Horse racing at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Florida. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
Saturday’s Road to the Kentucky Derby schedule features a trifecta of Championship Series stakes as key races for bigger Derby preps at the same tracks in the next five weeks. This trio of races award 50 points to the winner and enough points to gain a spot in the starting gate for the Run for the Roses May 4 at Churchill Downs in Louisville, KY.
Saturday, March 2 (all times Eastern)
- $400,000 Grade 2 Fountain of Youth (1 1/16 miles) - Race 14 at Gulfstream Park, 6:10 p.m.
- $300,000 Grade 3 Gotham (1-mile) – Race 10 at Aqueduct, 5:36 p.m.
Sunday, March 3
- $300,000 Grade 2 San Felipe (1 1/16 miles) – Race 6 at Santa Anita, 6 p.m.
The San Felipe was originally scheduled for March 2 but was moved with the rest of Santa Anita’s card to March 3 due to a forecast of rain during the early weekend. Heavy favorite Nysos (1/5) is one of three runners by trainer Bob Baffert in the five-horse field. Racing at Santa Anita on March 3 will also include the $400,000 Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. The 1 1/4 mile “Big ’Cap” is one of the most prestigious races in California and has a long, storied history dating back to when it was first held in 1935.
Types Of Horse Racing Bets
Best High-Yield Savings Accounts Of 2024
Best 5% Interest Savings Accounts of 2024
Bettors looking to cash in on Saturday’s big races and the unrivaled day of racing the first Saturday of March can watch and wager on the biggest races through FanDuel Racing. FanDuelTV will be live on-site covering select stakes Saturday with exclusive coverage of the Road to the Kentucky Derby races providing expert analysis and behind-the-scenes coverage by FanDuelTV’s staff.
Also check out FanDuel Racing for handicapping tools and resources including Kentucky Derby betting information and updates. More than a dozen stakes races from around the country will be available to live stream through FanDuel racing.
Fountain Of Youth Field And Odds
Opening parimutuel odds are subject to change and adjust as more bets come in on the races.
Common Racing And Horse Racing Terms
The Fountain of Youth Stakes will be broadcast live on CNBC and streamed on Peacock as part of NBC Sports’ “Road to the Kentucky Derby” series. The race will also be shown FanDuelTV.
Gulfstream Track Announcer Racing Tips
The Coolmore Fountain of Youth is 1-of-9 stakes races on the 14 race card at Gulfstream Park, where top track announcer Pete Aiello calls the races in Hallandale Beach, FL. Daily horse racing picks are also available with the three big Derby preps drawing more interest on Saturday.
I reached out to Gulfstream popular track announcer Pete Aiello for some insight on the Fountain of Youth race, along with Saturday’s Davona Dale - a championship series prep race for 3-year-old fillies qualifying for the May 3rd Kentucky Oaks.
“We’ve really had some quality horses take part in our preps so far this year,” Pete said from Gulfstream. He noted that Fierceness, last Novembers Breeders’ Cup Juvenile champion, was beaten as the 1/5 favorite and finished 3rd in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes Feb. 3.
“Now we have two other high quality horses in Dornoch (2/1) and Locked (5/2) making their 3-year-old debuts in the Fountain of Youth,” Aiello said. “Dornoch’s effort in the Remsen last out was flattered when Sierra Leone (who he beat) was ULTRA impressive winning the Risen Star Stakes at the Fair Grounds a couple weeks ago.”
Aiello adds he’s not convinced Dornock or Locked will be cranked up 100% in their first start of the season, which could open it up for Speakeasy (9/2) or Victory Avenue (4/1).
“Victory Avenue just lost to Speakeasy and enters the race as a maiden (not yet won a race). Seems crazy, right?” Aiello notes that the trainer of Victory Avenue, Gustavo Delgado, ran Bodexpress in the Florida Derby as a maiden in 2019 and finished 2nd at 71-1 odds.
The Fountain of Youth drew a stronger quartet of runners this year along with improving Real Macho, who won earlier this month at 26/1 odds over the heavy favorite and is now 8/1 in his stakes debut Saturday.
Leading jockey’s riding at Gulfstream who will ride in the Fountain of Youth include Luis Saez (Dornoch), Jose Ortiz (Locked), Irad Ortiz, Jr. (Speak Easy), John Velazquez (Victory Avenue) and Tyler Gaffalione (Real Mach0).
Davona Dale Stakes
Saturday’s Race 9 at 3:17 p.m. ET is the $200,000 Grade 2 Davona Dale Stakes presented by FanDuel TV. The race is contested at 1-mile, and the winner will earn enough qualifying points (50) to run in the Kentucky Oaks.
