Florida Derby Cheat Sheet

Upstart (No. 7) leads Itsaknockout (No. 5) in the stretch of the Fountain of Youth Stakes at Gulfstream Park in February. The Florida Derby will serve as a rematch of the top-two finishers (above) from the Fountain of Youth. (Photo by Eclipse Sportswire)
The first major Kentucky Derby preps take place this weekend, and the Florida Derby is one of the marquee events. The 1 1/8-mile race for 3-year-olds awards 170 points toward the Kentucky Derby starting gate and a $1-million purse. Read on to get the lowdown on each of the nine contenders for the $600,000 top prize at Gulfstream Park.
1.  Ami’s Flatter (8-1)
Jockey: Javier Castellano
Trainer: Josie Carroll
Owner: Ivan Dalos
Career Record: 4 starts – 1 win, 2 seconds, 0 thirds
Career Earnings: $134,733
Earnings Per Start: $33,683
Pedigree: Flatter – Galloping Ami, by Victory Gallop
Color: Bay
Running Style: Closer
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Ami’s Flatter started his career in Canada before heading south to Florida. His two most recent starts have come at Tampa Bay Downs, where he was second to leading Kentucky Derby contender Carpe Diem in the Tampa Bay Derby on March 7. Trainer Josie Carroll aims to become the first female trainer to win the race, and should Ami’s Flatter earn enough points for the Kentucky Derby starting gate, Carroll could become the first female trainer to win that race as well.
2. Jack Tripp (20-1)
Jockey: Irad Ortiz Jr.
Trainer: Dale Romans
Owner: Robert J. Baron
Career Record: 7 starts – 1 win, 1 second, 1 third
Career Earnings: $52,549
Earnings Per Start: $7,507
Pedigree: Flatter – Vindicated Angel, by Vindication
Color: Chestnut
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Jack Tripp will be making his stakes debut in the Florida Derby after seven previous career starts. He broke his maiden at Keeneland in his third start and raced in Kentucky as a 2-year-old before heading south for the winter. He will be joined in the Florida Derby starting gate by fellow Dale Romans trainee Indianaughty.
3. Indianaughty (20-1)
Jockey: Corey Lanerie
Trainer: Dale Romans
Owner: Team Valor International
Career Record: 4 starts – 2 wins, 0 seconds, 1 third
Career Earnings: $30,303
Earnings Per Start: $7,576
Pedigree: Indian Charlie – Be Fair, by Exchange Rate
Color: Dark Bay
Running Style: Closer
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Indianaughty began his career in England, where he broke his maiden on a synthetic surface. When Team Valor brought him to the U.S., he won a turf race before disappointing in the El Camino Real Derby on the synthetic Tapeta Footings surface after a reversal of running style from a closer to a pacesetter. The colt may once again travel near the back of the pack early in the Florida Derby, which will be his dirt debut.
4. Itsaknockout (2-1)

Photo by Eclipse Sportswire
Jockey: Luis Saez
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owner: Starlight Racing
Career Record: 3 starts – 3 wins, 0 seconds, 0 thirds
Career Earnings: $287,360
Earnings Per Start: $95,787
Pedigree: Lemon Drop Kid – Stormy B, by Cherokee Run
Color: Bay
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Fact: Itsaknockout won the Fountain of Youth Stakes, the local prep for the Florida Derby, via a controversial disqualification to remain undefeated in three starts. He previously broke his maiden in December by a nose and won an allowance optional claiming race in January by a dominant 5 ¼ lengths. His trainer-owner combination of Todd Pletcher and Starlight Racing previously campaigned champion Shanghai Bobby.
5. Quimet (20-1)
Jockey: Edgard Zayas
Trainer: Nick Zito
Owner: Lucky Shamrock Stable
Career Record: 5 starts – 1 win, 1 second, 1 third
Career Earnings: $32,499
Earnings Per Start: $6,500
Pedigree: Birdstone – Comanche Star, by Saint Ballado
Color: Chestnut
Running Style: Stalker/Pacesetter
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: Quimet earned his first career victory in a maiden claiming race in January before quickly advancing to a stakes race two starts later. The colt finished third in that race, the Islamorada Handicap, via disqualification, on the same track and at the same distance as the Florida Derby. Trainer Nick Zito has three victories in the Florida Derby, tied for the most of any trainer.
6. My Point Exactly (30-1)
Jockey: Juan Leyva
Trainer: Bill Kaplan
Owner: Pinnacle Racing Stable, R. Norman, R. Justice and H. Hendricks 
Career Record: 4 starts – 2 firsts, 0 seconds, 0 thirds
Career Earnings: $72,220
Earnings Per Start: $18,055
Pedigree: Concord Point - My Golden Quest, by Coronado's Quest
Color: Gray or Roan
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: After dropping way off the pace in his first two starts in sprints, My Point Exactly found his sweet spot when stretching out in his final two starts of 2014. He raced just off the pace in a one-mile race at Gulfstream Park in August and won by 10 ½ lengths before testing stakes company on the grass at Louisiana Downs in September and winning the Sunday Silence Stakes by a neck. The Florida Derby is a tough spot for his first start as a 3-year-old, but this gelding by Concord Point will face a Grade 1 challenge with a ticket to the Kentucky Derby on the line. One to consider for longshot lovers.
7. Materiality (7-2)

