2025 Risen Star Stakes Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

The road to the Kentucky Derby intensifies on Saturday, February 15, at Fair Grounds with the Grade 2, $500,000 Risen Star Stakes. The distance is 1 ⅛ miles, meaning horses get a good stamina test a few months before the Kentucky Derby. The qualifying points on offer for the top five finishers are 50-25-15-10-5, making the Risen Star the first race that virtually guarantees its winner a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate. And, with 13 horses in the field, it will be an excellent betting opportunity.

The most proven horse in the field is East Avenue, a Grade 1-winning two-year-old who will try to bounce back in his first start since a rough try in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. However, the road won’t be easy. Between familiar graded-stakes contenders like Jonathan’s Way and Built, as well as new faces like Vassimo, even the most proven horse will need to come on their best form to win.

The Risen Star began in 1973 as the Louisiana Derby Trial Stakes, and has gained in importance in recent years. The 2024 winner, Sierra Leone, finished second in the Kentucky Derby and won the Breeders’ Cup Classic. 2023 winner Angel of Empire and 2022 winner Epicenter were both the Kentucky Derby favorites. 2022 winner Mandaloun won the Kentucky Derby after the disqualification of Medina Spirit. 2019 winner War of Will won the Preakness, and 2016 winner Gun Runner won Horse of the Year at age four and is now in the Hall of Fame.

Stay right here to find out who can join this illustrious list and make noise further down the Kentucky Derby trail in 2025!

Risen Star Stakes 2025 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, February 15, 2025
• Track: Fair Grounds Race Course
• Post Time: 6:30 p.m. Central Standard Time
• Distance: 1 1/8 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
• Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

Risen Star Stakes Odds

These are the entrants for the 2025 Risen Star, including horses, trainers, jockeys, post positions, and official morning-line odds for each horse.

Risen Star Stakes Prep Results

The 13 horses in the Risen Star field come out of ten different races. The only horse with more than one last-out runner is the Lecomte (G3), the previous race in Fair Grounds’ series of Kentucky Derby preps. The Lecomte was the most recent start for four horses in the Risen Star. Though winner Disco Time is bypassing this spot, second-place Built, sixth-place Magnitude, seventh-place Seattle Road, and ninth-place Jolly Samurai all come back for more.

Three other horses come out of graded races, though, as with the Lecomte horses, none of them won. Jonathan’s Way was last seen chasing home First Resort in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2), in which he finished second. American Promise was disqualified from sixth to seventh in the Southwest Stakes (G3) last out, while East Avenue will try to bounce back from a rough day in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1), where he finished ninth.

Three other horses come out of ungraded stakes. Though none won, all three hit the board. Render Judgment was third behind Built in the Gun Runner, the first points race of the Fair Grounds meet. Septarian was third in the Mucho Macho Man on the Gulfstream Park dirt. Chunk of Gold finished second in the Leonatus at Turfway, and tries dirt for the first time in the Lecomte.

The other three horses each come out of allowance company. The only two last-out winners in the Lecomte field are two of these three: Vassimo stalked and pounced to win at a mile and 40 years on the Tampa dirt on January 17, and Giacoso cleared his non-winners of two lifetime condition November 24 at Churchill Downs, going 1 1/16 miles on the lawn. Vamos Carlitos rallied for second on January 20 at Fair Grounds in an optional claimer, where he was in for the $100,000 tag, going 1 1/16 miles on dirt.

Risen Star Stakes Contenders

These are the thirteen entrants in the 2025 Risen Star Stakes, sorted by their post draw:

