Florida Derby

Sweeping past the leaders with an explosive move on the turn for home, Monarchos took control in the stretch and won the $1 million Florida Derby yesterday to stamp himself a top Kentucky Derby contender. The 3-year-old colt, ridden by Jorge Chavez, cruised to a 4 1/2-length victory over Outofthebox in the 1 1/8-mile race at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale. Monarchos, winless in two starts as a 2-year-old, is unbeaten in three starts this year. The Florida Derby field of 13 was the largest since 1994.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Union Rags has been made the 6-5 morning-line favorite in a field of nine horses entered for the $1 million Florida Derby on Saturday. The 11/8-mile race is a major prep race for the Kentucky Derby on May 5. Considered a leading contender for the Run for the Roses, Union Rags drew the No. 6 post at Wednesday's post-position draw. The 3-year-old colt is trained by Michael Matz, who won the 2006 Florida Derby and the Kentucky Derby with Barbaro. Union Rags will be ridden by Julien Leparoux.

Heavily favored Harlan's Holiday finally caught archrival Booklet and won the $1 million Florida Derby yesterday at Gulfstream Park in Hallendale, Fla. Harlan's Holiday, who had lost to Booklet by less than a length twice this year, passed him on the far turn and prevailed by 3 1/2 lengths over runner-up Blue Burner. Ridden for the first time by Edgar Prado, Harlan's Holiday covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1 minute, 48.8 seconds. He paid $5.40, $3.40 and $2.80. Tennis Teenager Daniela Hantuchova, playing in her first tour singles final, overpowered Martina Hingis, 6-3, 6-4, to win the Pacific Life Open in Indian Wells, Calif.

Once before, Edward Anchel traveled this road, the one that leads to the Kentucky Derby on the first Saturday in May. It was just four years ago, but the Milford, Pa., native - now a farm owner in Middletown, N.Y. - said it seemed much longer than that. The horse was Air Forbes Won, one of the first horses owned by Anchel and his wife, Judith. He had a brilliant turn of speed, soaring to a victory in the Wood Memorial at wind-blown Aqueduct race track. He was so powerful and convincing that he was favored in the Kentucky Derby.

Budding superstar Easy Goer won his race in a breeze, but something awful happened to Dixieland Brass on his way to the Kentucky Derby yesterday. The darling of Gulfstream Park's winter racing meeting and the even-money favorite in the 38th running of the Florida Derby, Dixieland Brass pulled up lame on the second turn and probably will never race again. A bargain-basement long shot named Mercedes Won captured the $500,000 Florida Derby in front of a record crowd of 33,864, who went home not knowing the fate of their favorite.

A lightly raced grandson of the great Damascus, almost passed over on this year's road to the Kentucky Derby, upset the Derby cart at Gulfstream Park yesterday. Technology - a 13-1 long shot with only four races in his young life, with winnings of only $30,803, a third-place finisher at Philadelphia Park last September - won the $500,000 Florida Derby by a whopping 4 1/2 lengths. The two favorites, 4-5 Dance Floor and 3-1 Pistols and Roses, finished second and third, respectively, and never came close to running down the winner.

Snow Chief, the young millionaire from California, drew the 12th starting gate in a field of 16 for tomorrow's $500,000 Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. The 3-year-old colt, owned by breeder Carl Grinstead and Ben Rochelle, will be making his first start outside California. Snow Chief was installed as the 2-1 favorite for the 35th running of the 1 1/8-mile race. Alexis Solis, who formerly rode at Miami-area tracks, will be aboard him. Snow Chief's most serious competitor appears to be Mogambo, the Champagne Stakes winner who drew onto the rail.

Not that anybody's paying attention yet, but the horse racing season gets under way here today with the 41st running of the Florida Derby. The Florida Derby? You know, it's like the first round of an elimination tournament with the finals in Louisville on the first Saturday in May. It's OK if you're not up on this because none of the 12 horses running today has done much to attract attention - like run fast. There is growing suspicion that, with one or two exceptions, this year's crop of 3-year-olds is a bust, especially those running on the East Coast.

