5 Fast Facts: Florida Derby

Mar 27, 2018 Vance Hanson/Brisnet.com

1. First run at Gulfstream Park in 1952, the Florida Derby (G1) has been won 15 times by the eventual Kentucky Derby (G1) winner. It has been an especially fruitful prep the last five years, with three colts pulling off the Florida/Kentucky Derby double: Orb (2013), Nyquist (2016), and Always Dreaming (2017).

2. Always Dreaming's victory in 2017 was the fourth in the Florida Derby for trainer Todd Pletcher and Hall of Fame jockey John Velazquez, which are both race records. The pair also teamed up to win in 2015 with Materiality. Pletcher's other two winners were Scat Daddy (2007) and Constitution (2014), while Velazquez was aboard Quality Road (2009) and Orb.

3. In addition to being a leading stepping stone to the Kentucky Derby, the Florida Derby has also been won by classic winners/champions/Hall of Fame inductees Nashua (1955), Bally Ache (1960), Candy Spots (1963), Top Knight (1969), Honest Pleasure (1975), Alydar (1978), Plugged Nickle (1980), Lord Avie (1981), Snow Chief (1986), Fly So Free (1991), Holy Bull (1994), and Empire Maker (2003).

4. Prior to 2005, the Florida Derby was traditionally run in early to mid-March, which generally necessitated that its winner run once more prior to the Kentucky Derby. In 2006, the ill-fated Barbaro became the first horse since Needles in 1956 to win the Kentucky Derby off a five-week break, the Florida Derby's present position on the calendar in relation to the Run for the Roses.

5. The Florida Derby stakes record of 1:46.80 for 1 1/8 miles was set way back in 1957 by Gen. Duke over Gulfstream's old one-mile track. The quickest renewal since Gulfstream's expansion to a nine-furlong oval was Always Dreaming's 1:47.47 in 2017.

(Adam Coglianese Photography)