Louisiana Derby coverage from the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans. (AP Photo/Alexander … More Barkoff)
Copyright 2011 AP. All rights reserved.
The races start getting bigger on the Road to the Kentucky Derby starting with Saturday’s $1 million Louisiana Derby. The 10 entries in the Grade 2 race at 1 3/16 miles headlines a big 12-race card with eight stakes races at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. The Louisiana Derby is a Championship Series race that will award 100-50-25-15-10 qualifying points to the top five finishers with the winner and runner-up securing a spot in the starting gate May 3 for the $5 million Kentucky Derby if not otherwise qualified.
The 112th running of the Louisiana Derby is Race 12 at 6:42 p.m. ET. Race 11 is the $400,000 Fair Grounds Oaks (G2) for 3-year-old fillies with the same qualifying points awarded towards the May 2 Kentucky Oaks at Churchill Downs.
Advertisement
Louisiana Derby Field, Odds And Picks
The Louisiana Derby is worth watching, as 44 starters in both the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby have run in the Kentucky Derby since 2013. The 2nd, 3rd and 4th place finishers from this year’s Risen Star Stakes are running in the Louisiana Derby – Chunkof Gold (8/1), Built (4/1) and Vassimo (12/1). They will try to beat the race favorite John Hancock (7/2), who is 2-for-2 and makes his first start outside of Florida.
Horse Racing Nation’s Super Screener likes win contenders Built, John Hancock and Caldera (5/1), who has moved forward in each of his three races and finished a close 2nd in the Sunland Derby last month for legendary trainer D. Wayne Lukas. Caldera lost by a nose to Kentucky Derby contender Getaway Car.
But as you watch and wager on the races, know that only two winners of the Louisiana Derby have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby: Black Gold in 1924, and Grindstone in 1996. The 1988 Louisiana Derby winner, Risen Star, went on to become a “Dual Classic Winner” by winning the Preakness and Belmont Stakes. Howerver, 4th place Louisiana Derby finisher Country House won the controversial 2019 Kentucky Derby at longshot odds of 65/1.
Another major prep race Saturday offering 100 Derby points to the winner is the $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (G3) at Turfway Park in Florence, Kentucky. Horse Racing Nation top win contenders include #6 Baby Max (7/2) and #12 He’s Not Joking (20/1), also a top longshot.
How To Watch And Wager On The Louisiana Derby
Along with wagering on the biggest races atFanDuel Racing, horse racing fans can tune into FanDuelTV for live on-site coverage of the two major Derby preps at Fair Grounds and Turfway Park. CNBC’s Road to the Kentucky Derby coverage also has live coverage of the two big races from 6-7 p.m. ET on Sat., March 22 while also streaming on Peacock.
Advertisement
Both races are part of the “Bayou Bluegrass 5,” with an estimated $1 million guaranteed all-graded stakes Pick 5. It starts with Race 8 for older horses at the Fair Grounds in the $500,000 New Orleans Classic featuring Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Sierra Leone, the heavy 7/5 ace favorite.
Fair Grounds Oaks Picks
If you would like to see the Kentucky Oaks favorite run one final time, then tune into the Fair Grounds Oaks Saturday. Both Horse Racing Nation and FanDuel Racing project Good Cheer (6/5) to win her sixth straight race to start her career. Good Cheer “clearly possesses the highest Super Screener Energy Reserve Index Score in this field,” according to Horse Racing Nation.
More horse racing, live betting and handicapping including the National Horseplayers Championship which was last weekend in Las Vegas. Now horse players are prepping for the biggest races on the Road to the Kentucky Derby with the Run for the Roses less than six weeks away.
You can bet on it.
MORE FROM FORBES
ForbesKentucky Derby Championship Series Prep Race Schedule And 2025 TrackerBy Jay GinsbachForbesVirginia Derby Odds And 2025 Picks On The Road To The Kentucky DerbyBy Jay GinsbachForbes2025 NCAA Tournament Round Of 32 Matchups, Odds And TrendsBy Jay GinsbachForbesHere’s How To Bet On March MadnessBy Jay Ginsbach
RICHLAND — Tech companies could receive significant tax breaks in Louisiana as data centers break ground in the state.
According to a report by The Advocate, Meta officials told state officials in 2024 that they would need significant tax breaks while negotiating the $27 billion data center project currently being built in North Louisiana.