1. American Promise: D. Wayne Lukas, as commonly happens with him, sends out the most experienced horse in the field, with seven starts. He took six tried to break his maiden, which happened in the mud at Oaklawn, though he regressed next out when trying stakes company for the first time. His early speed plus the rail draw means he’ll have to go early; with other speed, including East Avenue outside him, he’ll probably be forced to do the dirty work. Though, if the possibility of rain holds on Saturday, that could move him along as he graduated in the mud.
2. Jonathan’s Way: The positive here is his versatility: he graduated at one turn from off the pace, but wired the Iroquois at a mile. And then, he finished second from off the pace in the Kentucky Jockey Club, showing he can rate in a route, too. If he picks back up at three from where he left off at two, he shapes as one of the top contenders, though he may have to handle a difficult trip from near the inside in this large field.
3. Vassimo: This Todd Pletcher trainee cedes seasoning to his foes: he has raced just twice, and never tackled stakes-level company before. However, he hasn’t set a hoof wrong in his two starts to date. He stalked and pounced on debut going the one-turn Gulfstream mile, and then took his show on the road and stretched out nicely to two turns, winning an allowance at Tampa in stalk-and-pounce fashion as well. He will need to improve in terms of speed figures, but Pletcher has a knack for knowing when to step lightly-raced Kentucky Derby trail prospects like this up, and Irad Ortiz follows Vassimo to ride again.
4. East Avenue: The class of the field, East Avenue wired his maiden special weight debut and then the Breeders’ Futurity (G1) in his first two starts. However, after stumbling early, he was never involved in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile next out. He’ll be heavily bet due to his class. However, he now comes off a layoff, handles a large field, and has yet to prove that he can win from anywhere but the front end. With the speedy American Promise on the fence and others in the field who should at least be close to the lead, East Avenue won’t have it easy, and the price will be an underlay.
5. Chunk of Gold: He graduated in stalk-and-pounce fashion on debut in a maiden sprint at Turfway, showing an admirable amount of grit to prevail in a stretch battle. It was good enough to get him a ticket to stakes company next out. It wasn’t a bad first two-turn race at all: instead of being near the pace, he rallied from last and finished a credible second. His pedigree is a positive for the switch from synthetic to dirt and he does have the pedigree for the extra distance, though he will have to move forward from a speed figure perspective against much tougher company.
6. Seattle Road: He graduated at fourth asking at Fair Grounds, and even though he was only seventh in the Lecomte he did rally from near last over a sloppy track and keep making up ground to the end. His previous races had him closer to the pace early, a positive for him to get a better position now that he’s not mired in a parking lot post like last time. And, he has the pedigree on both sides to enjoy the extra half-furlong. In short, there is some long-shot appeal here, especially for exotics.
7. Septarian: After a pair of wins at Laurel and Charles Town as a juvenile, big-money owner Resolute Bloodstock bought this Protonico gelding privately and shipped him off to the Chad Brown barn. The stalking-to-midpack type was third in the Mucho Macho Man in his first start for the new connections, and now he stretches out to two turns for the first time. His pedigree supports the extra distance, and Chad Brown knows how to train a route horse better than perhaps anyone. The jockey change is positive, as no one is riding big races nowadays better than Flavien Prat.
8. Giocoso: With six starts, this Keith Desormeaux charge is one of the most experienced in the field, and he has proven he can win from a stalking spot or from further off the pace. However, he has yet to prove that he is better on dirt than on turf. Yes, he was third in the Iroquois behind Jonathan’s Way—but even there he flattened late to finish seven lengths back. Both his victories have come on the grass, and especially given Desormeaux’s flat record with horses off a lay, he seems like one to just watch here.
9. Built: This Wayne Catalano trainee needed his debut, but his next three starts have been good ones. He rattled off wins in both a maiden sprint at Keeneland as well as the Gun Runner, and showed he could win from a pacesetting or pressing spot. That tactical aspect should help, especially with a couple of speedsters inside him, like American Promise and East Avenue. He missed by a neck in the Lecomte last out, but it showed he could run a good race from a few lengths off the pace against good horses. All in all, he has a lot of nice tools and should be one of the logical contenders.
10. Render Judgment: He broke his maiden second out, in his first two-turn try. However, he has been well beaten in both of his stakes starts since and his speed figures have stalled out a bit. He has been laid off almost two months since the Gun Runner, meaning he could have grown up a bit. However, he has to take a leap forward against a tougher field than he has seen yet, and that seems like a lot to ask especially since trainer Ken McPeek’s charges often benefit from a start or two off the bench.
11. Jolly Samurai: He loved it at Remington this summer and fall, winning his first three starts at one turn over the Oklahoma track. However, a stretch to two turns in the Springboard Mile led to the first flat effort of his career, and he was only able to pass a few tiring foes in the Lecomte. It would be a surprise to see the extra sixteenth of a mile move him forward, especially against a bit tougher field than the Lecomte drew.
12. Vamos Carlitos: A plucky sort, he has run well in all three of his dirt tries. He broke his maiden against off-turf foes on debut at Horseshoe Indianapolis and his second win came against $40,000 claimers. His new connections bit, stepped him up to two and a half times that tag, and he finished a close second in that allowance-optional claimer over the local course. Even though trainer Gregory Foley can pop at a price in a graded-stakes race, this seems like a bridge too far even with an excellent local rider in Florent Geroux.
13. Magnitude: This Steve Asmussen trainee drew a tough outside post. Perhaps he does better if he gets a dry track unlike in the Lecomte, though even then that is in doubt given the weather forecast. He does his best work when he can stalk near the pace, though, and he’ll have to probably be used up early to get that kind of spot, and risk losing ground. In short…for a horse who has to improve to factor here, this is treacherous and doesn’t look likely to break his way.

