HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Florida-breds will be in the spotlight Friday at Gulfstream Park with a trio of restricted races for statebreds. The races are a prelude of even bigger and better things to come for the owners and breeders of Florida-breds, with purse incentives totaling $4.6 million set to kick in with the beginning of the new condition book on Jan. 1. The extra purse incentives, which include $2.1 million for overnight race conditions and an additional $1.3 million on Gulfstream Park stakes and selected overnights, are due in large part to House Bill 7063 passed by Florida legislators earlier this year, a tax package that will ultimately direct more than $55 million into the Thoroughbred industry in Florida over the next two years. “All of us at Gulfstream Park are excited over the additional purse money available to our Florida-bred owners,” said Bill Badgett, Gulfstream Park’s executive director of Florida racing operations. “We need to give special thanks to all legislators in Tallahassee who support our industry.” The first of the three co-features Friday is written for 2-year-old fillies going seven furlongs on the main track that lured a field of eight, including a pair of stakes-placed Arindel homebreds, Mist and Hepburn. :: Bet the races with a $200 First Deposit Match + FREE All Access PPs! Join DRF Bets. Mist finished second in the Desert Vixen Stakes, the opening leg of the rich Florida Sire Series, but was well back in two subsequent starts, most recently in the 7 1/2-furlong Wait a While, her turf and two-turn debut earlier this month. Hepburn finished third against open company going a mile in the Hallandale Beach and a wide-running second when returning with statebreds in the Juvenile Fillies Sprint, her two starts since winning her maiden here in late August. Hepburn will renew acquaintances on Friday with Miss Sayely, who finished third, less than a length farther back, while hung wide most of the way in the Juvenile Fillies Sprint. Miss Sayely could wind up setting or forcing the pace in this spot along with Mist, whom she chased home to no avail in their previous meeting during the summer. Sugar Treat returns locally and gets some class relief moving in against statebreds for the first time after facing open company in all four previous outings. She won her debut here in the spring in game fashion over the Tapeta track. Trained by Mark Casse, Sugar Treat has made only one previous start on dirt, finishing a non-threatening sixth in the Grade 3 Schuylerville this summer at Saratoga. “She’s been a little bit of a disappointment,” said Casse. “I’ve tried a few different things with her but I can say her works recently on the dirt have been encouraging.” Casse is heavily invested in Florida-breds and was encouraged by the infusion of significant money into the program beginning next week. “The breeding business in Florida has been struggling for a while and I was glad to see the legislators see that and take some action,” said Casse. “It’s important that we keep it alive.” The second of the three co-features is for older horses going six furlongs on the dirt. The race rematches Classify, Giroovin, and Beastly Speed, who finished second, third, and fourth, respectively, behind gate-to-wire winner Ensign Parker going seven furlongs under similar conditions on Dec. 3. Classify looms the one to beat off that trio’s last meeting. She overcame a slow start to chase the winner from the outset before holding off the others to prove second best while posting a career-best 78 Beyer Speed Figure. Giroovin rallied belatedly near the inside to finish a head back in third as the 6-5 favorite while making his first start against Florida-breds that day. The third and final allowance is scheduled for a mile on the turf for older fillies and mares with the red-hot, synthetic track specialist Hay Hay Paula, a winner of three of her last four starts, likely to be favored despite the fact she’s never run on grass. Other key contenders include the versatile duo of Crystal Coast and Boston Princess, both of whom seem equally suited to turf or the Tapeta track. ◗ Saturday’s 11-race program will feature four stakes, including the Grade 3 Harlan’s Holiday and Grade 2 Fort Lauderdale, the key local preps for the $3 million Pegasus World Cup Invitational and $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf here on Jan. 27. The Harlan’s Holiday attracted a field of 11, among them potential Pegasus candidates Grand Aspen, O’Connor, Octane, Gasoline, and Steal Sunshine. O’Connor could go postward the tepid favorite off his victory in the Grade 2 Fayette at Keeneland on Oct. 28. He is one of two major players for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., along with the multiple stakes winner Ny Traffic. Trainer Todd Pletcher will also send out a pair – recent allowance winner Grand Aspen along with Gasoline, who exits a fifth-place finish in the Grade 2 Clark. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? 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