COMMENTARY : No Excuses Left for Entrants in Saturday’s Florida Derby

The Florida Derby will help determine the validity of some big excuses held out for four of the race’s nine entrants.

A good case can be made for Unbridled, Slavic and Roanoke, three survivors from the Fountain of Youth Stakes here March 3. And if you listen to trainer Ron McAnally, he seems justified in bringing Single Dawn from California.

The 1 1/8-mile Florida Derby is the race of the year in South Florida and traditionally produces solid contenders for the Kentucky Derby.

But Saturday’s race, worth $500,000 guaranteed, will be challenged for attention by another event on the same card. Unbeaten Summer Squall is making his season’s debut in the seven-furlong $50,000-added Swale Stakes.

Summer Squall was ranked no worse than third last year, and his closest rivals--Rhythm, the national 2-year-old champion, and Grand Canyon--are out of the Kentucky Derby picture because of injuries.

The Daily Racing Form’s “trouble lines,” a brief capsule for each race by a horse, tells the story of the Fountain of Youth.

For Unbridled (third), the Form ‘s comment is “lacked room.” For Roanoke (fifth), it says “forced out.” And Slavic was “in traffic,” the racing paper said.

Chuck Sneva, Gulfstream’s odds maker, said he believes the excuses.

“I’m making Unbridled the 5-2 favorite because I think he was the best horse in the Fountain of Youth,” Sneva said.

Carl Nafzger, trainer of Unbridled, said he isn’t so sure about that but is delighted to hear others boost the colt. “Who’s to say that if he had gotten room to run, that he would have caught the winner?” he asked. “That’s one thing about this game. Races can’t be decided by just handicapping them. The races have to be run, and that’s what it’s all about.”

Sneva established Summer Squall as an 8-5 favorite, barely ahead of Housebuster at 9-5. Housebuster is a fast sprinter who has won two stakes this winter.