Risen Star Stakes Past Winners Past Performances

Eleven horses have won the Risen Star in the last ten years, as the race was split into two divisions in 2020. All of the last eleven winners hit the superfecta in their last race, though only three actually won.

Among winners of the Risen Star in the last ten years, the most important prep race has been the Lecomte. Five of the last eleven winners of this race made their most recent start in it. They don’t have to be winners: only War of Will (2019) and International Star (2015) won. However, the others all hit the board: Epicenter (2022) was second, while Mandaloun (2021) and Mr. Monomoy (2020) were third.

Four of the other six winners came from stakes company, though none of those horses won their previous start. Gun Runner (2016) was fourth in the Kentucky Jockey Club, Girvin (2017) was second in the Keith Gee, an overnight stakes at Fair Grounds three weeks before the Risen Star, Angel of Empire (2023) was second in the Smarty Jones at Oaklawn, and Sierra Leone (2024) was second behind eventual Belmont winner Dornoch in the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct.

Modernist (2020) is the only recent winner of the Risen Star to come out of maiden company; he had last been seen breaking his maiden at Aqueduct. Bravazo (2018) came out of an allowance victory at Oaklawn.

Risen Star Stakes Undercard

Saturday is one of the featured cards of the Fair Grounds meet. The fourteen-race card includes five stakes races other than the Risen Star, which will be the final race of the day. Three are graded stakes: the Rachel Alexandra (G2) offers Road to the Kentucky Oaks points, the Fair Grounds (G3) features older turf horses, and the Mineshaft (G3) brings in classy older dirt horses. The card also features the Colonel Power, a turf sprint for older horses, and the Albert M. Stall Memorial, open to older fillies and mares on the grass.

With huge fields and top-class horses running all day long, make plans to watch Fair Grounds Saturday on FanDuel TV and place your bets online at FanDuel!

Fair Grounds Race Course 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 sold on 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. In particular, the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks preps have increased in importance throughout recent years, given the big purses, big fields, and focus on testing for stamina.

Risen Star Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Risen Star Stakes?

A: The 2025 Risen Star Stakes will be run on Saturday, February 15, at Fair Grounds Race Course. The fourteenth and last race on the card, it is scheduled to go off at 6:30 p.m. Central Standard Time.

Q: Where is the Risen Star Stakes?

A: It takes place at Fair Grounds in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Risen Star Stakes?

A: Five trainers are tied with three wins apiece: Steve Asmussen, Brad Cox, Neil Howard, D. Wayne Lukas, and Todd Pletcher. Three of these trainers have a runner in 2025: Asmussen trains Magnitude, Lukas has American Promise, and Pletcher trains Vassimo.

Q: Who is the favorite for the 2025 Risen Star Stakes?

A: The 9-5 morning-line favorite for the Risen Star is East Avenue, thanks to his Grade 1 win in the Breeders’ Futurity at Keeneland last fall. He should retain favoritism off that class, though make sure to respect action on others, especially if either of the next two on the morning line, Jonathan’s Way or Built, challenges East Avenue atop the market.

Q: Who is the best Risen Star Stakes jockey?

A: Three jockeys have won the Risen Star three times. Shane Romero and Robby Albarado are no longer active, though Florent Geroux rides Vamos Carlitos in 2025.

Q: Who won the 2024 Risen Star Stakes?

A: Sierra Leone opened up his championship three-year-old season with a score in the Risen Star for trainer Chad Brown and jockey Tyler Gaffalione. Brown sends out Septarian with Flavien Prat in the irons, while Gaffalione has the call on East Avenue for trainer Brendan Walsh.

Looking for more horse racing betting opportunities? Head over to FanDuel Racing to see all of today’s horse racing odds.

Sign up for FanDuel Sportsbook and FanDuel Daily Fantasy today!