Gulfstream Park 🏇🏾// Sat., Mar. 28, 2026

Happy Curlin FL Derby, AK Derby & National Black Forest Cake Day! 🥮🍰

We have a huge day of horses today, as the Kentucky Derby standings are going to see a big shakeup. There are two more win-and-you’re-in races across the country, and if you joined us very early over at Meydan, you know there was actually a third 100-point race today.

We’re starting our day by capping the full card from Hallandale, FL, at Gulfstream Park. We have 14 total races, ten stakes, an Oaks prep, and a Derby prep. We’ll have coverage of the late Pick 4 from Oaklawn Park in Hot Springs, AR over on our X page, so make sure you check it out around 3:20 pm Pacific time. That sequence will include the Arkansas Derby, our final win-and-you’re-in Derby prep race for today.

For you early risers, let’s get right to it! The ladies will compete for their chance to run on the first Friday in May in Race 9 today, the $250K Gulfstream Park Oaks presented by City National Bank. This Grade 2 stakes will be run at 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. Three of our seven runners have already earned Oaks points, meaning any of these fillies can vault into the top 5 with a win, or those three could cement a spot with a place finish. Spoiler alert: we have a best bet in this race!

The final race of the day is the Florida Curlin Derby, where nine runners will look to lock in a spot in the starting gate for the Run for the Roses on the first Saturday in May. This race is a 1 1/8-mile route on the dirt with a purse of $1,000,000. Our cappers differ in this race, as Finky believes the top two contenders will not necessarily try to win outright unless it sets up perfectly for them. Both already have almost enough points to get into the Kentucky Derby starting gate, so the connections may look to avoid injury and use this as a chance to try a different style than in previous prep races. Mr. W, on the other hand, has the winners of those past races as his top picks.

Fun fact: 7 of the past 20 Kentucky Derby winners have won this race the same year.

Today’s weather will be typical for Florida, with highs in the low 80s and partly cloudy skies. The track will be fast and the turf will be firm for this huge card we’re watching today!

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Need help picking winners? We've got you covered! Our (Always Free) Lundin Line's top picks and best bets are below. We use them to help narrow the field while putting our tickets together. The first post will be here soon, so don't be late -

It's time to get #InTheMoney! 💰💰💰

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Gulfstream Park 🏇🏾 // Sat., Mar. 28th, 2026

First Post @ 11:30 ET / 8:30 PT

R1: 5-6-8-13

R2: 5-6-4-7

R3Ⓢ: 5-1-6-4

R4Ⓢ: 9-6-7-4

R5: 2-3-11-7

R6: 3-7-9-4

R7Ⓢ: 2⭑-9-1-8

R8Ⓢ: 7-2-4-6

🏇R9Ⓢ/OP:

Fink: 6⭑-2-5

Mr. W: 6⭑-4-5-7

R10Ⓢ: 7-8-10-3

R11Ⓢ: 2-4-9-3

R12Ⓢ: 6-10-4-3

R13Ⓢ: 7-1-8-4

🏇R14Ⓢ/DP:

Fink: 6-2-4-3

Mr. W: 2-4-8-6

🏇 = Featured Race(s)

⭑Best Bet(s)

R7: Grande (#2)

R9: She Be Smooth (#6)

Ⓢtakes Races

R3: 175K Cutler Bay S.

7 1/2 Furlongs on Turf for 3 Yr. Olds

R4: 175K Appleton S.

1 Mi..o Turf for 4 Yr. Olds & Up

R7: 175K Ghostzapper S. (G3)

1 1/16 Miles. On Dirt for FL Bred 4 yr. oLds & Up.

R8: 175K Orchid S. (G3T)

1 1/2 Mile on Turf for Fillies/Mares, 4 Yr. Old & Up

🏇R9: 250K Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2)/OP

1 1/16 Mi. On Dirt for Fillies, 3 Yrs. Old

KY Oaks Pts = 100-50-25-15-10

R10: 75K Sanibel Island S.

7 1/2 Furlongs on Turf for Fillies, 3 Yrs. Old

R11 175K Army Mule S.

7 Furlongs on Dirt for 4 Yrs. & Up

R12: 175K Sand Springs S.

1 1/16 Mile on Turf for Fillies/Mars, 4 Yrs. Old & Up

R13: 225K Pan American S. (G3T)

1 1/2 Miles pm Turf for 4 Yr. Olds & Up

🏇R14: 1Mil. Curlin FL Derby (G1)/DP

1 1/8 Miles on Dirt for 3 Yr. Olds

KY Derby Pts = 100-50-25-15-10

The Curlin Florida Derby, run annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida, is one of American thoroughbred racing's most storied prep races. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade I race is contested at 1⅛ miles on the dirt, Thoroughbred Daily News, and has been a Grade 1 race since 1973. Thoroughbred. Over a span of 73 years, the race has produced more Kentucky Derby winners than any other Road to the Kentucky Derby prep race, with 46 starters going on to win a remarkable 62 Triple Crown races, including 26 Kentucky Derbys.

Notable Florida Derby winners who went on to capture the roses include Spectacular Bid (1979), Unbridled (1990), Thunder Gulch (1995), Monarchos (2001), Barbaro (2006), Big Brown (2008), and Orb (2013), while more recently, last year's runner-up Sovereignty rebounded to sweep the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes en route to Horse of the Year honors. In 2005, Gulfstream shifted the race's scheduling to five weeks before the Kentucky Derby — originally viewed as a potential liability — but when Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby off that spacing, the added rest period came to be seen as a feature rather than a flaw.

The purse was increased to $1 million in 2011, temporarily reduced to $750,000 during the COVID-19 pandemic, and restored to $1 million in 2022. The race carries the "Curlin" title in honor of the legendary two-time Horse of the Year, whose connections serve as a sponsor, and this year's 75th running shapes up as one of the most competitive editions in recent memory.

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Photo from our friends at National Day Calendar

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/ As always, please forgive any typos and grammatical errors