The $750,000 Florida Derby (G1), which has produced 39 horses who have won 54
Triple Crown races, including 21 winners of the Kentucky Derby (G1), will have
its 59th running March 27, 2010, and highlights the stakes schedule released by
Gulfstream Park on Wednesday.
The East Coast’s premier winter race meet begins January 3 and runs through
April 23.
“The timing of the Florida Derby, five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, and
the subsequent performances of Barbaro and Big Brown at Churchill Downs, has
enhanced the race’s reputation as a barometer for Triple Crown success while
further enhancing Gulfstream Park’s already solid reputation as a proving ground
for future champions,” said Gulfstream Park Racing Secretary Dan Bork, in his
first year at the helm of Gulfstream’s racing office.
There will be slight modifications to the races leading up to the Florida
Derby: the $250,000 Fountain of Youth S. (G2) will return to 1 1/8 miles, the
same distance of the Florida Derby, and the $150,000 Holy Bull S. will return to
a mile.
The February 27 Fountain of Youth, as in years past, will be run four weeks
before the Florida Derby, while the Holy Bull will be run at a mile on January
23, five weeks before the Fountain of Youth.
“Horsemen indicated a desire to have a two-turn race a little closer to the
Florida Derby,” Bork said, “and we believe we have accommodated them with the
bump in distance of the Fountain of Youth from a mile to a mile and an eighth.
With these changes — coupled with the horsemen’s pursuit of graded stakes
earnings in preparation for the Kentucky Derby — we expect the serious classic
contenders to stay close to home.”
The Fountain of Youth has a reputation for quality that approaches that of
the Florida Derby, while the Holy Bull has in years past included Kentucky Derby
winners Barbaro, Funny Cide and Go for Gin (1994), Derby runner-up Closing
Argument and Derby favorite Harlan’s Holiday.
The Kentucky Derby victories by Barbaro and Big Brown were the most recent
classic successes by Florida Derby contestants. In addition to their success in
the Kentucky Derby, they have also won 18 renewals of the Preakness S. (G1) and
15 runnings of the Belmont S. (G1).
“One of the great treats of racing at Gulfstream Park is the chance to
witness the nation’s greatest three-year-olds sort themselves out as they
prepare for the Triple Crown,” said Bill Murphy, Gulfstream Park President and
General Manager.
Other highlights of the meeting are the January 30 Sunshine Millions, the
$500,000 Donn H. (G1) on February 6 and the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Turf (G1)
on Super Bowl Sunday, February 7. The big game will be played in nearby Miami
Gardens.
The Donn has become the world’s leading springboard to the $6 million Dubai
World Cup (UAE-G1). World Cup winners who have competed in the Donn include
Cigar (1996), Silver Charm (1998), Captain Steve (2001), Roses in May (2005) and
Invasor (Arg) (2007). Harlan’s Holiday, the Donn winner of 2004, was a runner-up in
Dubai.
Appearing on the calendar for the first time is the Adena Springs Sugar Swirl
S. (G3). Owned by Frank Stronach, the Chairman of Magna Entertainment Corp.,
owner of Gulfstream Park, Sugar Swirl became the only filly or mare to sweep the
trilogy of sprint stakes for older females: the six-furlong race now known as
the Adena Springs Sugar Swirl, formerly known as the First Lady; the 6
1/2-furlong Hurricane Bertie S. (G3), and the seven-furlong Inside Information
S. (G2). She pulled off her hat trick in 2008.
A stakes that reverts to its original name is the Gulfstream Park Sprint
Championship (G2). Known as such from its inception in 1972, the $150,000 race
had been conducted as the Richter Scale from 2003 through last year.