Date: 03/15/02

Florida Derby, Swale, Gotham, Tampa Bay Derby, and San Felipe results and photos

Monarchos, winner of the Florida Derby and Kentucky Derby in 2001

This weekend should have more impact on the Kentucky Derby field than any so far. Major prep races will be held in Florida, New York, and California with many of the top Triple Crown prospects taking to the track. First off on Saturday at Gulfstream Park is the Florida Derby where the field 11 includes such top prospects as Harlan's Holiday, D'Coach, and Booklet. On the undercard is the Swale Stakes where some of the second tier will try to graduate to the first string. Sunday will have three big preps with the San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita, the Gotham at Aqueduct, and the Tampa Bay Derby at Tampa Bay Downs. Siphonic faces six opponents in the San Felipe in what should be an easy win for him. Up at Aqueduct, highly regarded late starters Mayakovsky and Saarland will be making their 2002 debuts. In the Tampa Bay Derby you have Bunk N Ted going up against Showmeitall and Political Attack in a field of 10.

This looks to be an exciting weekend of racing with all these major prep races plus Pool Two of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. My advice is to wait until Sunday afternoon and see what happened in the preps before you decide who to bet on in the Future Wager. Check out the odds around 5pm and make your bets at the last minute (wagering closes at 5:30pm EST).

ESPN will show the Florida races on Saturday from 5:00-6:00pm EST while ESPN2 will have the Sunday races from 4:00-5:00pm. You can also watch or listen online at the links provided below. Past performances for all the races will be available free online from DRF and Equibase with links after the entries below. Here are the fields for each race with morning line odds where available and links to useful info for each.

Triple Crown quick links:

• Kentucky Derby Contenders - lots of info about the latest hot prospects
• Kentucky Derby Future Wager Pool Three - wagering is closed and odds for all 3 pools are posted
• Triple Crown Nominees - 405 horses were nominated in the early round this year. Check out the full list sorted by horse, sire, owner, and trainer
• Road to the Roses Fantasy Challenge - Pick your stable and win prizes in Churchill Downs' Road to the Roses Fantasy Challenge.
• Derby Tickets and Seats - how to get them
• Derby Ticket Requests - what really happens once you send one in to Churchill Downs
• Triple Crown Trail (updated weekly)
• Experimental Free Handicap
• Past Performances - for just about every conceivable prospect from BRIS
• Past Performances - for the top 50 prospects from Blood Horse and TSN
• Injury Report - who is off the trail?
• Countdown to the Crown from Daily Racing Form
• Road to the Triple Crown from Thoroughbred Times
• Triple Crown Mania from the Blood Horse
• Triple Crown Index - the master list with even more info

Back to 2002 Triple Crown index
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