There are no budding Secretariats running here today in the $500,000 Florida Derby. No phenom speedballs ready to take Churchill Downs by storm on the first Saturday in May. This field of 13 3-year-olds, scheduled to race 1 1/8 miles at 4:41 p.m. at Gulfstream Park in the season's first major Kentucky Derby prep on the East Coast, may be the slowest in more than a decade. To illustrate the absence of a glamour horse, the six stakes for 3-year- olds in South Florida so far this winter have been won by six different colts.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Twenty-four years ago, it was brutally cold and incredibly wet on the first Saturday in May when a 38-year-old Shug McGaughey, just 10 years into a training career that would land him in the Hall of Fame, brought Easy Goer over from the barn to the paddock at Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. There was little doubt Easy Goer, a horse that also would wind up in the Hall of Fame, was going to win the Derby. Fast forward to Saturday, a day that dawned cool, but not that cool, with overcast skies that turned to a drizzle and eventual soaking rain, a track surface that went from fast to sloppy, a Derby where Shug once again had the favorite, but not a horse that had the résumé of Easy Goer.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Trainer Doug O'Neill had a pretty darned good day on two courses. First he birdied the eighth hole during a Wednesday afternoon golf outing at Valhalla, then he aced the Kentucky Derby draw when Goldencents landed in the No. 8 post and was made the 5-1 third choice for Saturday's race. "It should be perfect for him," said O'Neill, who saddled last year's winner, I'll Have Another. "Perfect" was not the way last year's Triple Crown series ended for O'Neill and his colt.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Normandy Invasion, runner-up in the Wood Memorial, is named for the pivotal Allied assault in World War II. Rick Porter, the colt's owner, decided he could do more to honor that effort than simply naming a horse. He has arranged for four veterans of that campaign to join him at the Derby. "Three of them were on the beaches for the D-Day invasion," said Porter, a Wilmington native who has two-second place finishes in the Derby with Hard Spun (2007) and Eight Belles (2008)

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Bob Baffert won't be saddling a horse in the Kentucky Derby, for the first time since 2008. The Hall of Fame trainer said Monday that Govenor Charlie would not run in Saturday's Run for the Roses. His other possibility, Code West, also won't compete in the Derby at Churchill Downs. Sunland Derby winner Govenor Charlie was 11th on the points leaderboard that determines the 20-horse field for the 11/4-mile race. Code West was ranked 21st. Baffert hasn't been on the Derby sidelines since 2007 and 2008.

  1. Verrazano (Todd Pletcher, trainer; John Velazquez, jockey): Worked 5 furlongs in 1:00.20 Sunday at Churchill Downs, third fastest of 40 at the same distance. ... Wood winner is unbeaten in all four starts and will try to become the eighth unbeaten Derby winner. ... Final Derby future wager odds: 7-1. 2. Orb (Shug McGaughey, Joel Rosario): Fountain of Youth, Florida Derby winner worked five furlongs in 1:02.20 Sunday at Payson Park. ... Gets original rider back now that Johnny V has chosen Verrazano.

Peyton Manning threw his first passes to his newest Broncos teammate Wes Welker during a workout Wednesday at Duke. Welker and Denver receivers Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker joined the veteran quarterback, working with Duke coach David Cutcliffe, who was Manning's quarterbacks coach at Tennessee and oversaw much of the quarterback's work when he was recovering from his neck surgeries. Welker left the Patriots and signed a two-year, $12 million deal with the Broncos this offseason.

NASCAR CHAMPION Dale Jarrett headlined the 25 nominees announced Wednesday for next year's Hall of Fame class - a list that finally includes track magnate Bruton Smith . Only five nominees are new to the list, with the other 20 carrying over from last year. Joining Jarrett and Smith as the new nominees were engine builder Maurice Petty , five-time NASCAR weekly series national champion Larry Phillips and 1960 NASCAR champion Rex White . Five people will be selected for induction into the fifth Hall of Fame Class in May 22 voting by a 54-member panel.

ARCADIA, Calif. - Flashback has been taken off the Kentucky Derby trail because of a small chip in his right knee and will be sidelined at least two months. Flashback finished second to Goldencents in the Santa Anita Derby on Saturday. "Sorry to say Flashback off Derby trail," Trainer Bob Baffert said on his Twitter feed. "Removing small knee chip this week. Should be back in training in 60 days. " Baffert said the injury occurred during the race. The colt owned by Gary and Mary West will be sent this week to Lexington, Ky., to have the chip removed.

Two of the most dominant programs in the Football Championship Subdivision said Wednesday they are moving up to the Football Bowl Subdivision. Georgia Southern and Appalachian State are leaving the Southern Conference to join the Sun Belt Conference in 2014. East Carolina will join the Big East Conference as an all-sports member, instead of just for football as originally planned. Marcel Quarterman was named defensive backs coach at Kutztown after four years as an offensive assistant at Lafayette, his alma mater.