After briefly considering the Fountain of Youth Stakes and the Gotham as possibilities, trainer Todd Pletcher on Tuesday said that the unbeaten Verrazano would make his stakes and two-turn debuts in the Tampa Bay Derby on March 9.
Verrazano, 2 for 2 in his brief career, most recently romped in a Gulfstream Park allowance race, a one-turn mile, by 16 1/4 lengths on Feb. 2 while earning a Beyer Speed Figure of 105.
2013 Spring/Summer Racing Dates
April 26 - July 14 
(56 days)
Post Times
Dark Mondays and Tuesdays except:
Open: Monday, May 27
Dark: Wednesday, May 29 and July 10: Sunday, June 9
1:00 p.m. ET daily; Except 11:35 a.m. on Saturday, June 8 – Belmont Stakes Day
3:00 p.m. on Fridays, June 14, 21 & 28; July 5 & 12
The ability to run well fresh, her versatile running style, and previous success over this turf course may give Slew’s Exchange a slight edge in a competitive feature Wednesday at Gulfstream Park.
Slew’s Exchange meets six fillies and mares in a $57,500 second-level allowance race scheduled for five furlongs on turf. Slew’s Exchange and Revenue are both in for the optional claiming price of $62,500.
The feature goes as race 4 and is not part of the Rainbow 6 sequence that begins the day with a $2,195,692 carryover and starts with race 5.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Bill Mott was still scratching his head a bit Sunday trying to figure out Flat Out's disappointing fourth-place finish as the 2-1 favorite in the Donn Handicap. Flat Out was never a serious factor, finishing more than eight lengths behind Graydar in his first start since the Breeders' Cup Classic.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Mucho Macho Man breezed an easy three furlongs in 37.60 seconds with jockey Edgar Prado aboard after the renovation break at Gulfstream Park on Monday morning. The work was the first for Mucho Macho Man, runner-up in the 2012 Breeders' Cup Classic, since he was eased to the finish line as the heavy favorite in the Sunshine Millions Classic on Jan. 19.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Todd Pletcher said Graydar came out of his victory in Saturday’s Grade 1 Donn Handicap in good order, but has nothing picked out at the moment for his next start.
“We’ll kind of let the dust settle before we decide what to do next,” Pletcher said. “I’d hate to run anywhere but Gulfstream with him, but there’s not anything super-attractive for him here.”
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Trainer Shug McGaughey remains undecided as to whether he'll bring his top 3-year-old prospect, Orb, back in the Grade 1 Fountain of Youth. Orb, who overcame an eventful trip to register a one-length allowance win going 1 1/8 miles at Gulfstream Park last month, worked for the second time since that outing Monday at Payson Park.
HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. - Animal Kingdom, runner-up to Point of Entry in the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap, remains on target for the $10 million Dubai World Cup. Animal Kingdom made a quick and surprising rush to the lead under jockey Joel Rosario midway down the backstretch in the Gulfstream Park Turf before ultimately yielding to the winner through the final furlong in his first start since finishing second in the Breeders’ Cup Mile.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - Promising 3-year old Purple Egg got back to serious training Sunday when he worked a quick five furlongs in 1:01.40 for trainer Jane Cibelli at Tampa Bay Downs. The undefeated Purple Egg won his first three outings, including the Inaugural Stakes here on opening day, before being sidelined with a recurring fever.
Stakes winner It's Me Mom, who hasn't raced since September, topped the five-furlong workers with a 1:01.20 move.
OLDSMAR, Fla. - With Ronnie Allen having another good week at Tampa Bay Downs that included a riding triple on Thursday and Fernando De La Cruz and Adamar Santos posting riding doubles on Saturday, the older riders are faring well. At the same time, this season’s crop of apprentices is the strongest in recent years.
