Fair Grounds Question

[cato]

I'm going to New Orleans later this week for bidness. I hope to extend the trip through the weekend and head to the Fair Grounds on Saturday.

Any hints on what's good or bad at the Fair Grounds? Better restaurants or bars? Ones to avoid?
Horses for course?

Thanks!

Cato

[PurplePower]

Originally posted by cato
I'm going to New Orleans later this week for bidness. I hope to extend the trip through the weekend and head to the Fair Grounds on Saturday. Any hints on what's good or bad at the Fair Grounds? Better restaurants or bars? Ones to avoid?
Horses for course? Thanks!Cato Eddie Martin rode six winners Sunday - Corey Lanerie was dismissed as go to rider for Asmussen - Shane Sellers has been over 20% since he arrived. Robbie Albarado is always dangerous. If track is playing come from behind (and the turf course usually does) I look for a Calvin Borel mount. Tom Amoss stable finally started winning at his usual good percentage after an uncharacteristic slow start. Al Stall is good with runners off layoffs and first time starters that have long workout pattern. Hal Wiggins (my son Brett is assistant trainer) is having best Fairgrounds meeting in three years. Pick 3's start with Race 1 and there are 2 pick 4's. Both have good pools and nice payoffs. Exactas are better bets than Trifectas in races with 8 or fewer runners.
Go to Mulates near the Mississippi River (not far from Hilton) for some great Cajun style seafood and steaks. You also get to enjoy watching some fun Cajun dancing (and can get out there and participate). Take a walk on Bourbon Street and go to Morning Call for some Cafe' Ole' and Beignets. Visit the St Louis Cathedral and Jackson Park -- Doing all that you will see a lot of other stuff to do.

[ranchwest]

Purple is right, Mulate's is very good authentic Cajun food and an interesting atmosphere. About $15 to $20 for a seafood platter, I believe.

If your style is more grand, take a cab uptown to Commander's Palace. Lunch is about $18 and dinner about $36 for entrees. Early on they'll offer bread pudding because it takes a while to prepare. Get it! Jacket required at night, bring one if you're going.

Do not walk to Fair Grounds, the area is not very safe. Once you're on FG property, it isn't bad.

There are a lot of tours available, but again for safety reasons a tour guide is recommended.

[Jaguar]

Cato, watch out in The Big Easy if you're going there on a holiday. Local folks celebrating in their neighborhoods sometimes fire off their pistols in the air.

New Orleans hospitals report a significant incidence of deaths by head injuries sustained from falling bullets. I understand that visitors wearing Army helmets have no such problem.

Just another reason to spend as much time inside Commander's as possible.

All The Best,

Jaguar

[trying2win]

Cato,

--If I'm not mistaken, Antoine "Fats" Domino the legendary singer lives in New Orleans. Maybe someone who's familiar with the nighttime entertainment scene, could tell you if Fats Domino plays his piano and sings at some night spot in New Orleans. Maybe even Pete Fountain, the well-known clarinet player might be playing in the nightclubs in New Orleans as well. Mind you, if you're just a young fella, maybe you haven't heard of these two entertainers before.


Trying2win

[ranchwest]

Originally posted by trying2win
Cato,

--If I'm not mistaken, Antoine "Fats" Domino the legendary singer lives in New Orleans. Maybe someone who's familiar with the nighttime entertainment scene, could tell you if Fats Domino plays his piano and sings at some night spot in New Orleans. Maybe even Pete Fountain, the well-known clarinet player might be playing in the nightclubs in New Orleans as well. Mind you, if you're just a young fella, maybe you haven't heard of these two entertainers before.


Trying2win

Those guys aged along with us. I don't think they play much in public anymore. I got to see Fountain play briefly at CA-World (Computer Associates) several years ago, but I think that is pretty uncommon.

As of a few years ago, Rockin' Dopsy was a popular act. He plays mostly Zydeco, but he plays a bit of rock, etc. He can really get people on their feet. He rocks at the House of Blues.

[ranchwest]

One of my favorite local bands in NOLA is Blues Krewe.

[trying2win]

--I just found out that Pete Fountain does play his music in New Orleans. Has his own club. Here's the link:

http://www.petefountain.com/


--Pete's been playing music a long time. Don't know how old he is now though.


Trying2win

[ranchwest]

Originally posted by trying2win
--I just found out that Pete Fountain does play his music in New Orleans. Has his own club. Here's the link:

http://www.petefountain.com/


--Pete's been playing music a long time. Don't know how old he is now though.


Trying2win

Pete Fountain now plays at the casino at Bay St. Louis, MS (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/2004/01/03/living/7625632.htm)

Fountain is 73.

[trying2win]

Ranchwest,

--Thanks for the update on Pete Fountain. I read in another article online, that he appears sporadically at the Hilton Hotel in New Orleans. So, in conclusion, I guess if a person is going to New Orleans and wants to know if Pete Fountain is playing his clarinet at the Hilton Hotel, they'd have to check ahead of time to see if he still plays there once-in-awhile.

Trying2win

[trying2win]

Cato,

--Getting back to a horse racing theme on this thread, I noticed they have a horses-for-courses section at The Fairgrounds website at www.fgno.com ...The link for that feature, is on the left-hand side of their home page.

Trying2win

[cato]

Thnaks to everyone for their input.

The business portion of my trp sucked, but I was able to spend 2 1/2 days at the Fair Grounds, which was marvelous.

Living near RP, the live horse racing I've seen has been marginal at best, so just seeing some real $30,000 claimers, $30,000 allowances and a $100,000 stakes race was a treat.

I did not have access to a computer so it was just looking at the form and looking at the hoses in the paddock--getting back to my roots. And, hey, in case you've forgotten --its a blast! Some time in the near future, take a break from staring at your computers and printouts and go to a nice track and watch those incredible athletes do their thing.

Having said that, I thought Fair Grounds was tough to handicap (with or without a computer). I like to focus on pace and the FG historically is a closers/pressers track and it seems that all the trainers and jockeys know that, so it seemed that a great majority of the PPs for the horses showed a LOT of pressing and closing style races.

And hardle any lone e's were to be found and even fewer were able to hang on...

Enough about racing. New Orleans is a great place--its like going to a foreign country without having to leave the US. Great bars, restaurants and music everywhere.

Now, its back to reality....

take care, Cato:cool: