Continued Strong Business Prompts Another Daily Bump

New Orleans (March 3, 2021) – For the third time in the 2020-21 meet, Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots has announced a 10% purse increase across the board. Much like the first two, the boost was inspired by strong simulcast handle. The purse increase, which includes both open races and Louisiana-bred races, goes into effect for the final 13 days of the meet, beginning with the Thursday, March 11 card. The draw for that card is Thursday, March 4.

“Our handle has continued to be strong, and we are pleased to be able to raise purses for the third time this meet,” Fair Grounds’ racing secretary Scott Jones said. “We’d once again like to thank the owners, trainers and fans who have been supporting our day-to-day racing product. $60,000 for a maiden special weight pot is a very competitive number to get to.”

Jones also indicated that the purses for all of the non-stakes races carded for the Saturday, March 20th Louisiana Derby Day card will be bumped up to $75,000 apiece. In addition, in order to accommodate the NBC broadcast, post time on that day has been pushed back to 11:20 a.m. CT.To make up for the weather related February 11th cancellation, Fair Grounds has also added Wednesday, March 24th, to the live racing calendar.