The Florida Derby is an American

Thoroughbred horse race Thoroughbred racing is a sport and industry involving the racing of Thoroughbred horses. It is governed by different national bodies. There are two forms of the sport – flat racing and jump racing, the latter known as National Hunt racing in ...

for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before the Kentucky Derby, which is held on the first Saturday in May. Thus the Florida Derby is currently run either at the end of March or the beginning of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade I race is run at miles on the dirt. The purse was increased to $1 million in 2011 but was reduced to $750,000 for 2020 and 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. The purse was once again increased to $1 million in 2022.

History

The Florida Derby was first run in 1952. It has long been a prestigious prep race for the Kentucky Derby and since 2013 has been part of the official

Road to the Kentucky Derby The Road to the Kentucky Derby is a points system by which horses qualify for a position in the starting gate for the Kentucky Derby. It features dozens of stakes races for 2 and 3-year-old Thoroughbreds – the number and specific races have chang ...

. The race was originally run in early to mid-March and Kentucky Derby hopefuls would then run in another major prep race in April. In 2005, Gulfstream Park shifted its scheduling to run the race five weeks before the Kentucky Derby. This was originally believed to be a liability, as the preferred spacing of races is typically three to four weeks. When Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby, the five-week spacing began to be viewed as a potentially positive feature, allowing a horse to come into the Kentucky Derby well rested. In 1977, a large field resulted in the race being run in two divisions. Between 1926 and 1937, the

Flamingo Stakes The Flamingo Stakes was an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses run over a distance of a mile and one-eighth. Run as the Florida Derby until 1937, the inaugural event took place at Tampa Downs on February 27, 1926. There was ...

was known as the Florida Derby.

Triple Crown Classic Winners

In total, 20 winners of the Florida Derby have gone on to win one or more Triple Crown Classics (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes). Kentucky Derby Winners: Needles (1956),

Tim Tam Tim Tam is a brand of chocolate biscuit introduced by the Australian biscuit company Arnott's in 1964. It consists of two malted biscuits separated by a light hard chocolate cream filling and coated in a thin layer of textured chocolate. H ...

(1958),

Carry Back Carry Back (April 16, 1958 – March 24, 1983) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1961 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and was named the 1961 Champion Three-Year-Old. He won 21 of his 61 races, including the Metro ...

(1961), Northern Dancer (1964), * Forward Pass (1968),

Spectacular Bid Spectacular Bid (February 17, 1976 – June 9, 2003) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 1979 Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes and holds the world record for the fastest 1 1/4 miles on the dirt. He won 26 of his 30 r ...

(1979), Swale (1984), Unbridled (1990),

Thunder Gulch Thunder Gulch (May 23, 1992 – March 19, 2018) was a Champion American Thoroughbred racehorse best known for his wins in the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes in 1995, which earned him the title of U.S. Champion 3-Yr-Old Colt. Background ...

(1995),

Monarchos Monarchos (February 9, 1998 – October 22, 2016) was a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2001 Kentucky Derby in the second fastest winning time and overall third fastest time in the race's history. Background Monarchos was si ...

(2001), Barbaro (2006), Big Brown (2008), Orb (2013), Nyquist (2016), and

Always Dreaming Always Dreaming (foaled February 25, 2014) is a champion American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the 2017 Kentucky Derby and Florida Derby. He had four wins from eleven starts, and earnings of $2,415,860. Background Always Dreaming is a dark ba ...

(2017). Preakness Stakes Winners: Nashua (1955), Tim Tam (1958),

Bally Ache Bally Ache (February 3, 1957 – October 28, 1960) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who won the Preakness Stakes in 1960 but died later that year. In her book ''American Classic Pedigrees (1914–2002)'', author Avalyn Hunter wrote that Ba ...

(1960), Carry Back (1961),

Candy Spots Candy Spots (April 14, 1960 – March 21, 1976) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse. Background Candy Spots was foaled in California and was named for the unusual white and black markings, similar to Bend Or spots, that speckled his chestn ...

(1963), Northern Dancer (1964), Forward Pass (1968), Spectacular Bid (1979), Snow Chief (1986), and Big Brown (2008). Belmont Stakes Winners: Nashua (1955), Needles (1956), Swale (1984), Thunder Gulch (1995),

Empire Maker Empire Maker (April 27, 2000 - January 18, 2020)Tiz the Law (2020). *In 1968,

Dancer's Image Dancer's Image (April 10, 1965 – December 26, 1992) was an American Thoroughbred racehorse who was the first winner in the history of the Kentucky Derby to be disqualified. Background Dancer's Image was a gray horse owned and bred by businessm ...

won the Kentucky Derby, but was disqualified and moved to last place after traces of

phenylbutazone Phenylbutazone, often referred to as "bute", is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) for the short-term treatment of pain and fever in animals. In the United States and United Kingdom, it is no longer approved for human use (except in th ...

(a drug that was illegal at the time) was found in a post-race urine analysis. Forward Pass, the Derby runner-up, was awarded the honor of first placing. *In 2019, Maximum Security won the Kentucky Derby, but was disqualified and moved to 17th place. This was the first disqualification due to a racing infraction in Kentucky Derby history.

Records

Speed Record: * 1:46.80 – Gen. Duke (1957), equaled the world record for miles at the time. Most wins by an owner: * 5 – Calumet Farm (1957, 1958, 1968, 1971, 1978) Most wins by a jockey: * 5 – John R. Velazquez (2009, 2013, 2015, 2017,2018) Most wins by a trainer: * 6 – Todd Pletcher (2007, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2021) Largest margin of victory: * lengths – Empire Maker (2003) Shortest priced winners: * $2.10 (1/20 on) – Honest Pleasure (1976), Spectacular Bid (1979) Longest priced winner: * $183.60 (~91/1) – Williamstown Kid (1966)

Winners

* Winners in bold won a Triple Crown Race

References

{{reflist Horse races in Florida Gulfstream Park Flat horse races for three-year-olds Triple Crown Prep Races Grade 1 stakes races in the United States Graded stakes races in the United States Horse races established in 1952 1952 establishments in Florida

History

Triple Crown Classic Winners

Records

Winners

See also

References