2025 Lecomte Stakes Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The Kentucky Derby prep season goes to New Orleans on Saturday, January 18, for the $250,000 Lecomte Stakes (G3) at Fair Grounds.

The second of four points races during the meet, the 1 1/16-mile dirt race offers 20-10-6-4-2 Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifying points to its top five finishers. Though that isn’t enough points by itself to get into the field, running well in this race and another prep or two is more than enough to make the first Saturday in May.

The Lecomte will be one of the best betting races on the Kentucky Derby trail. The race drew a full-capacity field of 14 including Built and Magnitude, the top two finishers in the Gun Runner Stakes, the first points race of the Fair Grounds season. Horses who run well in the Lecomte often go on to run well in the next two races on the Louisiana spur of the Kentucky Derby trail, the Risen Star (G2) on February 15, and the Louisiana Derby (G2) on March 22.

Though no winner of the Lecomte has yet won the Kentucky Derby, several have made noise in other major races. Risen Star (1988) won both the Preakness and the Belmont. Oxbow (2013) and War of Will (2019) both won the Preakness as well, and War of Will also went on to win the Maker’s Mark Mile (G1) on the Keeneland lawn as an older horse.

Lecomte Stakes 2025 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, January 18, 2025
• Track: Fair Grounds Race Course
• Post Time: 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time
• Distance: 1 1/1/16 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

Lecomte Stakes Odds

This is the field for the 2025 Lecomte Stakes in order of post position, including trainers and jockeys for each horse.

Lecomte Stakes Prep Results

The 14 horses in the Lecomte come out of 12 different races. Five of the horses in the field last raced in stakes company, with three coming out of the Gun Runner, the first Fair Grounds points race on December 21. Built led at every call that day to draw away by 6 ¾ lengths over Magnitude, who will try to turn the tables in the Lecomte. Admiral Dennis, the odds-on favorite who faded to fourth after a poor start, will also try to rebound.

Tough Catch is the only last-out stakes winner other than Built. He prompted the pace and ran on to win by a length in the Sugar Bowl on December 21 at Fair Grounds, going six furlongs on the dirt. Jolly Samurai, a two-time stakes winner at sprint distances at Remington, ran an even fifth in the Springboard Mile on December 13 there and will try to improve.

Three last raced in open allowance-level races. Disco Time led at every call in a one-mile first-level allowance on the dirt at Churchill Downs on November 30. Golden Afternoon won a first-level allowance at two turns on the Fair Grounds lawn on November 28, and will try dirt for the first time in the Lecomte. Calling Card comes out of an open first-level allowance at a mile on the Oaklawn dirt, where he chased on for a well-beaten third.

Two others come from restricted allowances. Optical nosed out Thorpedo Anna’s half-brother McAfee in a starter allowance going a mile at Churchill Downs; the starter condition was open to horses who broke their maidens in auction-condition maiden special weights, which is how both he and McAfee qualified. Dapper Moon comes out of a six-furlong sprint allowance win against Louisiana-breds at Fair Grounds.

Three horses come out of maiden wins against open company. Seattle Road did it at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt at Fair Grounds, the same course and distance as the Lecomte. Maximum Promise has been on the shelf since August, but graduated at the two-turn mile at Ellis. Innovator stretches out off of a six-furlong maiden victory at Oaklawn.

Mobetterthangood resurfaces for his first race since a seven-furlong New York-bred maiden win last summer at Saratoga, making him the only one coming out of a restricted allowance win.

Lecomte Stakes Contenders

These are the twelve entrants in the 2025 Lecomte Stakes, sorted by their post draw:

1. Innovator: There is no shortage of speed in the Lecomte and this stretch-out sprinter may be among the fastest of it. However, even if he does get the smooth break he needs from the fence, he is trying a route for the first time and will have a lot of pursuers hounding him from the outside, making this a tough task.
2. Maximum Promise: To his credit, he is a two-turn winner, after winning at second asking at Ellis last summer. However, he has not raced since then, leaving open questions of how sharp he will be first off the layoff. He also has pace questions: he was only fifth from off the pace on debut, but next out, he graduated on the front end. The post is tough, and he will have to deal with faster foes here.
3. Admiral Dennis: An impressive stalk-and-pounce maiden winner two back at Churchill Downs, he stumbled early and came up empty as a heavy favorite in the Gun Runner. To his credit, he can bounce back with a better start, and the tactical gear should help. However, with a field of 14, demand enough of a price to cover the fact that it could be another challenging start, especially near the inside.
4. Magnitude: One of few horses with a win at 1 1/16 miles already, he scored at this distance in an allowance at Churchill Downs two starts back, and did so from a press-and-take-over style. However, he was no match for Built next out. He will need to improve while racing near a pace that stands to be faster early than last out; that is not impossible, but it will not be easy either.
5. Optical: To his credit, he has won from both on the pace and from stalking a little bit off of it, meaning he should be able to stay out of the worst of the likely pace battle. However, blinkers-on may make him more intent on the lead, which may not be the right way to go, given the composition of this field. He also needs to improve significantly from a speed perspective—not impossible for such a young horse, but demand a price.
6. Golden Afternoon: He has run three admirable efforts in three starts, including a Grade 2 placing last fall at Keeneland. However, all of that form has come on the grass. Of course, he has some versatility in his pedigree: sire Goldencents has made a name throwing horses who can run on anything, and he sired the Kentucky Derby winner last year, Mystik Dan. He also has appealing tactical speed: he can run a good race and even win from a few lengths off the pace.
7. Calling Card: He blew a field of New York-breds out of the water over the one-turn mile at Aqueduct on November 17, rallying from near the rear early and romping clear by 17 ¼ lengths. He rallied into a modest pace over the two-turn mile at Oaklawn next out, but finished only third, no match for a leading pair that drew off. Most concerning is that the winner in that race came from off the pace as well. He probably gets a better pace setup here but still has to prove open-company quality.
8. Tough Catch: The good news is, he is proven over the Fair Grounds surface with a win in the Sugar Bowl. The bad news is, he has yet to run longer than seven furlongs or win at longer than six. Between his early speed and the fact that Complexity progeny have so far struggled as distances got longer, this is a tough ask.
9. Dapper Moon: Though he comes off a victory over the local course, it came against Louisiana-breds at one turn. His other win was against maidens at Saratoga, but even that was over only seven furlongs. He has been asked the question three times over two-turn trips in graded company and finished a well-beaten fourth each time, raising serious questions about how much he wants this distance or level.
10. Mobetterthangood: This Kenny McPeek trainee is the wild card. He broke his maiden in his only start, but that was in September, going seven furlongs against New York-breds. His pedigree is a mixed bag, a combination of route and sprint form on the dam’s side with a young sire with some distance upside. If he has moved forward, though, the way he passed horses on debut could give him a nice trip with all the speed up front.
11. Disco Time: This Brad Cox trainee is undefeated in two starts, though both have come at extended one-turn trips at Churchill Downs. The extra distance is a question: the Not This Time on top is a positive, though her dam is a Jump Start mare who did her best work going short. To his credit, though, he has shown tactical speed, and his jockey, Florent Geroux, has been on fire at Fair Grounds.
12. Jolly Samurai: This late-running type won his first three starts, all at one turn at Remington, including two stakes races. However, when stretching out for the Springboard Mile in December, he came up flat and finished only fifth behind Coal Battle. There’s some upside: Coal Battle did frank the race by winning the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn next out, and though most of the female family is sprinter-miler, sire First Samurai and damsire Paddy O’Prado make two turns worth another try.
13. Built: His pedigree (Hard Spun out of a Curlin mare) suggested two turns would be just the ticket, and he thrived in the Gun Runner over this course and distance last month. However, he’ll be a short price and will have to deal with both a near-outside post and a fast pace to attend. In short, he brings some of the best form, but that may make him an underlay.
14. Seattle Road: It took him four starts to graduate, but his best two starts (including his maiden win) have come over this course and distance. He can also pass horses, important for a race with this much speed. However, he will have to handle an outside post and go significantly faster to be a factor.

Lecomte Stakes Past Winners Past Performances

In the last ten years, horses who last raced at Churchill Downs in November have shined in the Lecomte: seven of the last 10 winners of this race came out of races during the November meet in Louisville.

