One year after romping as the favorite in the Thanksgiving Classic at Fair Grounds, Jay Em Ess Stable’s Miles Ahead returned to defend his title in less auspicious circumstances.

The first open stakes of the meet, the $225,000 Thanksgiving Classic, has evolved into a graded quality race in recent years, and the 2024 edition of the six-furlong dash is a case in point.

Thursday’s traditional stakes dish at Fair Grounds, the $175,000 Thanksgiving Classic, will be served with a spicy twist as Carribean Caper takes on males.

Speed reigned in both stakes on opening day at Fair Grounds, as Just Might wired the Thanksgiving Classic and front-running Breeze Rider fought back in the Joseph R. Peluso Memorial.

The historic New Orleans Fair Grounds will stage a pair of stakes during its Thursday kickoff. Joining the traditional opening-day feature, the Thanksgiving Classic, is the inaugural Joseph R. Peluso Memorial.