The showdown between Nyquist and Mohaymen in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby is a rare treat. It is a throwback to the days when top classics contenders actually raced against one another before the Kentucky Derby instead of being kept apart until the main event through a bloated schedule of inflated Derby prep races. Nyquist and Mohaymen ran 1-2 in the Eclipse Award balloting for champion 2-year-old male and have been favored in every round of Derby Futures betting.

That shiver of excitement being felt across the racing landscape can be blamed on the showdown Saturday between the marquee 3-year-olds Nyquist and Mohaymen in the $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park.

This is not how it is supposed to work. Top 3-year-olds are supposed to stay in their little corners of the Triple Crown universe until the curtain goes up for the Kentucky Derby. Suspense must be maintained, gratification delayed. Why give away the plot in the first reel when the payoff deserves a full house and a worldwide audience?

In tribute to that fine celebration of all things April foolish, let us acknowledge a collection of unintentional hilarity that has made the rounds recently. I will try to keep a straight face while I type so as not to telegraph the jokes. But sometimes it is hard when you hear …

Richard Mandella declare that Beholder might return to the races in early May on the grass at Santa Anita.

“It would be there or the Adoration Stakes, one of the two,” Mandella said. “She’s never run on turf, but the Royal Heroine is worth $100,000 more.”

California Chrome won a Kentucky Derby, a Preakness, and a Horse of the Year title. That is quite a lot for one horse’s career. Yet for all of that, California Chrome redefined himself Saturday with his brilliant victory in the Dubai World Cup.

Unless California Chrome finds a way to surpass even this performance – and I wouldn’t put it past him at this point - this Dubai World Cup became the new reference by which California Chrome will be spoken of and measured. It was that good.

I spoke with Jeff Lukas exactly once in the past 10 years, in February 2008, from his home in Atoka, Okla. The occasion was the death of Winning Colors, the Hall of Fame filly who won the 1988 Kentucky Derby.

“She was always a big, tall, long-striding filly – an extremely well-structured individual,” Lukas said. “The thing about her was just controlling her. She was not the kind that would easily settle down. We had to keep her from doing too much because she tried to put a lot into her training that wasn’t necessary.”

Saturday is Dubai World Cup Day, although by the time it is Saturday in most of North America, it will be practically Sunday in Dubai, and whatever happened there on Saturday will be history. Where’s the Flat Earth Society when you need it?

The racing industry used to waste a lot of time and effort debating whether it is a sport or a gambling game. The correct answer, of course, is both, and there’s no need to declare one the winner over the other. Exhibit A is Saturday’s racing, which offers the most outsized examples of both.

First, at 9 p.m. in the United Arab Emirates and 1 p.m. in New York, there’s the richest horse race on the planet, the $10 million Dubai World Cup at Meydan. About five hours later, the largest parimutuel payoff in American history could be decided by a maiden-claiming race at Gulfstream Park.

Taris and Tara’s Tango put on a good show in the Santa Margarita Stakes at Santa Anita last weekend. Taris ran too good not to win, while Tara’s Tango ran better and did. They both will be heard from in the division of older fillies and mares this year – both possess admirable range and considerable class – but they might as well get on a van. As far as the major events on the West Coast are concerned, the opening acts have cleared the darkened stage. The crowd is hushed. The spotlight comes up. Cue Adele.

I mean, Beholder. It’s an easy mistake.

As we hit the final Saturday of March, six weeks before the Kentucky Derby, I am going to use a 95 Beyer Speed Figure as the cutoff for contenders. I count nine horses on that list, from a high of 101 (Nyquist) to a low of 95 (Cupid, Mohaymen). It is interesting, if nowhere near conclusive, that the unbeaten 2-year-old male champion is at the top of the list and the likely Derby favorite (Mohaymen) if the race was this Saturday is at the bottom.

When Cupid figures what this racing thing is all about, he’s going to be pretty darn good.

Truth is, Cupid is already darn good. He proved that by decisively beating 13 opponents in Saturday’s Rebel Stakes at Oaklawn Park. But Cupid also did enough things wrong in the Rebel to create the tantalizing prospect of how good he might actually be when he finally does put it all together. As it is, however, that Cupid overcame difficulty in the Rebel of his own making in just his fourth career start, in his stakes debut, and off only a maiden victory, was impressive.