East Avenue Leads Field of Thirteen in Grade Two $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star
At 1h51, on February 12, 2025 • By Fair Grounds Race Course
Set to make his sophomore debut, Godolphin’s grade one winner East Avenue leads a field of 13 3-year-olds as the 9-5 morning line favorite for the 53rd running of the $500,000 Fasig-Tipton Risen Star Stakes (G2) at Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots. Slated as the finale on Saturday’s “Louisiana Derby Preview Day” 14-race program, the Risen Star is the first Derby prep on the calendar to award 50-25-15-10-5 points to the top five finishers. Run at 1 1/8 miles, the third of four local Derby preps will be the first time any of these 13 entries have raced this far.
Six stakes are scheduled to be run on “Louisiana Derby Preview Day,” including the co-featured $300,000 Fasig-Tipton Rachel Alexandra (G2), a Longines Kentucky Oaks (G1) prep which also awards 105 qualifying points.
Past the Risen Star and Rachel Alexandra, the added money action includes two more graded stakes with $250,000 Mineshaft presented by Hagyard GI By Relyne (G3) and the $175,000 Fair Grounds Stakes presented by Horse Racing Nation (G3). Along with the Fair Grounds Stakes, both the $100,000 Albert M. Stall Memorial and the $100,000 Colonel Power are scheduled to be run on the Stall-Wilson turf course. First post on Saturday, Feb. 15 is 1:00 p.m.
One of last year’s most highly regarded 2-year-olds, East Avenue followed up his debut win at Ellis Park with an impressive gate-to-wire win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland. The Godolphin homebred has not raced since the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), where he was sent off as the post-time favorite but stumbled badly out of the gates and finished ninth. Trained by Brendan Walsh, the Medaglia d’Oro colt is a half sibling to 2023 Eclipse Champion Horse of the Year, Cody’s Wish. Aboard for both of East Avenue’s juvenile stakes runs, Tyler Gaffalione will return to the irons above the 9-5 morning line favorite in the Risen Star, who drew post 4.
