Just a Touch, the 8-5 morning-line favorite, leads a field of eight older males in the Grade 3 Louisiana Stakes at Fair Grounds, a key prep race on the road to the Kentucky Derby. Trained by Brad Cox and ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr., Just a Touch is a lightly raced 4-year-old who has placed in four graded stakes but is still seeking his first stakes win. The race is part of a 13-race program featuring six stakes races, with the Louisiana Stakes as the 12th race and a crucial leg of a $750,000 all-stakes Pick 5.

Among the contenders, Moonlight, trained by Chris Block and ridden by Jose Ortiz, comes off four wins in his last six starts, including a recent victory in the Cherokee Mile at Churchill Downs. Other notable entrants include Accelerize, a promising Upstart 4-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher making his class test debut, and Sir Greylind, trained by Kenneth McPeek. The race offers a competitive field with several horses aiming to make a mark on the Derby trail.