Florida Derby

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Everyone waits for Empire Maker as if he were the answer to the Kentucky Derby puzzle. The regally bred colt with the Hall of Fame connections competes in the $1 million Florida Derby today at Gulfstream Park. It's only his fourth race, and he's won only one of his previous three. But a commanding victory by this son of Unbridled and the preeminent broodmare Toussaud would probably thrust him into the lofty role of Kentucky Derby favorite. But Empire Maker won't win the Florida Derby.

HALLANDALE, Fla. - Joe Namath and Muhammad Ali guaranteed victory. Yesterday, trainer Michael Dickinson predicted ... third place. After his Tapit joined nine others in the field for the $1 million Florida Derby on Saturday at Gulfstream Park, the Maryland-based Dickinson said: "If he finished third, I'd be delighted." Tapit has raced only twice, winning each time. But he hasn't raced since Nov. 15, when he gained national attention with a sensational victory in the Laurel Futurity. Trapped inside horses most of the race, Tapit barged to the outside down the stretch and stormed to a 4 3/4 -length victory.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Nick Zito, who had not won the Florida Derby in 16 attempts, finished one-two yesterday when High Fly captured the $1 million race at Gulfstream Park, and Noble Causeway finished second. Zito said both horses probably won't race again until the Kentucky Derby on May 7 at Churchill Downs. The last horse to win the Kentucky Derby off a five-week layoff was Needles in 1956. High Fly won for the fifth time in six tries and established himself as one of the leading 3-year-olds trying to follow in the footsteps of Funny Cide and Smarty Jones.

HALLANDALE, Fla. -- Bill Mott broke a record for trainers at Gulfstream Park yesterday when he saddled his 32nd winner of the meeting, Dahlia's Dreamer.But the horse he really wanted to see win was Lahint, who ran 10th in the Florida Derby two days ago just when people were touting him as a major candidate on the road to the Kentucky Derby."He had his shot," Mott said, making no excuses for Lahint. "It was the first time he faced horses who could really run. Maybe he got a little discouraged."

Hard Spun's trainer, Larry Jones, said "it might be suicide" to take on pre-Kentucky Derby favorite Street Sense and highly respected Great Hunter in three weeks in the Grade I, $750,000 Toyota Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland, but Hard Spun's jockey, Mario Pino, sees it as simply the next step in the thoroughbred's development. "If those horses had been in the Lane's End with us [Saturday], it would have been hard for them to run my horse down. It's one step at a time, and his next race will simply be another obstacle to overcome."

Jimmy Croll minced few words yesterday in describing the condition of his horse, Holy Bull, going into tomorrow's Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland (Ky.) Race Course."He's at the top of his game," said the 73-year-old trainer, who also owns the horse. "He's doing absolutely great."That's sad news to rival horsemen who might have hoped the horse was shopworn or tired after his awesome front-running performance a month ago in the Florida Derby. But it's good news for a sport that desperately needs a charismatic headliner to help bring it out of the doldrums.

The Florida Derby on Saturday should be nothing more than another showcase for the incredible talents of Fly So Free, if you listen to his trainer, Scotty Schulhofer."

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- By all rights, neither man should be here. Harold J. Rose, the trainer, is 88. He suffered a heart attack last summer and underwent quadruple-bypass surgery. He returned to his barn within three weeks. Roger Velez, the jockey, is 43. A rising star in New York in the late 1970s, he was beset by alcoholism and a stroke. Out of racing for four years, he returned as an exercise rider and then, reluctantly, as a jockey. With a friendship rivaling family and an overachieving horse named, appropriately, Hal's Hope, the two survivors have climbed to the pinnacle of their sport.

NEW YORK - If you're having trouble following the bouncing ball, then join the party. The lead-up to the Kentucky Derby has been incomprehensible. Long shots have won nearly every important Derby prep, and shocking long shots have won the most important two. Friends Lake captured the Florida Derby and paid $76.80. Castledale upset the Santa Anita Derby field and returned $62. What's more, the favorites have often faltered abysmally. The fastest horses seem to lack the breeding to sustain their speed for the Kentucky Derby's 1 1/4 miles, and the come-from-behind horses simply don't seem strong enough.

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Sports fans all over the country watched the ugly scene on national TV: Coronado's Quest, the bad boy of racing, bucking, rearing and trying to dump his jockey, then apparently trying to mount the pony leading him onto the track.The colt's behavior before the Florida Derby in March at Gulfstream Park was shocking. And then his performance on the track, fifth place after being eased in the stretch, was disconcerting.On Saturday, however, Coronado's Quest will race in the Grade I, $750,000 Travers Stakes at Saratoga, seemingly reformed and -- with four straight wins -- again being talked about as the best 3-year-old in the land.