Fair Grounds Race Course, Historic racetrack in New Orleans, United States

Fair Grounds Race Course is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company. Its main dirt oval measures one mile, with a seven-furlong turf course added in 1981 and a straight of about 410 metres. The grandstand and clubhouse rebuilt after the 1993 fire opened on Thanksgiving Day 1997.

Racing began on April 10, 1838, when Bernard de Marigny, Julius C. Branch and Henry Augustine Tayloe organized the Spring Meeting of the Louisiana Jockey Club at the Louisiana Race Course on Gentilly Road. Renamed the Union Race Course in 1852, it closed in 1857, reopened as the Creole Race Course in 1859 and took the name Fair Grounds in 1863, with racing held during the Civil War. The Louisiana Jockey Club reformed in 1871 and held its first race card here in 1872.

The infield holds the buried remains of the stallion Pan Zareta and of Black Gold, winner of the 1924 Kentucky Derby. Each year the grounds host the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, held over seven days on the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May.

The dirt main track is one mile around and runs counterclockwise, with a seven-furlong turf course added in 1981 and a straight of about 410 metres. The grandstand and clubhouse rebuilt after the 1993 fire opened on Thanksgiving Day 1997. The site also hosts the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival over seven days, on the last weekend of April and the first weekend of May.

The infield of the track holds the buried remains of two stallions: Pan Zareta, a celebrated mare's sire line descendant, and Black Gold, winner of the 1924 Kentucky Derby. The Louisiana Derby and Fair Grounds Oaks are among the graded stakes run here each season.