Based on projections of Louisiana’s tax exemptions and the expected expenditures of the companies, state and local governments could potentially give billions in tax breaks to the tech giants.
Several states, including Louisiana, have seen backlash to data centers as residents worry about potential rising electric costs and strain on water systems.
Advertisement
Virginia is currently debating whether or not to repeal tax exemptions for the tech companies, as it has cost state and local governments in Virginia $1.9 billion in 2024 alone.
The tax break exempts data centers from state and local taxes for multiple things data centers require, including servers, chillers, electric infrastructure and construction costs.
The scale of the data center projects, which include tens of billions in spending, coupled with Louisiana’s sales tax of 10%, means tax breaks could be worth huge amounts.
Gov. Jeff Landry speaks at an event Monday, Feb. 23, 2026, at Shreveport Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, La., held to announce that Amazon plans to build data centers in Caddo and Bossier Parishes. He is joined by Roger Wehner, left, vice president of Economic Development for Amazon, and Matt Vanderzanden, CEO of STACK Infrastructure.
Hopefully Ryan Coogler has a U-Haul on standby. The 39-year-old movie director may need a moving van March 15 to bring the Oscars home for his horror film, “Sinners.”
The movie, which grossed $369 million in worldwide box office receipts, is up for a record 16 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Song.
Advertisement
This image released by CBS Broadcasting shows Ryan Coogler, center, accepting the award for cinematic and box office achievement for “Sinners” during the 83rd Golden Globes on Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Kevork Djansezian | CBS Broadcasting via AP
“Sinners” is already a winner for putting the spotlight on the blues and at least three Louisiana musicians who shaped the sound. Much of the vampire thriller is set in Southern juke joints of the 1930s, makeshift dancehalls that shook with sounds that poured the foundation for rock ‘n’ roll, soul, R&B, rap, country and more.
Coogler illustrates that past and future in a scene with the original song, “I Lied to You.” The 1930s scene drifts to visions of the coming decades of rock, rap, break dancing and funk.
Advertisement
Buddy Guy uses a drum stick to play a Jimi Hendrix tune at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival on May 4, 2023.
STAFF FILE PHOTO BY CHRIS GRANGER
Advertisement
Buddy Guy, an 89-year-old native of Pointe Coupee Parish, appears briefly in the movie as an aging version of the character Sammie “Preacher Boy” Moore. Born in 1936 in Lettsworth, Guy was a product of this “Sinners” era with skills that heavily influenced Jimi Hendrix, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughan and others considered guitar gods.
A Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner and Kennedy Center honoree, Guy is still going strong with a tour of Australia set for April.
Fellow blues senior and Homer native Bobby Rush has also enjoyed “Sinners” notoriety, along with the late harmonica legend Little Walter of Marksville. Rush, 92, wasn’t seen in the movie, but his harmonica was used for the character “Delta Slim.”
Advertisement
Bluesman Bobby Rush, 92, right, performs with Kenny Wayne Shepherd in the Blues Tent during the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Saturday, May 3, 2025. (Staff photo by Scott Threlkeld, The Times-Picayune)
STAFF PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD
Guy and actor Miles Caton performed the Little Walter original, “Juke.” The song has more than 2.2 million streams on Spotify and nearly 750,000 plays on YouTube.
Like Guy, Rush is not resting in his senior years. Between now and end of May, Rush has gigs stretching from the French Quarter Festival in New Orleans to the Ribs & Blues Festival in the Netherlands.
Advertisement
Similar to Guy, Little Walter, born Marion Walter Jacobs in 1930, left Louisiana for Chicago, where he recorded “Juke,” “My Babe” and more groundbreaking harmonica blues. Renowned as an alcoholic with a short fuse and numerous fight injuries, Walter only lived to the age of 37.
Art director Tim Davis helped create the church in “Sinners,” and fans have analyzed its design. Miles Caton plays preacher boy Sammie in the film.
Advertisement
Photo courtesy Tim Davis
Yet the blues of Walter, Rush and Guy live on, thanks to “Sinners,” introducing a new generation to the foundation of American music.
Herman Fuselier is executive director of the St. Landry Parish Tourist Commission. A longtime journalist covering Louisiana music and culture, he lives in Opelousas. His “Zydeco Stomp” show airs at noon Saturdays on KRVS Public Media.
