HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – Although Saturday’s Grade 2 Fountain of Youth drew a field of 13 talented 3-year-olds, it failed to attract the top three finishers from the Grade 2 Holy Bull here last month – Cairo Prince, Conquest Titan, and Intense Holiday.

Cairo Prince was not even nominated to the Fountain of Youth, with his connections having made the decision weeks ago to bypass the race and await the $1 million Florida Derby on March 29. Intense Holiday, trained by Todd Pletcher, is running Saturday at Fair Grounds in the Grade 2 Risen Star.

Although their credentials stood out, the winners of the two stakes here over the holiday weekend just managed to get the job done.

Tamarando, a Grade 1 winner, rallied from last to win the Grade 3 El Camino Real Derby by a half-length on Saturday. Zeewat, who had more stakes wins, four, than the rest of the field combined, won the $50,000 Lost in the Fog in the final stride Monday.

For 16 seasons jockey Gerard Melancon was a Fair Grounds regular, winning races at a steady clip. But in 2007 Melancon moved his tack to Delta Downs in Vinton, La., for the winter. The money at Delta had gotten just about as good as at Fair Grounds, and Melancon every season ranks among the leading riders. Unlike when he rode in New Orleans, Melancon can make it home to the town of Scott in less than an hour after his work is done.

“I got a 10-acre farm, six broodmares,” he said. “I’m content. I wouldn’t trade this for anything.”

“Todd Pletcher” is the name you see in the headline, but the names of Pletcher’s pair of 3-year-olds scheduled to start Saturday at Fair Grounds – Intense Holiday in the Risen Star and Got Lucky in the Rachel Alexandra – don’t appear to be written in large, bold letters.

Intense Holiday has won only 1 of 6 starts, and has been sent on the road this week while the highly regarded Pletcher-trained 3-year-old Commissioner stays home for the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – Tapiture’s win in the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest at Oaklawn Park on Monday was meaningful for more than one reason, said his trainer, Steve Asmussen. Not only was Asmussen pleased to see the promising 3-year-old win his seasonal debut following some impressive works, but he was also thrilled for owner Winchell Thoroughbreds, which has long sent horses to receive their earliest training lessons at the El Primero Training Center operated by Asmussen’s parents, Keith and Marilyn.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – The 3-year-old Mexikoma makes his return to the starting gate in an allowance race on Saturday’s Fountain of Youth card at Gulfstream Park. Last seen in November when he finished sixth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita, Mexikoma breezed a half-mile Tuesday morning at Palm Meadows in 49.05 seconds.

Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes, 1 1/8 miles, Oaklawn Park, Feb. 17
(10 Derby eligibility points to the winner, 4 for second, 2 for third, 1 for fourth)

Tapiture, who broke his maiden last fall while winning the Grade 2 Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill Downs, was on the muscle for his 2014 debut, aggressively winning this 1 1/16-mile event by 4 1/4 lengths over heavily favored Strong Mandate at Oaklawn Park on Monday, Feb. 17.

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. - Now it’s a rivalry.

Tapiture, who finished second to Strong Mandate in a maiden special weight race last August at Saratoga, reversed that order of finish on Monday at Oaklawn Park, when he strode to a 4 1/4-length win over the even-money favorite in the Grade 3, $300,000 Southwest Stakes.

It was the second time the pair had met, and both are now on course for a third showdown, in the Grade 2, $600,000 Rebel on March 15.

Kentucky Derby Fever long has infected horsepeople with talented 3-year-olds, and now the malady has mutated, spinning off a similar affliction: Kentucky Derby Qualifying Points Fever.

A massive total of 16 horses passed the entry box Monday for Saturday’s Grade 2, $400,000 Risen Star Stakes, which awards Derby qualifying points to its first four finishers on a 50-20-10-5 basis. The main body of the field is 14-strong, with two longshots – the race’s lowest earners – on the also-eligible list.

HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A year ago, trainer Shug McGaughey won the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes from the rail with Orb. On Saturday, the Hall of Fame horseman will defend that title from the other end of the post-position spectrum after his Top Billing drew post 12 in a bulky field of 13 3-year-olds entered Monday for the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth.