Sorry to get in too late. I like mayo/sour-cream horseradish sauces, but they don't heat well and are best served cold on the side.
For next time, consider a mustard/cream reduction.
Another possibility would have been a green chili puree/cream reduction -- a French informed "salsa de chili verde".
Tomato based sauces are great with grits, especially "arabiatta," but it might have been too much tomato on the plate.
A completely different take would have been a classic pesto: basil, parsley, pine nuts, good romano and parmesan cheese, and just enough olive oil to make it slide down easy. You can serve it hot, but you have to be careful heating it because the basil discolors so easily.
Another green sauce, very good with fried food generally, and complimentary to your two offerings would have been an Indian style mint chutney: pureed mint leaves, cilantro, onion, serrano chili and a little hibiscus powder -- awesome! Best served room temp, and on the side.
Perhaps the best choice would have been to put a bowl each of red, white, and green sauces on the table and let your guests go for it.
My experience is that the more choices you offer a poker party, and the more the food commands their attention, the better you'll do at cards.
Rich