General Custer raced his own horses at the inaugural meet, a Russian grand duke watched from the stands, and Degas - whose family lived nearby - sketched the scenes. The Fair Grounds Race Course, at 1751 Gentilly Boulevard in New Orleans, ran its first card under the Louisiana Jockey Club on 13 April 1872 and is the second-oldest continuously operating racetrack in America. The racing history reaches even further: horses ran on the 145-acre Gentilly site from 1852 as the Union and later Creole Race Course, and the Fair Grounds name came from the Mechanics and Agricultural Fair held there from 1859 - the public simply kept calling the land the fair grounds until it stuck. The survival record defines the place: two grandstand fires - 1918 and 1993 - bankruptcy, world wars and Hurricane Katrina all failed to end the winter meet, which has run more than 150 consecutive seasons; Churchill Downs acquired the track in the 2000s, adding slots and a sportsbook to the operation. The Louisiana Derby headlines the racing: the track's signature stakes race sends contenders to the Kentucky Derby each spring, capping a Thanksgiving-to-March season that makes New Orleans the home of southern winter racing. The other identity is musical: since 1972 the infield has hosted the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival - B.B. King and Duke Ellington-era legends on the first bill - and the Fair Grounds remains the only track in the country that rebuilds its turf course annually after a festival tears across it. Practical notes: the track sits in Gentilly two miles from the French Quarter - the Canal Street streetcar plus a short ride covers it; grandstand admission on race days is famously cheap, Thanksgiving opening day and Louisiana Derby day are the social bookends, and Jazz Fest turns the entire property into a different venue each spring - separate tickets, separate world.

Type: Stadium / Arena

Address: 1751 Gentilly Boulevard, New Orleans, United States, 70119

Website: https://www.fairgroundsracecourse.com

Cover Charge: 1

Opening Date: 13/04/1872

Serves Food

Outdoor Area

Accessible