And they will be off!
Racing at the Fair Grounds will resume this fall after the Louisiana State Racing Commission approved dates for the 2025-26 thoroughbred meet at the historic New Orleans race track. That meet will begin on November 20 and continue through March 22.
Tuesday's emergency meeting at the Hotel Monteleone came after the Fair Grounds owner, Churchill Downs, Inc., signaled that it might give up its racing and gaming licenses after the Louisiana Supreme Court declared the historical horse racing machines on the premises to be illegal. The court ruled that New Orleans voters need to give their approval for those machines before they can operate despite a 2021 law legalizing them in Louisiana. Churchill Downs, Inc., said that the decision would cost them millions of dollars that they invested in the Fair Grounds.
