Who Took the Money Rides Win Streak Into LA Champions

The standouts from Louisiana Championships Preview Weekend return to Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots Dec. 10. They'll face some familiar foes and some fresh runners as horsemen from across "The Boot" ship in, while stabled barns step out, on Louisiana Champions Day. For the past 31 years, this card has brought together the stories and aspirations of Louisiana-bred participants. Big barns versus small, Delta Downs’ form versus Fair Grounds’ finest. Runners with graded stakes aspirations versus those who’ve never cared to look past the horizon of the state line. The intrastate storylines will line up in the gates of one of the eight stakes, all racing for a share of the $750,000 combined purse total. With 80 (two also-eligibles) runners entered out of 133 nominations, post time for race 1 on the nine-race card is scheduled for 1:15 p.m. CT.

On Nov. 19, Who Took the Money  reasserted his dominance in the Scott’s Scoundrel Stakes, the prep for the $150,000 Louisiana Champions Day Classic Stakes, notching the umpteenth stakes victory for trainer Bret Calhoun. The day prior in the Big World Stakes, the prep for the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Distaff Stakes, A G's Charlotte ’s splendid run earned her trainer Patricia West her first stakes score. Statewide differences there will always be, but Calhoun’s Classic entry and West’s Distaff filly both have a reputation for doing things their way, a similarity that rings true to all Louisianans.

"A G's Charlotte has a mind of her own," West said. "She has that her way or the highway kind of attitude. At Louisiana Downs she ran up the heels of other horses when the rider wasn't getting her to their outside. That cost us because if she does that a time or two, then she'll be like I gave you what I had and you keep stopping so I'm not going any more."

Inked as the second-favorite in the 1 1/16-mile Ladies Distaff at 3-1 on the morning line, Thomas Galvin's 3-year-old A G’s Charlotte will look to stay a head in front of the Big World place-finisher, Allied Racing Stable’s 8-5 morning-line favorite, Winning Romance . Finishing a head in front at the wire will come down to the mind she brings to the race. Marcelino Pedroza Jr. gets the command performance after he piloted to the Mo Tom  filly’s liking in the Big World. Scheduled as race 7, post time for the Ladies Distaff is 4:27 p.m. CT.

Made the overwhelming 4-5 favorite on the morning line for the Classic, Allied Racing Stable's homebred Who Took the Money has five stakes wins to his name, including in 2021 when he first put his electric turn of foot on display winning the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Turf Stakes.

"Who Took the Money has got a mind of his own and he decides when he wants to go," Calhoun said. "Deshawn (Parker) says he'll ask him for something and he won't give him anything. Then he'll sit a little while longer and finally he'll ask him again, and maybe only then will he give him the answer. Who Took the Money does his own thing and waits until he thinks it's time."

On an all-stakes, three-race win streak, the son of Street Boss  has put 10 lengths between him and his foes. Those races were between seven furlongs and 1 mile and 70 yards. The Classic is run at 1 1/8 miles, which should suit his running style even better. Slated as race 8 with a post time of 4:59 p.m. CT, how soon after that Who Took the Money will make his bid is entirely up to him.

Other stakes on the card include the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Juvenile Stakes, $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Lassie Stakes, $100,000 Louisiana Champions Ladies Sprint Stakes, the $100,000 Louisiana Champions Day Sprint Stakes, $50,000 Louisiana Champions Day Starter Stakes, and the $50,000 Louisiana Champions Day Ladies Starter Stakes.

Entries: Louisiana Champions Day Classic S.

Fair Grounds Race Course & Slots, Saturday, December 10, 2022, Race 8

• STK
• 1 1/8m
• Dirt
• $150,000
• 3 yo's & up
• 4:59 PM (local)

PP	Horse	Jockey	Wgt	Trainer	M/L
1	1Maga Man (LA)	Joe Stokes	124	Norman C. Miller, III	20/1
2	2Cosmic Train (LA)	James Graham	121	Jerry Delhomme	20/1
3	3Touchuponastar (LA)	Timothy Thornton	115	Jeff Delhomme	6/1
4	4Highland Creek (LA)	Adam Beschizza	118	W. Bret Calhoun	6/1
5	5Behemah Star (LA)	Jose Luis Rodriguez	124	Jose M. Camejo	9/2
6	6Ballinonabudjet (LA)	Florent Geroux	118	Brad H. Cox	8/1
7	7Who Took the Money (LA)	Deshawn L. Parker	124	W. Bret Calhoun	4/5
8	8Beauregard (LA)	Reylu Gutierrez	120	David C. Gomez	20/1