Cross-track Bayou Bluegrass 5 anchored by LaDerby, Jeff Ruby
Turfway Park press release
FLORENCE, Ky. (Tuesday, March 18, 2025) – Fair Grounds Race Course and Turfway Park are teaming up Saturday to offer bettors a special $1 Pick 5 featuring an all-stakes lineup anchored by the $1 million TwinSpires.com Louisiana Derby (Grade II) and the $777,000 Jeff Ruby Steaks (GIII).
Dubbed the “Bayou Bluegrass 5,” this cross-track wager will have a $1 minimum and an industry-friendly 15% takeout, with a mandatory payout at the end of the sequence.
The action-packed sequence kicks off at 5:04 p.m. (all times Eastern) at Fair Grounds with the $500,000 New Orleans Classic presented by Relyne GI by Hagyard (GII), featuring a field of 10 headlined by the return of champion Sierra Leone. The second leg shifts to Turfway Park at 5:43 p.m. for the $300,000 Bourbonette Oaks (Listed), which drew an oversubscribed field of 3-year-old fillies led by Cincinnati Trophy Stakes winner White Rocks.
The third leg returns to Fair Grounds at 6:08 p.m. for the $400,000 Fasig-Tipton Fair Grounds Oaks (GII), where nine 3-year-old fillies will square off, led by undefeated Good Cheer. The Jeff Ruby Steaks (GIII) follows at 6:25 p.m., boasting another oversubscribed field led by Remsen (GII) winner Poster and John Battaglia Memorial hero California Burrito. The sequence culminates at 6:42 p.m. at Fair Grounds with the wide-open Louisiana Derby (GII), where 10 3-year-olds are led by Sam Davis Stakes winner John Hancock.
Bettors can take part in the Bayou Bluegrass 5 at wagering outlets across the country, including www.TwinSpires.com, the official wagering provider of Churchill Downs Incorporated.
