Gulfstream Park Handicap big on quality

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The presence of three-time Grade 1 winner Private Zone, Grade 1 winner Wicked Strong, Grade 1-placed Honor Code, and the hard-knocking Valid kept the field for Saturday’s Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Handicap to just six starters. The big four will be joined in the starting gate by the multiple graded stakes winner East Hall and the speedy Loverbil.

:: GULFSTREAM PARK: Get PPs, watch Saturday’s card live

Private Zone is the 122-pound highweight in the one-mile Gulfstream Park Handicap.

Herecomesthebride downgraded

As expected, the Grade 3 Herecomesthebride has lost its graded status after being moved from the turf to a sloppy main track last Saturday. Divine Aida cruised to a six-length victory over Sweet Swingin, with the scratch-reduced field of six 3-year-olds strung out a sixteenth of a mile from front to back at the wire.

Graded stakes are automatically downgraded as a result of a surface switch, although the American Graded Stakes Committee can reinstate the race’s grade.