point Proven (Tim Thornton, David Terre, 12-1); Kupuna (Curtis, Casse, 7-2); Secret Chat (C.J. McMahon, Bobby Barnett, 20-1); Sand Pipes (Paco Lopez, Lindsey Schultz, 6-1); Emmanuel (Jareth Loveberry, Mike Maker, 4-1); Legalize (Brian Hernandez Jr., Cherie DeVaux, 8-1); Theismann (Saez, Eurton, 6-1); Idratherbeblessed (Marcelino Pedroza Jr., Chris Hartman, 12-1); Gigante (Ortiz, Asmussen, 3-1).