Five of those runners came out of the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2). Only Instant Coffee (2023) won it. Mo Tom (2016) was third, International Star (2015) and Enforceable (2020) were fourth, and Call Me Midnight (2022) was seventh. Two others came out of non-stakes races there: Guest Suite (2017) was a last-out allowance winner, while War of Will (2019) came out of a maiden victory over the course.

The three other recent winners each came from different tracks. The only last-out Fair Grounds winner in the last ten years was Track Phantom (2024), who won the Gun Runner before winning the Lecomte. The Gun Runner is a relatively new race, which only started in 2022, meaning it could have an improving profile as it gains status on the racing calendar. The other two came out of Grade 1 events at other tracks: Instilled Regard (2018) was second in the Los Alamitos Futurity, a top-level race at the time, while Midnight Bourbon was making his first start since a third-place finish in the Champagne at Belmont.

Lecomte Stakes Undercard

Saturday’s Lecomte Stakes card is one of the most important of the year at Fair Grounds. The Kentucky Derby prep is one of six stakes races on the day, which also includes a 20-point Kentucky Oaks prep: the Silverbulletday Stakes. Older dirt horses, including 2024 Lecomte winner Track Phantom, line up for the Louisiana (G3). Other stakes on the card include the Marie G. Krantz for older turf mares, the Duncan F. Kenner for older turf sprinters, and the Colonel E. R. Bradley for older turf routers.

With big fields and classy horses all day long, make plans to watch Fair Grounds Saturday on FanDuel TV, and to place your bets through FanDuel Racing!

Fair Grounds History

The first races at what was then the Louisiana Race Course were organized by Bernard de Marigny and others in 1839 and 1839. It was reopened as Union Race Course in 1852 but closed after five years because the nearby Metairie Course proved more popular at the time. It was renamed yet again in 1859 as the Creole Race Course, then was first given the name Fair Grounds in 1963. It continued to host racing during the Civil War.

That was not the end of the closing and opening of the course, though. It closed again after the Civil War when Metairie reopened. Still, some members of the Metairie Jockey Club broke away, re-formed the Louisiana Jockey Club, and restarted racing at Fair Grounds in 1872.

Racing was banned in New Orleans in 1908, though it returned in 1915. Though the track was in jeopardy after being sold to developers in 1940, racing-minded investors saved the track from certain destruction in 1941 and ensured horse racing would continue after World War II.

A stable period followed, and in 1981, the turf course was laid, and then the facility was sold in 1990. Following a devastating fire, a new grandstand had to be built in 1994 at a cost of $27 million, a grand reopening taking place on Thanksgiving Day 1997.

Although further damaged by Hurricane Katrina, another Thanksgiving Day reopening occurred in 2006, and since then, the track has run on an even keel and remains popular with traditional racegoers and people all over the country, especially on the days of its Kentucky Derby preps.

Lecomte Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Lecomte Stakes?

A: The 2025 Lecomte Stakes happens on Saturday, January 18, 2025, at Fair Grounds Race Course. The 12th and final race on the card, post time, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Q: Where is the Lecomte Stakes?

A: The race happens at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Lecomte Stakes?

A: Trainer John B. Theall won the Lecomte five times between 1946 and 1961, including three times with Tenacious in the years 1959 through 1961, back when it was open to older horses. In its three-year-old era, which began in 1962, Steve Asmussen and Tom Amoss are tied with four wins apiece. Asmussen can make it five with Magnitude, while Amoss brings Seattle Road.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2025 Lecomte Stakes?

A: The morning line has not been released for the Lecomte Stakes yet. However, expect Built to take significant action off of his runaway victory in the Gun Runner Stakes over the course and distance last month.

Q: Who is the best Lecomte Stakes jockey?

A: Robby Albarado leads all jockeys with five wins between 1998 and 2017. Among jockeys with mounts in the 2025 edition, James Graham leads with two. He won with Ron the Greek in 2010 and Call Me Midnight in 2022. He can earn a third with Optical.

Q: Who won the 2024 Lecomte Stakes?

A: Track Phantom won the 2024 edition of the Lecomte Stakes for trainer Steve Asmussen and jockey Joel Rosario. Asmussen brings Magnitude with Jose Ortiz in the irons, while Rosario rides Admiral Dennis for Brad Cox.

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