A record 117 2-year-olds are Early Bird nominees to the Florida Derby (gr. I) to be run at Gulfstream Park on Saturday, March 15, 2003. With a purse of $1 million, the Florida Derby is the richest race in North America for three-year-olds prior to the Kentucky Derby (G1) and has proven to be a significant preview of the Triple Crown.

"The response by the horsemen has been tremendous," said David F. Bailey, Gulfstream Park Director of Racing. "We have almost doubled the number (64) of Early Bird nominations that we received last year. All the best two-year-olds who raced in 2002 have been made eligible to the Florida Derby."

Besides the Early Bird nominations, which closed on Nov. 13, horses finishing first, second or third in the Spectacular Bid Stakes (gr. III), Holy Bull Stakes (gr. III), Hutcheson Stakes (gr. II), and/or the Fountain of Youth Stakes (gr. I) at Gulfstream will automatically be nominated to the Florida Derby. Also, supplementary nominations for the classic may be made at time of entry, Wednesday, March 12, 2003, upon payment of $25,000 each.

Vindication, the undefeated winner of the Breeders Cup Juvenile (gr. I) at Arlington Park, heads the lists of Early Bird nominees. On the strength of an undefeated record that included victories in the Juvenile and Kentucky Cup Juvenile (gr. III), Vindication is almost certain to be crowned two-year-old champion of 2002. He is one of three horses that West Coast-based trainer Bob Baffert has nominated for the Florida Derby.

Baffert also nominated Kafwain and Bull Market, the second and fourth-place finishers, respectively, in the Breeders‚ Cup Juvenile. Kafwain is a double stakes winner, having won the Norfolk Stakes (gr. II) at Santa Anita and Best Pal Stakes (gr. III) Stakes at Del Mar, while Bull Market finished a nose behind Kafwain in the Norfolk Stakes.

Heading the East Coast-based nominees for the Florida Derby is John C. Oxley‚s undefeated Sky Mesa. The bay son of Pulpit won three straight races, including the Lane's End Breeders' Futurity (gr. II) at Keeneland, and was the morning line favorite for the Breeders' Cup Juvenile before he sprained an ankle two days before the race.

Trainer John Ward will put Sky Mesa back into training in mid-December with his eye on winning the Florida Derby. Ward and Oxley teamed up to win the 2001 Florida Derby with Monarchos, who went on to win the Kentucky Derby that year.
Trainer Patrick Biancone has nominated a pair of graded stakes winners for Gulfstream's signature stakes race. They are Whywhywhy, winner of the Belmont Futurity (gr. I) and the beaten favorite in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile, and Zavata, winner of the Saratoga Special (gr. II) and Tremont Stakes (gr. III) in New York this year.

Toccet, the winner of five of his seven lifetime outings, including a victory in the Champagne Stakes (gr. I) at Belmont Park, is among the Florida Derby nominees. The John Scanlan-trained runner is riding a two stakes-race winning skein, having captured the Laurel Futurity (gr. III) in mid-November and the Remsen Stakes (gr. II) at Aqueduct in his most recent start.

Bham and Empire Maker, the second and third-place finishers, respectively, in the Remsen, are also nominated. Bham is one of six nominees from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher. The others are headed by Boston Bull, who won the Cowdin Stakes (gr. III) at Belmont Park in October.

Empire Maker is the highly regarded colt whose brilliant maiden victory made him the 7-5 favorite in the Remsen. The Bobby Frankel trained-runner reared up in the starting gate and stumbled at the start, compromising his chances in the race.

The undefeated stakes-winning colt Soto is another Florida Derby nominee. Owned by the family of Baron George von Ullman, owners of the most prestigious racing operation in Germany, Soto is fresh off a victory in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes (gr. II) at Churchill Downs last Saturday. The Michael Dickinson-trained juvenile had won a race each at Delaware Park and Pimlico Race Course in Maryland.

Ten Cents a Shine, the runner-up in the Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes, is one of seven two-year-olds that trainer Ken McPeek has nominated. Included among the other McPeek trained-nominees is Collateral Damage, the third-place finisher in the Hopemont Stakes at Keeneland. McPeek won the 2002 running of the Florida Derby with Harlan's Holiday.

Trainer Mark Casse has a pair of stakes-winning juveniles with designs on the Florida Derby. They are Gigawatt, winner of the Display Stakes and the runner-up in the Grey Stakes (gr. II) in Canada this fall, and Added Edge. The latter won the Nashua Stakes (gr. II) at Aqueduct in his last start.