EAST - FLORIDA - Entering Saturday's Florida Derby (Grade I), it appeared that Fountain of Youth (GI) winner Read the Footnotes had a strong chance to make history as the first New York-bred to win Gulfstream Park's premier Kentucky Derby prep.

It turned out that a New York-bred made history, but it was not Read the Footnotes. The even-money favorite faltered in the homestretch as longshot Friends Lake ran down the Todd Pletcher-trained Value Plus in the final yards to win at odds of 36-1.

The homebred son of 1992 "Horse of the Year" A.P. Indy, who is owned by Chester and Mary Broman, was running for the first time since a disappointing third-place finish in Gulfstream's Holy Bull (GIII) in January. Friends Lake had been hampered that day by fractious behavior in the paddock, so trainer John Kimmel gave the colt eight weeks off and trained him up to the Florida Derby.

The chestnut colt may follow a similar path to Churchill Downs as Kimmel indicated that Friends Lake may not need another Kentucky Derby prep.

"He shouldn't have any trouble staying fit over the next eight weeks, and I think the whole idea is to have a fresh horse for the Derby," Kimmel said. "Running back in the Wood (Memorial) or Blue Grass would leave just three weeks until the Derby and I don't want to have a hard race in one of those spots."

Friends Lake covered the Florida Derby's 1 1/8 miles in a slow 1:51.38 and earned just a Beyer Speed Figure of 92, the lowest number for the winner of any of this year's major Derby preps. His winning payout of $76.80 was the third-highest in Florida Derby history.

The Cliff's Edge, one of three major Kentucky Derby contenders trained by Nick Zito, rallied late to take the third spot. Read the Footnotes struggled home fourth for trainer Rick Violette, who thinks that the colt's mammoth effort in winning the Fountain of Youth may have cost him in the Florida Derby.

"He was a little tired and we found a little muck in his lungs after scoping him," said Violette. "It looks like a combination of things, but I'd have to think his race in the Fountain of Youth had to top the list. I think the track might have come up a little too dry and tiring. That didn't help us when we were trying to move along the rail."

Violette indicated the Wood Memorial (GI) at Aqueduct was still on his pre-Derby agenda, while Zito said that he has no definite plans for The Cliff's Edge's next start.

Swale Stakes - What developed into a weekend theme of upsets continued immediately following the Florida Derby as the Zito-trained favorite Eurosilver was beaten in Gulfstream's $100,000 Swale Stakes (GIII).

The 6-5 favorite closed with a rush, but could not catch Wynn Dot Comma in the seven-furlong race.

Despite the loss, Zito was happy with performance by Eurosilver, who won last year's Lane's End Breeders' Futurity (GII) at Keeneland and will turn in his final prep for the Kentucky Derby over the Lexington track in the Toyota Blue Grass (GI) on April 3.

The victory by Wynn Dot Comma allowed jockey Edgar Prado to achieve a personal milestone. It was career victory number 5,000 for the Peruvian, who became just the 19th rider in history to accomplish that feat.

A major disappointment in the Swale was the Todd Pletcher-trained Chapel Royal, who set the pace but tired to finish fourth. He had been idle since a third place finish in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile (GI).

In other news from Gulfstream, Pletcher racked up four wins on Saturday -- including a victory by a rising star in his 3-year-old division. Aaron and Marie Jones' Forest Danger remained perfect in two starts as he rolled to a 2½-length victory in a seven-furlong allowance race.

Tampa Bay Derby - Pletcher's strong weekend continued Sunday at Tampa Bay Downs as Limehouse, one of his record 35 Visa Triple Crown nominees, validated his status as a serious Kentucky Derby contender.

Dogwood Stable's son of Grand Slam, who captured Gulfstream's Hutcheson (GII) last month, rallied down the stretch and caught the highly regarded Mustanfar in the final strides to win the $250,000 Tampa Bay Derby (GIII) by a neck.

Ridden for the first time by Pat Day, Limehouse was sent off as the 4-5 favorite and covered the 1 1/16 miles over a "fast"track in 1:43.99. The win was his fifth in eight career starts, including a pair of stakes wins at Churchilll Downs, and Pletcher indicated that the Toyota Blue Grass could be the colt's next start.

The Richard Violette-trained Swingforthefences finished third after pressing the early pace.

WEST - CALIFORNIA - A little more than a week ago, it appeared that three-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Bob Baffert might not have a compelling reason to be at Churchill Downs on the first Saturday in May. Then Baffert won the Louisiana Derby (GII) with Wimbledon and the results of Sunday's San Felipe (GII) at Santa Anita identified another strong Derby candidate in the Baffert barn.

Mike Pegram's Preachinatthebar withstood a late charge from favored St Averil to win the 1 1/16-mile race by a nose. The win turned the tables on a January meeting between the two horses in the Santa Catalina (GII), which saw St Averil beat the Baffert-trainee by 3 ½ lengths. Preachinatthebar, a son of Baffert's 1997 Kentucky Derby winner Silver Charm, covered the distance in 1:42.87 over a "fast" track. Baffert and Pegram joined forces to win the 1998 Derby with Real Quiet.

"I'm just happy for Mike Pegram," Baffert said. "It's been a little dry for us lately but I told him I still have a lot of faith in this horse. He's starting to fill out and you don't know how exciting it is to win a stake with (a) Silver Charm. He's going to be a great sire. I love that horse."

Two-year-old champion and Breeders' Cup Juvenile winner Action This Day ran much closer to the pace than usual and faded to finished a disappointing seventh, but appeared to have a legitimate excuse.

"When he went into the first turn there was some jamming and he's got a big gash behind his ankle on his right hind leg," trainer Richard Mandella said. "We just have to hope it's not too bad."

In other news, Mandella's other Derby contender, Minister Eric made his belated 2004 debut on Saturday at Santa Anita in a 6½-furlong turf allowance race. The Breeders' Cup Juvenile runner-up finished third.

Mandella said a start in the Santa Anita Derby (GI) was unlikely for the son of Old Trieste.

El Camino Real Derby - The wave of upsets continued on Saturday at Golden Gate Fields as 26-1 shot Kilgowan wore down Capitano and Seattle Borders to win the $200,000 El Camino Real Derby (GIII).

Trained by Lonnie Arterburn, the son of Smoke Glacken won for the third time in five career starts. The colt is not nominated to the Kentucky Derby and Visa Triple Crown, but Arterburn indicated the gray colt would likely be a late nominee. Kilgowan's next start is expected in the April 17 California Derby.

Merv Griffin's Skipaslew, the 9-5 favorite, bumped with the winner down the stretch. He never recovered from thta contact and finished seventh.

Kentucky Derby Stat of the Week n Trainer Bob Baffert might become the fourth trainer to train a Derby winning "father & son." Preachinatthebar is a son of 1997 Derby winner Silver Charm. The other to accomplish the feat were: Ben A. Jones - (Pensive (1944) & Ponder (1949); "Sunny" Jim Fitzsimmons - (Gallant Fox (1930) & Omaha (1935) and H.J. "Dick" Thompson - Bubbling Over (1926) & Burgoo King (1932).

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