Florida Derby: Chief Wallabee gets Commandment rematch, Nearly returns

Mar 23, 2026 Kellie Reilly/Brisnet.com

Commandment (right) and Chief Wallabee fight it out in the Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park. (Photo by Coglianese Photo)

Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby (G1) serves as a showdown among three colts who have delivered top-caliber performances in the preceding preps at Gulfstream Park. Commandment and Chief Wallabee were separated by just a neck in the Fountain of Youth (G2), while Nearly has been waiting in the wings since his demolition job in the Jan. 31 Holy Bull (G3).

The trio impressed bettors so much that they were all popular in the recent Pool 5 of the Kentucky Derby Future Wager. Chief Wallabee vied with Paladin for overall favoritism, and Nearly and Commandment ranked next as the co-third choices.

Thus the Florida Derby promises to have a significant impact on the Kentucky Derby (G1) betting. Depending upon how Paladin fares in the April 4 Blue Grass (G1) at Keeneland, the Florida Derby winner could become the Kentucky Derby favorite.

The other important angle to watch is the points leaderboard, and the Florida Derby’s points structure of 100-50-25-15-10 will help the best finishers to qualify for the Run for the Roses. At this stage, Nearly (20 points) and Chief Wallabee (25 points) need to increase their totals to ensure a spot in the starting gate at Churchill Downs.

Commandment has the edge on points going into Saturday, with 50 points from his victory in the Fountain of Youth. The son of perennial leading sire Into Mischief has won three in a row, including the Jan. 3 Mucho Macho Man S. that was not part of the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Trained by Brad Cox for Wathnan Racing, Commandment could be part of a big day for his connections, who have reigning Dubai World Cup (G1) winner Hit Show hoping to defend his title at Meydan earlier on Saturday.

Although Chief Wallabee came up just short against Commandment in the Fountain of Youth, the Bill Mott pupil did exceptionally well in his stakes and two-turn debut. Jockey Junior Alvarado said afterward that he had to make earlier moves than ideal, given the race circumstances, and that made it more challenging for the colt in just his second career start. His experience from that day, combined with a better trip here, could help Chief Wallabee emulate his sire, Constitution, who won the 2014 Florida Derby.

Constitution is one of eight Florida Derby heroes trained by Todd Pletcher, who decided to freshen Nearly for this race. Nearly had been busy over the winter at Gulfstream. After romping in a Florida-bred maiden, then overcoming a body slam at the start of an allowance, he made it a hat trick with a visually impressive display in the Holy Bull. The Centennial Farms colorbearer has been tactically versatile, and he could try to get the jump on Commandment and Chief Wallabee.

The Puma has connections in common with Mage, the runner-up in the 2023 Florida Derby en route to his Kentucky Derby upset. Trained by Gustavo Delgado, whose nickname is “The Puma,” the son of champion Essential Quality just broke his maiden in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3). But The Puma had run well in both prior starts, chasing Chief Wallabee home in a Gulfstream maiden and finishing third to Renegade in the Sam F. Davis S.

Wayne’s Law was last seen placing second as a 48-1 longshot in the Davis, where he tried to go wire-to-wire. By Tiz the Law, the 2020 Florida Derby star, he’s 2-for-3 at Gulfstream, including a romp in last September’s Aventura S.

Other longshots are Timeless Victory, third in Nearly’s allowance but recently a winner at this track and 1 1/8-mile trip; last-out Tampa maiden winner Albus; and once-raced maiden Gregarious.

Redland Rebels, who was cross-entered to the Arkansas Derby (G1), will run there at Oaklawn, according to Daily Racing Form.

The Florida Derby is the nightcap on a 14-race card, with a post time of 6:42 p.m. ET, and you can watch and wager at TwinSpires.com.