(January 24, 2004) Owner Stan Fulton's Fire Slam took the sixty-first renewal of the LeComte Stakes over Shadowland at Fair Grounds Race Course on Saturday.

Fire Slam, trained by David Carroll, was much closer to the pace today than he had been in his first three starts, where he had closed from further back in the field. After a rough trip when finishing second in the Delta Jackpot in his previous race, Fire Slam broke alertly today and stalked the pace set by Two Down Automatic and jockey Frank Lovato, Jr. On the far turn, Fire Slam was urged forward by jockey Shane Sellers, and he willingly collared the leader. Midway through the long Fair Grounds' stretch, Fire Slam had put away the leader and was kept to the task by Sellers to finish the one-mile race with a two length victory, stopping the timer in 1:38.48.

Runner-up Shadowland ran a similar race to the winner, stalking the pace and making a strong move in the stretch to gain the place spot. Finishing third was early leader Two Down Automatic. The bettors had made Polish Rifle the even-money favorite, but after being well positioned in third on the backstretch, he could do no better than a fifth place finish, about six and one-half lengths behind the winner.

Fire Slam earned $60,000 for the victory, pushing his lifetime earnings to $319,430, while his lifetime record now stands at 3-1-0 from four starts.

Going off as second choice at odds of 1.70-1, Fire Slam paid $5.40, $3.60, and $3.20. The $2 exacta with Shadowland paid $40.80.

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