(Edited Fair Grounds report)

NEW ORLEANS, La. – Rachel Alexandra, the superstar filly that defeated male horses three times in 2009 en route to being named Horse of the Year, will “school” in the Fair Grounds paddock before and during Friday’s fourth race, beginning at about 2:20 p.m.

Rachel Alexandra is scheduled to make here 2010 debut in Saturday’s $200,000 New Orleans Ladies.

Friday afternoon, Rachel Alexandra will “school” in the paddock. In racing parlance, “schooling” refers to the process meant to familiarize a horse with the surroundings he or she will encounter on race day. Rachel Alexandra will come to the paddock with the horses in the fourth race and will stand in a stall just as she will Saturday, remaining there while the horses in the race head to the track. She also will be led around the walking ring before leaving the paddock following the fourth race.

Rachel Alexandra established herself as one of the all-time great fillies last year with historic wins in the Grade I Kentucky Oaks and Grade I Preakness, as well as six other stakes races, including the Grade II Fair Grounds Oaks. Her three Grade I victories against male horses—in the Preakness, the Haskell Invitational and the Woodward—helped to establish a new standard for excellence by a female racehorse in the modern era.