The Davona Dale marks the return of another champion in Just F Y I, who is undefeated in three starts after winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies. She’s the slight 7/5 favorite for trainer Bill Mott over Todd Pletcher-trained Leslie’s Rose (8/5), who is 2-for-2 and making her stakes debut.
“I’ll swing against the two favorites and take Into Champagne (6/1),” Aiello says. She breaks from the outside No. 8 post, and Pete adds “she wasn’t 100% AT ALL last time out and won anyway while under confident handling. I think she’ll be tighter and better (she’ll need to be) and could upset them.”
Determining winners and betting on horse racing is more difficult than meets the eye or just wagering on the favorites. Racing fans and bettors can follow five key factors when analyzing horse races and specifically 3-year-olds while understanding they continue to grow and develop.
- Connections
- Pedigree
- Previous Form
- Running Style
- Visual Observation.
Fountain of Youth History
The Fountain of Youth is also a local prep race for the Florida Derby on March 30. Last year Forte won the Fountain of Youth as a 1/2 heavy favorite by 4 1/2 lengths, and went on to win the Florida Derby as the 2/5 favorite over Mage. But Forte was scratched the day of the 2023 Kentucky Derby with a stone bruise on the bottom of his hoof. Mage went on to win the Run for the Roses as a longshot at 15/1 odds. Mage was ironically trained by Gustavo Delgado.
Five Fountain of Youth winners have also won the Kentucky Derby including Spectacular Bid (1979), Thunder Gulch (1995), and Orb (2013). Eight other Fountain of Youth runners (non-winners) won the Kentucky Derby including Swale (1984), Unbridled (1990), and Go for Gin (1994). Derby runners-up Ice Box (2010), Good Magic (2018), and Code of Honor (2019) all contested the Fountain of Youth, as did Preakness winner Shackleford (2011) and Belmont Stakes winners Jazil (2006) and Union Rags (2012).
Fountain of Youth Top Win Contenders and Horses to Watch
Along with FanDuel Racing coverage and track announcer Pete Aiello’s insights, I turned to the experts at Horse Racing Nation (HRN) and it’s Super Screener big stakes race analysis for more insight and complete racing coverage. Horse Racing Nation provides racing previews, picks and insight, and the HRN Super Screener features race analysis and wagering recommendations for key graded stakes.
How To Bet On Horse Racing
The HRN race picks will be available and posted Friday afternoon with insight, analysis and information you can bet on.
Race 14 - Fountain of Youth
- #5 - Dornoch (2/1)
- #6 - Merit (15/1)
- #8 - Locked (5/2)
Value Plays and Longshots: #6 Merit (15/1), #9 Dancing Groom (30/1). Others underfeath in Exacta, Trifecta and/or Superfecta: #3 Victory Avenue (4/1), #1 Speak Easy (9/2).
HRN: “The pace here is going to be quite swift with plenty of pressure.” It will be led by #2 Le Dom Bro who will be the eager pace leader here with no chance for a board-hitting outcome. However, “the Super Screener is very bullish on the Top Win Pick, #5 Dornoch.” He won a stronger Grade 2 Remsen Stakes in December, and Dornoch is a son of 2018 Kentucky Derby runner-up Good Magic. Now making his 5th career start, Dornoch has moved forward in every one of his starts while facing tougher competition and going longer.
Merit rates out very well here despite fading to 3rd in that last start with a very fast and pressured pace. Locked will be a favorite in his 2024 sophomore debut, but note he missed his start a month ago in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs after he spiked a fever so the barn is playing catch up. Use Locked defensively in wagering. Dornoch, Locked and #9 Dancing Groom are the only horses in the field with 2-turn experience, and Dancing Groom gets a more favorable pace setup for his late energy distribution profile.
Race 13 - Honey Fox
- #4 - Spansive (12/1)
- #3 Be My Sunshine (9/2)
Race 12 - Canadian Turf
- #4 Turf King (8/1)
- #10 Ice Chocolat (8/1)
Race 11 - Gulfstream Park Mile
- #5 Tumbarumba (8/5)
- #6 Shaq Diesel (15/1)
- #3 Steal Sunshine (5/2)
Race 10 - The Very One
- #6 Anatolian (6/1)
- #10 R Calli Kim (7/2)
- #3 Ready Lady (12/1)
Race 9 - Davona Dale
- #2 Leslie’s Rose (8/5)
- #3 Just FYI (7/5)
So the time is near to separate the wheat from the chaff on the Derby Trail, and we’ll know who can win and the 20-horse field for the 2024 Kentucky Derby over the next five weeks. Young horses growing, maturing, learning — this is the time for their jumps and leaps in development and into the Derby conversation.
You can bet on it.