Fair Grounds Race Course — Jazz Fest Site

The track opened as the Carrollton Race Course in 1837, making it the second-oldest site of horseracing in America still in operation. In 1852 it reopened as the Union Race Course. The track closed in 1857, reopened in 1859 as the Creole Race Course, became the Fair Grounds in 1863, and raced through the Civil War. In 1919 a fire burned down the grandstand but racing continued. In 1940 the track was sold to developers for a subdivision. A group of investors saved the Fair Grounds from destruction in 1941. In 1993 a seven-alarm fire completely destroyed the grandstand and racing continued with temporary facilities. A new grandstand and clubhouse opened on Thanksgiving Day 1997 after a $27 million construction project. Hurricane Katrina closed the track for over a year until it reopened on Thanksgiving Day 2006. The race mare Pan Zareta and Black Gold, winner of the 1924 Kentucky Derby, are buried in the infield. The track consists of a one-mile dirt track and a seven-furlong turf oval with no chutes. The Louisiana Derby is a Grade II stakes race and a major preparatory race for the Kentucky Derby. Every spring since 1970, the Fair Grounds becomes the site of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Mahalia Jackson sang the opening set at the first Jazz Fest. The festival draws approximately 450,000 people across two weekends. Jazz Fest runs over consecutive four-day weekends — generally the last weekend in April and the first weekend in May.