Kentucky Derby Champions GO FOR GIN (1994), FUNNY CIDE (2003), and BARBARO (2006) have something else in common… 

All three used the Holy Bull (G3) at Gulfstream Park as a steppingstone toward career-defining Wins in the Run For The Roses.

So, even though it’s early in the prep-race season, it would be worth your (Derby handicapping) while to take note of this contest Saturday at Gulfstream

Inaugurated in 1990 as the Preview Stakes, the race was renamed in 1996 to honor the recently-retired 1994 Horse of the Year HOLY BULL, who counted the Florida Derby (G1) among his major Stakes Wins at Gulfstream.

Through the years, the conditions of the Holy Bull have shifted repeatedly; the distance has been changed seven times, and the purse has risen and fallen like a penny stock.

But one element has never changed, and that is that the Holy Bull is a key prep on the Road To The Kentucky Derby.

Case in point? For a span of 28 years, between 1991 and 2018, the Holy Bull produced 41 Kentucky Derby starters while coming up empty only twice.

GO FOR GIN and BARBARO managed to sweep both the Holy Bull and the Kentucky Derby during their gratifying winter/spring campaigns, while fan favorite FUNNY CIDE finished 5th in the Holy Bull before peaking on the first Saturday in May.

Also noteworthy, Holy Bull participants; CLOSING ARGUMENT (2005), MUCHO MACHO MAN (2011), WICKED STRONG (2014), FROSTED (2015), MOHAYMEN (2016), CLASSIC EMPIRE (2017), and AUDIBLE (2018) all went on to hit the board in the Kentucky Derby.

In addition to the $250,000 dollar purse, the Holy Bull offers Kentucky Derby qualifications points to the top five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 basis.

The race was held over 1 1⁄16 miles from 1991 through 2004 was bumped up and then returned to its signature distance in 2013.

Quick times have been common in the Holy Bull, but through 2023 no one has run faster than GO FOR GIN, who clocked 1 1⁄16 miles in 1:41.62.

The Holy Bull is the first of three Derby preps at Gulfstream Park, with the Fountain Of Youth Stakes and the Florida Derby to follow in subsequent weeks.