Fair Grounds Picks: Risen Star Stakes Day, 2/14/26

Key Takeaways:

• The Saturday card is loaded with Fair Grounds Picks, with six stakes races headlined by the 50-point Risen Star, making this one of the strongest first days of betting this season.
• Multiple graded stakes across dirt and turf create strong pace and trip opportunities, especially in races lacking true early speed.
• Accelerize looks poised to control the pace in the Mineshaft and could turn his breakout Louisiana Stakes win into a signature graded victory.
• Montador’s stalking style and steady improvement make him a prime candidate to break through at the graded-stakes level in the Fair Grounds Stakes.
• Majestical’s tactical speed and ideal draw give her the trip edge in the Rachel Alexandra, making her a live Kentucky Oaks trail contender at a square price.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby rolls on at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans on Saturday, February 14. The 12-race card features the Grade 2, $500,000 Risen Star Stakes. With 50-25-15-10-15 qualifying points to the top five finishers, it’s the first race of the year that virtually guarantees its winner a ticket to Churchill Downs. And, it’s just one part of a great betting day at Fair Grounds.

The Risen Star is one of six stakes races in New Orleans on Saturday. The Rachel Alexandra (G2), open to three-year-old fillies, is a Kentucky Oaks prep race worth 50 points to the winner. The handicap division shines in the Mineshaft (G3), older horses take to the turf course in the Fair Grounds (G3), older filly and mare turf routers line up for the Albert M. Stall memorial, and turf sprinters have their day in the Colonel Power.

With big fields and top stakes horses on track all day long, Saturday is a great day to bet the races. You can watch every race and access up-to-the-minute news on FanDuel TV, and bet every race online through FanDuel.

Make sure to check the weather and scratches on Saturday morning before betting. Horse racing is a game of information, and though the weather in Louisiana is supposed to be warm and sunny, scratches can happen for any reason, and weather may change. That can affect the pace and class balance, and an informed bettor is a successful bettor!

Fair Grounds Best Bets

These are Fair Grounds tips for graded-stakes races on the card supporting Saturday’s Risen Star Stakes.

Race 9 - Mineshaft Stakes (G3), 1 1/16 miles on the dirt - Accelerize and Stowaway

FanDuel odds: 4-1 and 8-1

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Though last year’s Dubai World Cup winner Hit Show will likely be a well-defined favorite, he is a closer who tends to fall a little short if he doesn’t get a sharp pace in front of him. Thai time, there’s a good chance he will not, making him worth relegating to underneath rungs and playing against on top.

Accelerize is the one he (and everyone else) is going to have to catch. He made his graded-stakes debut last month in the Louisiana (G3), the local prep for this race. The race was also his two-turn debut. That day, he ran to the lead, did the dirty work, and had enough to hold off his foes and win by a neck. This time, without a lot of pace in the race, the way to top money should be less strenuous. This Todd Pletcher trainee has the tools to become a force in the handicap division, and he has every chance to earn a signature victory in this spot.

Stowaway (8-1) has the clean outside draw in a field of seven. With his tactical speed, he should be able to work a stalking trip in reasonably close range to Accelerize. Last out, in the Tenacious Stakes, he was exactly that: he fought hard to get up for third, beaten less than a length, behind a sharp pace from further back than usual. Jareth Loveberry returns to the irons for this Whit Beckman trainee, and if he can work his more customary stalking trip, he can surprise people in the first start of his seven-year-old campaign.

Race 10 - Fair Grounds Stakes (G3), 1 ⅛ miles on the turf - Montador and Kupuna

FanDuel odds: 6-1 and 3-1

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Montador (6-1) is an up-and-comer in the turf division for trainer Michael Stidham and has a lot of upside in this contest. His stalking style sets him up well to get a good trip in this race: he stalked and pounced in the Woodchopper under Brian Hernandez last out, and even with the rider change to Tyler Gaffalione for this race, Gaffalione worked a smart tracking trip in a first-level allowance at Churchill at 1 ⅛ miles—the same distance of the Fair Grounds Stakes—last year at Churchill Downs. This son of Nyquist is steadily improving, and without a torrid pace likely in this spot, he looks ripe to break through at the graded-stakes level.

Kupuna (3-1) was a $100,000 claim last September out of an optional claimer at Churchill Downs, and he has made that purchase pay off splendidly in his last three starts for trainer Norm Casse. They switched him to the lawn after the claim, he won a top-shelf optional claimer in his next start, then finished a close second in the Diliberto at Fair Grounds, then rallied from near last to first in the Colonel E. R. Bradley there. Though, where Fair Grounds picks are concerned, he won’t be one of the closest to the pace, he hasn’t gotten sharp paces to close into in his last two either, and he was right there at the end. Luis Saez returns to the irons from his last-out stakes win, and he is primed to show another smart effort here.

Race 11 - Rachel Alexandra Stakes (G2), 1 1/16 miles on the dirt - Majestical and Bella Ballerina

FanDuel odds: 4-1 and 2-1

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Majestical (4-1) drew best of the forwardly-placed horses, the second-outside post in a field of eight. Though she rallied from well off the early pace after some early trouble on debut in a sprint race—and even then was able to rally for second by just a head—her next race showed what her real game is likely to be. On December 27, she showed a good pressing gear next out, when she stretched out to the same distance as the Rachel Alexandra: 1 1/16 miles on the Fair Grounds course. That could be the winning trip for this Peter Eurton trainee once again, and could establish her on the Kentucky Oaks trail at a square price.

Bella Ballerina (2-1) makes her first start since the Golden Rod (G2) and only her third lifetime start. She has yet to set a hoof wrong in her two starts. She raced midfield in an 11-horse group on debut in a sprint at Keeneland on October 5, making a wide bid and taking total command in the lane. Next out the margin of victory was not as flashy, but she was laying second behind a sharp pace and still had enough in the tank to hold by half a length. She’ll be in range of a pace that will not be so torrid, and thus deserves respect for trainer Brendan Walsh and her regular jockey Tyler Gaffalione.

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