The Apple Blossom Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race run each year in early April during the Racing Festival of the South at Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, Arkansas. The Grade I race is open to Fillies and Mares, four years old and up. A premier event for distaffers in the Spring, it is run over a distance of one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt and currently offers a purse of $600,000, though these conditions are subject to change, as noted below.
Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 10 and progressed to riding at bush tracks in his native Louisiana by the age of 12. After turning professional, he earned his first official win at Evangeline Downs in 1990. Since then, he has won more than 5,000 races, but his career has endured setbacks as a result of serious injuries. During 1998 and 1999, he suffered two skull fractures, one of which required doctors to replace a damaged portion of his skull with titanium mesh and polymer plate. Another serious accident in the fall of 2000 kept him out of racing for the better part of 2001.
The Fair Grounds Oaks is a race for Grade II Thoroughbred horses run at the end of March at Fair Grounds Race Course each year. The Oaks is open to fillies, age three, willing to race one and one-sixteenth miles on the dirt, and currently offers a purse of $400,000. The race is considered a prep race to the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, including the Kentucky Oaks, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and Mother Goose Stakes.
The Louisiana Derby is a Grade II American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Run in late March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race 1 1⁄8 miles on the dirt. It currently offers a purse of $1,000,000.
The Pan Zareta Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana, each winter. An ungraded stakes, the Pan Zareta is a 6 furlong sprint on dirt open to fillies and mares four years old and up. The race currently offers a $60,000 purse.
The Lecomte Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race held at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is a Grade III Stakes race for three-year-old horses willing to run 1 mile and 70 yards on the dirt. It has also been raced at 8 furlongs and 8.5 furlongs. It currently offers a purse of $200,000, and is normally run in mid-January. Trainers use it as a prep race for the Louisiana Derby, and potentially the Kentucky Derby.
Colonel Edward Riley Bradley was an American steel mill laborer, gold miner, businessman and philanthropist. As well as a race track proprietor, he was the preeminent owner and breeder of Thoroughbred racehorses in the Southern United States during the first three decades of the 20th Century. Testifying before a United States Senate committee in April 1934, Bradley identified himself as a "speculator, raiser of race horses and gambler." He made the cover of TIME magazine on May 7, 1934. In the year 2000, the Florida Department of State honored him as one of their Great Floridians.
Joseph Talamo is a Champion jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.
The Rachel Alexandra Stakes, is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana in February. An important prep for developing three-year-old fillies, in 2016 the race was upgraded from a Grade III event to a Grade II with a current purse of $200,000 and continues to be a prep race to the Triple Tiara of Thoroughbred Racing, including the Kentucky Oaks, the Black-Eyed Susan Stakes and Mother Goose Stakes. It is set at a distance of one and one sixteenth miles on the dirt on the main track.
Pyro is an American Thoroughbred Racehorse and sire. His sire is Pulpit, a son of the 1992 Eclipse Award Winner for American Horse of the Year, A.P. Indy. His dam is the mare Wild Vision, sired by the 1984 Breeders' Cup Classic winner, Wild Again.
Macho Again is a retired American thoroughbred racehorse and sire. He was sired by the 2000 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt Macho Uno, who in turn was a son of leading sire Holy Bull. He is out of the mare Go Donna Go, who is the daughter of Wild Again.
Dallas Stewart trains a string of thoroughbred horses in Kentucky from bases at Churchill Downs, Turfway Park, Keeneland Race Course, Fair Grounds Race Course, Arlington Park and Saratoga Race Course. Before venturing out on his own, he spent 12 years working under the tutelage of leading trainer D. Wayne Lukas. There, he oversaw such horses as Lady's Secret, Thunder Gulch, Serena's Song, Timber Country, Tabasco Cat, and many other Grade I winners.
The Fair Grounds Handicap is an American Thoroughbred horse race for four-year-olds and up run at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana early in the year. A Grade IIIT stakes race, it's set at a distance of 1 and one-eighth miles or 9 furlongs on the turf, and currently offers a purse of $125,000.
Rachel Alexandra is a retired American Thoroughbred racehorse and the 2009 Horse of the Year. When she won the 2009 Preakness Stakes, the second leg of the Triple Crown, she became the first filly to win the race in 85 years. She also won races in six states, on eight different tracks, against fillies and Grade 1 colts and older horses, achieving a long string of consecutive wins including numerous Grade 1 stakes. Rachel Alexandra neared or broke multiple stakes records, track records and winning margin records throughout her career. On September 28, 2010, owner Jess Jackson announced Rachel Alexandra's retirement. She was bred to 2007/2008 Horse of the Year Curlin and delivered a colt on January 22, 2012.
The Silverbulletday Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually each January at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. A race for three-year-old fillies, it is contested on dirt over a distance of 1 mile and 70 yards.
Linkage was an American Thoroughbred racehorse he was the son of Hoist the Flag and grandson to Tom Rolfe. Linkage will be best remembered for winning the 1982 Blue Grass Stakes and placing second five weeks later in the $200,000 grade 1 Preakness Stakes to Aloma's Ruler.
No Le Hace was an American Thoroughbred racehorse foaled on March 18, 1969, No Le Hace is best remembered for his runner-up performances in the $200,000 grade 1 Preakness Stakes to Bee Bee Bee and the Kentucky Derby behind Riva Ridge.
The Mardi Gras Stakes is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually since 1922 at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Untapable is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. She showed promise as a two-year-old in 2013 when she won two of her four races including the Pocahontas Stakes and was placed in the Starlet Stakes. In 2014 she emerged as a top-class racehorse, winning the Rachel Alexandra Stakes, Fair Grounds Oaks, Kentucky Oaks, Mother Goose Stakes, Cotillion Handicap and Breeders' Cup Distaff and was named American Champion Three-Year-Old Filly.
