Down in Louisville where men wear big hats (and carry side arms)

The thoroughbred racing industry continues to pump the current meet at Gulfstream Park (Florida) as the key meet on the Road to the Kentucky Derby, however it has become abundantly obvious to this reporter that this years Road to the Kentucky Derby runs through Louisiana and not Florida at all.
 
Yeah I know !!
 
Three of the last four Kentucky Derby winners have wintered in the sunshine state. Barbaro, Street Sense & Big Brown. Not mention the Kentucky Derby success of other like Monarchos, Thunder Gulch & Pulpit.
 
Horse that have finished in the top three positions of Gulfstreams marquee event, the Florida Derby have gone on to produce fantastic result on the first Saturday in May.
 
Of course last years Florida Derby is a poor example of this trend. Truly a statistical anomaly, last years running of the Florida Derby produced no money horses on Kentucky Derby Day.
 
The reason for this drastic shift in results as it relates to last years Florida Derby Class was mainly due to injuries. Florida Derby winner and track record setter Quality Road was hemmed up for several months with a hoof injury he sustained during the Florida Derby while race runner-up Dunkirk made it all the way to Kentucky before stumbling at the starting gate and finishing a beleaguered eleventh. Dunkirk would manage an impressive second-place finishing in the mile & one half Belmont Stakes before being sidelined with a fracture of the left-hind cannon bone. An injury this reporter believes originated on a dirt slick near Hallandale Beach(Home to Gulfstream Park).
 
As a matter of fact I am reasonably sure that Quality Road's August 3rd win in the Amsterdam Stakes at Saratoga was the only win by a Florida Derby contestant for the remainder of the year. The track was clearly "paved" for speed and although the fans in attendance at Gulfstream Park were treated to a record setting performance by front-runner Quality Road the equine price, ultimately was far too high.

 

I would like to say that the Road to the Kentucky Derby runs through Louisiana... ...if for no other reason then to take that distinction away from Florida and more specifically Gulfstream Park, but alas the stars that align to produce Kentucky Derby winners have nothing to do with me. 
 
Perhaps its coincidence, perhaps an act of god or maybe just dumb racing luck but the folks at Gulfstream Park have been stripped of their coveted post, 5 weeks before the Kentucky Derby. Don't get me wrong ... ...the sun and surf of south Florida are truly unparalleled. The bed & breakfast's are a matter of state pride and Gulfstream Park has the highest average purse of any race track in North America, but it's not fun in the sun that gets 'em to the winners circle on Derby Day. Or the Parks high level of competition for that matter.
 
The reason so many horses have had success in the Kentucky Derby following a winter spent in sunny south Florida in the timing of Gulfstream Parks penultimate event the Florida Derby.
 
Run 5 weeks ahead of the Kentucky Derby, the Florida Derby has become a spring board into the action that is Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May.
 
Considered the top prep-race for the crowning jewel of America's Thoroughbred Racing Industry, the Florida Derby has developed a niche without actually being a part of the Triple Crown Series. Other prep race like the Louisiana Derby & Gotham Stakes are run many weeks before the Florida Derby leaving a large gap between prep and final destination. While still other races like the Derby Trail & Arkansas Derby, which should be important prep races are left to the last minute. Which is simply asking too much of these magnificent beasts. It's blatantly obvious.. ..nobody wants to show up for the biggest race of the years with a pony running on short rest. It may be cool during the Major League Baseball Playoffs for a pitcher to go on short rest but that junk don't fly in the world of Thoroughbred Horse Racing, at least not in the last 25 years.
 
Down in Louisville where men wear big hats (and carry side arms) 
 
This years the Florida Derby will be run 6 week before the Kentucky Derby, which will completely skewer the current timeline making a once illustrious prep-race nothing more then just another spoke in the wheel. 
 
That's Right!!
 
You heard it here first.. ..for the second year in a row no Florida Derby entrant will crack the top three when the run for the roses rolls around.
 
Z. Black