Photo by Kenny Martin/Gulfstream Park
Jockey: John Velazquez
Trainer: Todd Pletcher
Owner: Alto Racing 
Career Record: 2 starts – 2 firsts, 0 seconds, 0 thirds
Career Earnings: $60,828
Earnings Per Start: $30,414
Pedigree: Afleet Alex - Wildwood Flower, by Langfuhr
Color: Bay
Running Style: Press/Pace
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: This lightly raced colt by 2005 Preakness and Belmont Stakes winner Afleet Alex is perfect in two starts for the multiple Eclipse Award-winning connections of Todd Pletcher and John Velazquez. For that reason, he must be respected. He also owns a pair of triple-digit Equibase Speed Figures, which suggests he belongs with this class of 3-year-olds even if it is a significant test. Materiality won his career debut by 4 ¼ lengths in November at Gulfstream Park and then dominated the opposition in winning the Islamorada Handicap by 5 ¾ lengths on March 6 in his 2015 debut. He is a half-brother (same dam [mother], different sire [father]) to Grade 2 winner My Miss Sophia, the runner-up in the 2014 Kentucky Oaks. Don’t sleep on this one!
8. Dekabrist (30-1)
Jockey: Antioco Murgia
Trainer: Gennadi Dorochenko
Owner: Gennadi Dorochenko
Career Record: 13 starts – 2 firsts, 0 seconds, 0 thirds
Career Earnings: $92,838
Earnings Per Start: $7,141
Pedigree: Street Boss - Shutterbug, by Deputy Minister
Color: Bay
Running Style: Closer
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: After winning his first two starts sprinting, including a 15 ¼-length debut romp at Gulfstream Park last May that earned a 102 Equibase Speed Figure, Dekabrist has not finished in the top three in 11 subsequent starts. In five graded stakes races, Dekabrist has been beaten by a combined margin of 92 lengths. This colt did show signs of promise in his most recent race when he finished fourth, beaten by less than three lengths, on the grass in the Black Gold Stakes at Fair Grounds in February. The reality, though, is that Dekabrist is in very deep in the Florida Derby.
9. Upstart (8-5)

Photo by Lauren King/Gulfstream Park
Jockey: Jose Ortiz
Trainer: Rick Violette
Owner: Ralph M. Evans 
Career Record: 6 starts – 3 firsts, 2 seconds, 1 third
Career Earnings: $779,480
Earnings Per Start: $129,913
Pedigree: Flatter - Party Silks, by Touch Gold
Color: Dark Bay or Brown
Running Style: Stalker
Notable Achievements and Interesting Facts: The old saying about a horse being as honest as the day is long certainly applies to Upstart, who brings a big performance every time he steps on the racetrack. The Flatter ridgling has never finished out of the top three in six starts and the 111 Equibase Speed Figure he earned for a runaway victory in the Holy Bull Stakes puts him right there with the best 3-year-olds on the Kentucky Derby trail. Upstart was disqualified for interference in the stretch in the Fountain of Youth Stakes in his most recent start in which he was much the best but did impede runner-up Itsaknockout. He will get a chance to make amends in the Florida Derby against that familiar foe and Upstart should again be a heavy favorite. He has twice finished in the top three in Grade 1 races, so the Florida Derby could be a breakthrough for Upstart and a springboard to the Kentucky Derby.