Gulfstream Horse Racing Picks and Florida Derby for Saturday 4/1/23

The Gulfstream Championship Meet continues with a huge day of stakes races Saturday at Gulfstream Park in Florida. That includes the Kentucky Derby prep and points race, $1 million Florida Derby. The Saturday, April 1 card includes 10 stakes races with first race post time at 11:30 a.m. ET.

As always, check the program for scratches and changes, monitor the weather and keep an eye on the track conditions.

(I will reference Equibase's Speed Figure in selected races, which tells you how fast a horse has been running in each of its races after adjusting for track, distances, and conditions).

Gulfstream Betting Picks

According to numberFire horse racing projections and Horse Racing Nation (HRN), these are some of the best bets to make at FanDuel Racing today.

1. Atomically and Sacred Wish, Race 12

FanDuel Racing Odds: 7/2 and 9/2
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Race 12 is the $250,000 Grade 2 Gulfstream Park Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/16 miles. This is a Kentucky Oaks prep/points race with the top 5 finishers awarded qualifying points (100-40-30-20-10).

The top win contenders by HRN analysis are Atomically (7/2) and Sacred Wish (9/2), who offers top value. Horses to also consider winning and include in exacta and trifecta wagering are numberFire's top pick Dorth Vader (4/1) along with Miracle (5/2) and Atomically.

Miracle and Atomically are both trained by leading trainer Todd Pletcher, and ridden by top jockeys and brothers, Irad Ortiz, Jr. and Jose Ortiz. Atomically finished third last race and stretches out while Sacred Wish moves from a sprint maiden win to her first stakes race but has shown great pace and speed balance figures.

2. Winfromwithin and Striker, Race 13

FanDuel Racing Odds: 7/2 and 8/1
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Race 13 is the $150,000 Appleton Stakes for older horses at 1-mile on the turf. There is a lot of speed in this 12 horse race, and top win contenders are Striker (8/1) at a price along with Winfromwithin (7/2), who numberFire also endorses as a win challenger along with Steady On (3/1). Others to consider and use underneath are Fort Washington (4/1), Gray's Fable (10/1) and He'spuregold (8/1) on the rail.

Striker is a lightly-raced 5-year-old with strong recent works. He raced at Woodbine on synthetic before winning at Tampa Bay in Feb. with a 103 speed figure. Winfromwithin towers over this field when it comes to pace figures and he's hit triple-digits speed in four of his last five starts including a runner-up Grade 2 finish last out in Feb.

3. Forte and Fort Bragg, Race 14

FanDuel Racing Odds: 4/5 and 5/1
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Race 14 is the $1 million Grade 1 Florida Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles. This is a Kentucky Derby Championship Series race with the top 5 finishers awarded qualifying points (100-40-30-20-10). Horse Racing Nation's Super Screener and numberFire's data rate Forte (4/5) best with Fort Bragg (5/1) next as the only other win contender. Others to consider underneath in trifecta wagering include Mage (10/1) and Cyclone Mischief (8/1).

Racing picks and full field odds are provided in FanDuel's Florida Derby preview.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.