The Lecomte Stakes is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse race

Thoroughbred horse racing is a worldwide sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport: Flat racing and National Hunt racing...

 held at the Fair Grounds Race Course

Fair Grounds Race Course

Fair Grounds Race Course, often known as New Orleans Fair Grounds, is a thoroughbred racetrack and racino in New Orleans, Louisiana. It is operated by Churchill Downs Louisiana Horseracing Company, LLC....

 in New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans, Louisiana

New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...

. It is a Grade III

Graded stakes race

A graded stakes race is a term applied since 1973 by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to thoroughbred horse races in the United States and Canada to describe races that derive their name from the stake, or entry fee, owners must pay...

 Stakes race for three-year old horses willing to run 1 mile and 40 yards (8.2 furlongs) on the dirt. It has also been raced at 8 furlongs and 8.5 furlongs. It offers a purse of $100,000, and is normally run in mid-January. Trainers use it as a prep race for the Louisiana Derby

Louisiana Derby

The Louisiana Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race run annually at the Fair Grounds Race Course in New Orleans, Louisiana. Usually run in early March, the race is open to horses, age three, willing to race 11/8 miles on the dirt. A Grade II event, it currently offers a purse of...

, and potentially the Kentucky Derby

Kentucky Derby

The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...

.

The race is named in honor of one of the great Boston's

Boston (horse)

Boston , was an outstanding chestnut Thoroughbred racehorse and a Leading sire in North America three times from 1851 to 1853. He started in about 45 races, winning 40 of these, including 15 in succession...

 best sons, Lecomte. Lecomte's dam was the brilliant Reel

Reel

A reel is an object around which lengths of another material are wound for storage. Generally a reel has a cylindrical core and walls on the sides to retain the material wound around the core...

 and he was half brother to the incomparable Lexington

Lexington (horse)

Lexington was a United States Thoroughbred race horse who won six of his seven race starts. Perhaps his greatest fame came however as the most successful sire of the second half of the nineteenth century; he was the Leading sire in North America 16 times, and of his many brood mare and racer...

.

In 2006, the race had to be canceled as a result of Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina

Hurricane Katrina of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was a powerful Atlantic hurricane. It is the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the five deadliest hurricanes, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was the sixth strongest overall...

.

