Derby prep guide: Fountain of Youth, Gotham fields and picks

The Kentucky Derby is eight weeks away, and this is when things really start to get serious on the road to the roses. The maiden winners and last year's juvenile stakes winners have to put up or shut up in this next round of points preps. Two of them are Saturday.

The Grade 2, 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth at Gulfstream Park on Saturday is one of the major stepping stones to the Derby with history, and points, to match. The Fountain of Youth offers 50-25-15-10-5 points to the top five finishers, all but guaranteeing the winner a spot in the Kentucky Derby gate.

Since 1991, five Fountain of Youth starters have gone on to win the Kentucky Derby, the most recent being last year, Sovereignty. 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage finished fourth in the Fountain of Youth, and in 2013, Orb used this race as a springboard to the Kentucky Derby winner's circle.

A field of nine will compete after two scratches early in the week brought the field down from 11. Four of the contenders are unbeaten, and four others are already stakes winners.  

The headliner is Napoleon Solo, winner of the Champagne (G1) last year who skipped the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. Undefeated in two lifetime starts, the son of Liam's Map returns after five months for trainer Chad Summers. Kendrick Carmouche has the ride.

Morning-line favorite Commandment comes in off a 6 3/4-length score in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes to start off his 3-year-old season. Brad Cox backed off on this son of Into Mischief after his maiden win at Churchill Downs in November and he showed he has talent - the stretch out to 1 1/16 miles here shouldn't be a problem. Irad Ortiz Jr is in the irons.

Bill Mott's buzzy maiden winner Chief Wallabee steps up in class here in his second lifetime start. The Constitution colt looks to follow the hoofprints of his Kentucky Derby-winning stablemate, Sovereignty, who won this race last year. However, Sovereignty was an experienced stakes winner already by this point, so they are big shoes to fill. Jockey Junior Alvarado will do all he can from post six.

A complete run-down of the field is here. 

The Grade 3 Gotham at Aqueduct is a one-mile test on dirt that also offers 50-25-14-10-5 points to the top five finishers. The last Gotham winner to win the Kentucky Derby was Secretariat in 1973, but the Preakness has had more relevance in recent years. Cloud Computing finished second in the Gotham before winning the Preakness in 2017, and in 2000, Red Bullet pulled off the Gotham-Preakness double.

This year's field of nine was whittled to eight with the scratch of Creole Chrome. 

Morning line favorite Iron Honor makes his second career start and his first as a 3-year-old for trainer Chad Brown. The son of Nyquist broke his maiden at Aqueduct in December sprinting six furlongs and stretches out to the mile, and steps up in class, here. Manny Franco has the ride.

Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr sends Hammond here off a third-place finish in the Swale in January. Hammond, a member of sire Charlatan's first crop, won the Gulfstream Juvenile Sprint stakes in November. Jockey Jaime Rodriguez takes the reins.

Crown the Buckeye is the most experienced stakes horse in the group, with two state-bred stakes victories and a third place finish in the open Gun Runner stakes as a juvenile. In his 3-year-old comeback race, the Lecomte (G3), he finished eighth. Crown the Buckeye is an Ohio-bred son of leading freshman sire Yaupon.

Balboa, a son of Not This Time, comes back to Aqueduct off a runner-up finish in the Jerome on Jan. 3. Brittany Russell trains the colt who broke his maiden for Bob Baffert last summer. Since switching to Russell's care, he has won a six-furlong stakes at Laurel and hit the board in the Remsen and the Jerome. Distance could be a question later, but this mile seems within his ability.

Full field analysis for the Gotham is here. 

The Gotham is race 10, post time 5:18 p.m. EST. Coverage of the race as well as the undercard, will be on America's Day at the Races on Fox Business channel starting at 3:15 p.m. EST.

The Fountain of Youth is race 14, post time 6:11 p.m. EST. NBC will have coverage of the race as part of its 1ST Racing Tour beginning at 5 p.m. EST on NBCSN and Peacock. 

FanDuelTV will have both tracks as part of its regular Saturday broadcast.

Free past performances for this weekend's stakes are courtesy of Brisnet.

Here are the top lifetime speed figures for the Fountain of Youth entrants.

These are top lifetime speed figures for each entrant in the Gotham.

*Beyer and TimeformUS speed figures are provided courtesy of Daily Racing Form.

HRN Handicappers

HRN's Ed DeRosa says the price will be too short on Fountain of Youth contender Napoleon Solo, but he has some live alternates. Check it out. 

Head-to-Head Handicappers Laurie Ross and Ashley Tamulonis are back this week with one thing in agreement: they're off Napoleon Solo. See who they each landed on instead. 

HorseCenter is all about the Derby preps this week, with plays from Brian Zipse and Matt Shifman for today's Fountain of Youth and Sunday's Rebel at Oaklawn. 

While the headliner in the Fountain of Youth seems shaky, for Ed, the Gotham is a slam-dunk single - check out his fair odds. 

Super Screener's Mike Shutty has a live long shot for the Fountain of Youth day Pick 5. 

The Kentucky Derby will be here before you know it. Get the trusted analysis for the whole Derby trail & reserve your Kentucky Derby Super Screener now! 

2026 Fountain of Youth G2

2026 Gotham G3