Wells Bayou wins eerie $1 million Louisiana Derby at empty track

As Wells Bayou completed a wire-towire victory in the $1 million Louisiana Derby, there was hardly a cheer to be heard — other than the isolated triumphant shouts of trainer Brad Cox and his stable crew. In the 107th running of the qualifying points race for the Kentucky Derby, the clubhouse and grandstand at Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans were empty and eerily quiet because of crowd restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic. There was no crowd noise to rival the echoing voice of the track announcer — just the sound of 56 hooves clopping down the stretch.

Winning jockey Florent Geroux had noted the bizarre scene during earlier races on what is normally the busiest day of the year at the Fair Grounds, drawing crowds approaching 10,000. “It’s the biggest day of the meet here and its completely empty,” Geroux said. “It’s like playing football in the Super Bowl with an empty stadium.”

Kind of like New Orleans without open bars or live music clubs, which has been the case since early last week.

On Saturday, the Louisiana Derby was one of the few U.S. sporting events to continue as scheduled, one day after New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell issued a “stay home” mandate to residents in an effort to curb the spread of the virus. Shortly after the race, officials announced the rest of the meet, which was scheduled to run until March 29, was canceled.

Ny Traffic went off at 26-1 but finished second, staying close to the leader throughout. Modernist finished third while morning-line favorite Enforceable, who went off at 7-2, finished fifth. Wells Bayou earned 100 points toward qualification for the Kentucky Derby, which is delayed until early September from its usual running on the first Saturday in May. Wells Bayou finished the new 1 3/8-mile race distance in 1:56.47. He paid $8.40, $5.80 and $4.60. Ny Traffic earned 40 points and paid $21.60 and $12.60 after breaking from the starting gate as a 26-1 long shot.