JOURNAL SPORTS
Eleven thoroughbreds are slated for today’s 42nd Super Derby at Louisiana Downs in Bossier City, with 2024 Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Kenny McPeek saddling two of the morning line favorites.
The Grade 2 Super Derby goes off at 5:48 as the afternoon’s seventh race, covering 1 1/8 miles and involving 3-year-old colts and geldings with a total purse of $250,000, the highest of the 70-day season that wraps up later this month.
McPeek’s Real Men Violin is the 3-1 favorite while his Django goes off at 9-2. In May, with a simulcast kicking off the Louisiana Downs season, McPeek’s 18-1 shot Mystik Dan, co-owned by Shreveport native and Captain Shreve graduate Sharilyn Gasaway, won the 150th Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs.
Racing begins at 3 p.m. today as the Downs nears the conclusion of its 51st season. The track opened in 1974. This will be the fifth and final Saturday of 2024 racing in Bossier City, with nearly all racing on weekdays this summer. The local track is seeking a shift back to weekend dates for its 2025 thoroughbred season.
Seven racing days remain this season, resuming Monday through Wednesday, and wrapping up Monday-Thursday Sept. 23-26.