Edited Press Release (with additional reporting)When the latest Fair Grounds meet begins its 155th racing season Nov. 19, two familiar faces from the West Coast will be among the track's training ranks for the first time–Michael McCarthy and Phil D'Amato.“Just looking forward to starting something new and seeing how it goes. It's fairly easy to get from Southern California to Louisiana to New Orleans,” McCarthy told the TDN on Friday. “[It's to] maximize our opportunities, be able to ship in and out, possibly for a stake or two. You hear a lot of good things about the surface itself.”McCarthy's Fair Grounds team, he said, will be around 25.“As soon as we get Breeders' Cup over with, we'll have a better idea of what's being sent there. The majority of the horses here at Churchill Downs will make their way there and there'll be some horses from Southern California headed that way as well,” said McCarthy.“I'm looking forward to getting there and seeing what it's like now. I've been there multiple times as an assistant for Todd Pletcher. But, just have not run many in my own name there. I have a lot of good memories and looking forward to seeing where this leads us,” said McCarthy.“We are trying something new this year that my owners and I are very excited about. The Fair Grounds will give us more turf and dirt options going forward,” wrote D'Amato in a text message Friday to the TDN, indicating he'll send a team of about 18 to the Louisiana track.The track's 2026-27 training colony will include established Fair Grounds participants like Steve Asmussen, Brad Cox, Cherie DeVaux, Joe Sharp, Brendan Walsh and Kenny McPeek, along with newcomer Rudy Rodriguez.The returning roster also includes Dallas Stewart, Shane Wilson, Bret Calhoun, Mike Stidham, Al Stall, Jr., Sam David, Jr., Joe Duhon and Greg Foley, giving the meet a broad mix of established national operations and longtime Fair Grounds participants.DeVaux is set to return to New Orleans with a full barn following a remarkable year in which Golden Tempo used his Fair Grounds foundation to win the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May before later capturing the Belmont Stakes. The Derby triumph made DeVaux the first female trainer to win the race and further strengthened Fair Grounds' reputation as one of the nation's leading proving grounds on the road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks.Sharp returns seeking his third consecutive Fair Grounds training title, while Cox arrives as the nation's current leading trainer by earnings.The returning depth will be complemented by one of the most intriguing groups of new barns to arrive at Fair Grounds in recent years.The New York circuit will be represented among the newcomers by Rodriguez and George Weaver, along with Ray Handal, who will return after a successful 2024 meet.Fair Grounds Racing Hall of Fame trainer Neil Howard will return to the training ranks this winter with a 16-horse string for CamHaven Farms. Howard, 77, retired in 2021 after a career that included champion Mineshaft and major stakes winners Summer Squall and Secret Status, along with more than 1,200 victories.Several returning Louisiana circuit stables also are expanding their Fair Grounds presence, including Joey Foster, Joe Duhon, David Terre and Chadwick Mouton.The post McCarthy, D’Amato To Maintain Fair Grounds Strings This Winter appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.