HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. — Greatest Honour has been installed as the 6-5 morning-line favorite for Saturday’s Florida Derby, a race that may set him up as the favorite for the Kentucky Derby.
Greatest Honour, a winner of both his starts this year for trainer Shug McGaughey on the same Gulfstream Park track that he’ll be racing on this weekend, drew the No. 7 post Wednesday in the 11-horse field.
The Bob Baffert-trained Spielberg is the 4-1 second choice and will start from the No. 10 post, while third choice Known Agenda has odds of 5-1 for trainer Todd Pletcher and will start in the No. 8 spot.
The field, from the rail out, for the Florida Derby, a $750,000 Grade 1 race: Nova Rags, 12-1; Quantum Leap, 20-1; Jirafales, 30-1; Southern Passage, 30-1; Known Agenda; Sigiloso, 30-1; Greatest Honour; Soup And Sandwich, 20-1; Collaborate, 6-1; Spielberg; and Papetu, 15-1.
The race awards 100 Kentucky Derby points for the win, 40 points for second, 20 points for third and 10 for fourth. There are two other Derby preps Saturday that offer the same points, those being the Grade 3 Jeff Ruby Steaks at Turfway Park in Kentucky and the Grade 2 UAE Derby at Meydan Racecourse in Dubai.
Greatest Honour already has 60 points in the Kentucky Derby standings, likely enough to qualify for that race regardless of his result Saturday.
