Lecomte Stakes

Road to the Kentucky Derby > Lecomte Stakes

Lecomte Stakes Race Facts

• Location: Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, New Orleans, LA
• Inaugural Race: 1944
• Distance: 1 1/16 miles
• Track Type: Left-handed, Dirt
• Age Qualifications: Three-year-olds
• Status: Grade 3
• 2024 Purse: $200,000
• 2024 Race Date: Saturday, January 20th

The Lecomte is a ‘Road to the Kentucky Derby' prep race and the top five finishers are awarded Derby qualifying points (20-10-6-4-2). A total of three Derby preps are run at the Fair Grounds early in the year, with the Lecomte also serving as a stepping stone to the major Derby prep Louisiana Derby in April.

2023 Lecomte Stakes Race Results

Exotic Payoffs:

• $1 Exacta (7-8) Paid: $8.40
• $0.50 Trifecta (7-8-4) Paid: $17.00
• $0.10 Superfecta (7-8-4-2) Paid: $7.93

Watch the 2023 Lecomte Stakes

The History of the Lecomte Stakes

The Lecomte Stakes was inaugurated in 1970 and is a Grade III race for 3-year-olds run annually the end of January at the Fair Grounds in New Orleans, La. Contested at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt since 2020 after being run at 1 mile 70 yards for ten years, it currently offers a purse of $200,000. The race was previously run at 1 mile 40 yards, 1 1/8 miles, and 1 mile as well. The race was named after the 1850s racehorse Lecomte – who set a world record for four miles and who had a noted rivalry with the outstanding runner and sire Lexington – the Lecomte Stakes is the first of three races in Fair Grounds’ Kentucky Derby prep series for 3-year-olds.

Some notable winners of the Lecomte include Hard Spun (2007), who won 7-of-13 starts and over $2.6 million in earnings. He finished 2nd in the Kentucky Derby, 3rd in the Preakness and 4th at Belmont before finishing the year with a 2nd place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Classic; the final race of his career. In 2013, Oxbow won the Lecomte and then ran in all three Triple Crown races finishing 6th in the Derby and then winning the Preakness Stakes at 15-1 odds with Gary Stevens aboard. He followed with a 2nd place run in the Belmont Stakes.

Runners from the Lecomte Stakes frequently run in the other Fair Grounds Derby preps, the Risen Star Stakes (G2) and the Louisiana Derby (G2). Horses to have won all three races include International Star and Friesan Fire. 

At its current distance, the speed record was set in 1963 when City Line turned in a time of 1:42.40.

All Time Results for The Lecomte Stakes since 1999