Winners since 1999

Year	Winner	Jockey	Trainer	Owner	Time
2011	Wilkinson	Garrett K. Gomez Garrett K. Gomez Garrett Keith Gomez is an American thoroughbred jockey.-Early career:Gomez learned to ride by watching his father, Louie, who was a jockey at many tracks in the Southwest United States...	Neil J. Howard Neil J. Howard Neil J. Howard is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer.Howard began working for a racing stable in 1969 and went on to spend seven years as an assistant and stable foreman to future Hall of Fame trainer MacKenzie Miller before going out on his own in 1979.With Summer Squall, in 1990 Neil...	Gaillardia Racing LLC	1:40.97
2010	Ron the Greek	James Graham	Thomas M. Amoss Thomas M. Amoss Thomas M. "Tom" Amoss is a trainer that trains race horses.A graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in marketing, Tom Amoss had worked with horses while in high school and after completing his education went to work for trainers Frank Brothers, Larry Robideaux, and John Parisella...	Jack T. Hammer	1:40.09
2009	Friesan Fire Friesan Fire Friesan Fire is an American Thoroughbred racehorse. He was sired by 1992 American Horse of the Year, A.P. Indy, a son of the 1977 U.S. Triple Crown winner, Seattle Slew. His dam, Bollinger, is an Australian Group One winner and a daughter of the 1993 American Champion Two-Year-Old Colt, Dehere...	Gabriel Saez Gabriel Saez Gabriel Saez is a Panamanian horse racing jockey. He began his riding career in his native country in 2004, becoming the leading apprentice jockey in 2005. Saez moved to the United States in February, 2006, and almost instantly became Delaware Park Racetrack's leading jockey that same year...	J. Larry Jones J. Larry Jones J. Larry Jones is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. A former commercial farmer, he embarked on a career as a professional trainer in 1982....	Fox Hill Farms/Vinery	1:37.67
2008	Z Fortune	Shaun Bridgmohan Shaun Bridgmohan Shaun X. Bridgmohan is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing.At age thirteen, Bridgmohan's family emigrated to the United States, settling in South Florida where he developed an interest in horse racing...	Steve Asmussen Steve Asmussen Steven Mark Asmussen is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, are both trainers who operate El Primero Training Center off the Mines Road in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas...	Zayat Stables	1:37.79
2007	Hard Spun Hard Spun Hard Spun is an American Thoroughbred racehorse that finished second in the 2007 Kentucky Derby. He is from one of the last crops of three-time leading sire in North America Danzig. Hard Spun is owned by Wilmington, Delaware automobile dealer Richard C...	Mario Pino Mario G. Pino Mario G. Pino is a jockey in American Thoroughbred horse racing. Raised on a farm, he began his riding career in 1978 at Delaware Park in Wilmington...	J. Larry Jones J. Larry Jones J. Larry Jones is an American Thoroughbred horse racing trainer. A former commercial farmer, he embarked on a career as a professional trainer in 1982....	Fox Hill Farms	1:37.87
2006	no race
2005	Storm Surge	Robby Albarado Robby Albarado Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 12 at bush tracks in his native Louisiana and after turning professional, earned his first win at Evangeline Downs in 1990...	Dallas Stewart Dallas Stewart Dallas Stewart trains a string of thoroughbred horses in Kentucky from bases at Churchill Downs, Turfway Park, Keeneland Race Course, Fair Grounds Race Course, Arlington Park and Saratoga Race Course. Before venturing out on his own, he spent 12 years working under the tutelage of leading trainer...	Overbrook Farm	1:39.34
2004	Fire Slam	Shane Sellers Shane Sellers Shane Jude Sellers is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs....	David M. Carroll	Stan Fulton	1:38.48
2003	Saintly Look	Shane Sellers Shane Sellers Shane Jude Sellers is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. At age eleven, he began working around horses and in 1983 rode his first winner at Evangeline Downs....	Dallas Stewart Dallas Stewart Dallas Stewart trains a string of thoroughbred horses in Kentucky from bases at Churchill Downs, Turfway Park, Keeneland Race Course, Fair Grounds Race Course, Arlington Park and Saratoga Race Course. Before venturing out on his own, he spent 12 years working under the tutelage of leading trainer...	William A. Carl	1:37.62
2002	Easyfromthegitgo	Donnie Meche Donnie Meche Donnie James Meche is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing.Donnie Meche won his first race at Evangeline Downs in May 1993...	Steve Asmussen Steve Asmussen Steven Mark Asmussen is an American Thoroughbred racehorse trainer. Born into a horse racing family, his parents, Keith and Marilyn "Sis" Asmussen, are both trainers who operate El Primero Training Center off the Mines Road in Laredo, the seat of Webb County in south Texas...	J. Cassels/R. Zollars	1:37.98
2001	Sam Lord's Castle	Robby Albarado Robby Albarado Robby J. Albarado is an American Thoroughbred horse racing jockey. He began riding at the age of 12 at bush tracks in his native Louisiana and after turning professional, earned his first win at Evangeline Downs in 1990...	Josie Carroll Josie Carroll Josie Carroll is a Canadian Thoroughbred horse trainer and the first woman trainer to win the Queen's Plate, the oldest thoroughbred horse race in Canada and Canada's most prestigious race....	Eugene Melnyk Eugene Melnyk Eugene Melnyk is a Ukrainian Canadian businessman who now resides in Barbados. He is the current owner, governor, and chairman of the Ottawa Senators professional ice hockey club of the National Hockey League . He also owns the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors junior-age ice hockey club...	1:37.98
2000	Noble Ruler	Larry Melancon Larry Melancon Larry J. Melancon is an American jockey in Thoroughbred horse racing who rides primarily on the Kentucky-Arkansas circuit....	Niall O'Callaghan	Fsim Racing Stables	1:39.11
1999	Some Actor	Eddie Martin Jr.	Thomas M. Amoss Thomas M. Amoss Thomas M. "Tom" Amoss is a trainer that trains race horses.A graduate of Louisiana State University with a degree in marketing, Tom Amoss had worked with horses while in high school and after completing his education went to work for trainers Frank Brothers, Larry Robideaux, and John Parisella...	James McIngvale	1:38.59