2025 Fountain of Youth Stakes Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

South Florida’s spur of the Kentucky Derby trail continues Saturday, March 1, with the Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida. The race offers a $400,000 purse as well as 50-25-15-10-5 Road to the Kentucky Derby points to the first five finishers.

That’s enough to virtually guarantee the winner a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate, and even other horses who run well are in a good position to make it to Churchill Downs if they run well in another prep.

The Fountain of Youth, named for the mythical Florida spring of immortality, is the final local prep race for the Florida Derby. A field of eight has been entered for the race, including a pair of graded-stakes winners. Those include Holy Bull (G3) winner Burnham Square and Street Sense (G3) winner Sovereignty.

This race has a long history of producing important Kentucky Derby prospects. Orb (2013) is the most recent Fountain of Youth winner to take the roses as well. Others who have parlayed Fountain of Youth success into Kentucky Derby wins include Tim Tam (1958), Kauai King (1966), Spectacular Bid (1979), and Thunder Gulch (1995). Some recent Fountain of Youth winners have also seen success in other jewels of the Triple Crown: Dornoch (2024) and Union Rags (2012) are both Belmont Stakes winners.

Fountain of Youth Stakes 2025 Information

• Race Date: Saturday, March 1, 2025
• Track: Gulfstream Park
• Post Time: 5:44 p.m. Eastern Standard Time
• Distance: 1 1/16 miles
• Age/Sex: three-year-olds
• Where to Watch: FanDuel TV, CNBC
• Where to Bet: FanDuel Racing

Fountain of Youth Stakes Odds

This is the field for the Fountain of Youth Stakes. It includes post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Fountain of Youth Stakes Prep Results

All eight horses come into this Kentucky Derby prep out of different last-out races. Only one horse last raced in the Holy Bull, the traditional local prep for this race: Burnham Square, who won the race and comes back for more seasoning in the Fountain of Youth.

Four others come out of stakes races. The only horse other than Burnham Square who is coming out of a graded-stakes race is Sovereignty, who makes his first start since winning the Street Sense at Churchill Downs on October 27. Two others come out of ungraded stakes at Gulfstream Park: Gate to Wire won the Swale on February 1, while McKellen will try to bounce back from a sixth in the Mucho Macho Man on January 4. Keep It Easy has freshened up since winning the 6 ½-furlong Ed Brown Stakes at Churchill Downs on November 30.

The other three come out of victories in non-stakes company at Gulfstream Park. River Thames beat open allowance-optional claiming company at a mile on the dirt on February 1. Neoequos cleared his Florida-bred first-level condition in a six-furlong sprint on January 23. Solid Left graduated at second asking over the same 1 1/16-mile distance as the Fountain of Youth on January 26, making him the only horse in the field who faces winners for the first time.

Fountain of Youth Stakes Contenders

These are the contenders in the Fountain of Youth Stakes, organized by post position:

1. Gate to Wire: Trained by Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher, he has tactical speed and his first try on dirt was a promising one. He tracked the pace and drew off to win by five lengths in the Swale over this course on February 1 in fast fashion. However, the question will be how much he wants two turns. On one hand, he is out of a Street Cry mare and owners Donegal Racing have a proven history of seeking out horses with route pedigrees. On the other hand, he is by Munnings, a sire who has produced some two-turn horses but many of his progeny hit their sweet spot at trips like that seven-furlong Swale.
2. Sovereignty: Trainer Bill Mott saw fit to try him in the Street Sense in October even though he was still a maiden at the time. The public sent him off as the favorite, and Sovereignty obliged, skipping clear to win by five lengths and break his maiden in that Grade 3 race. The late-running style he showed in that race is a concern at Gulfstream since it can play so well to speed, but on the other hand, he sat closer to the pace two back, meaning he has some chance of adapting to Gulfstream.
3. Burnham Square: He has run well in all four of his starts, and his last two wins have come over the same course and distance of the Fountain of Youth: 1 1/16 miles on the Gulfstream dirt. He has improved through each of his four career starts, and his two career wins have come in his two starts with blinkers. He is improving consistently, and if he takes another step forward he’ll be tough to beat. Even if he runs back to his last, he will be a serious contender.
4. McKellen: He broke his maiden at the one-turn mile at Gulfstream Park, then finished a good second behind Disco Time in an allowance at Churchill next out. Disco Time franked that form by winning the Lecomte (G3) at Fair Grounds in his next start. As for McKellen, though, he regressed in the Mucho Macho Man in his next start, and has freshened up for about two months. If he runs well fresh, like he did in his maidens, perhaps he can improve, though he still needs a major step forward from any of his form so far in order to be a win threat in this spot.
5. Solid Left: He was a no-show on debut at seven furlongs at Gulfstream in December, but perhaps he just needed the start. After all, next out, he stretched out to 1 1/16 miles and looked like a new horse. He won in stalk-and-pounce fashion, crossing the wire 1 ½ lengths clear. Returning to the course and distance is a positive, as is keeping Luis Saez in the irons. However, he needs to improve from a speed figure perspective, and he also needs to prove that he doesn’t need Lasix—which he used for the first time in that maiden win—to run a winning race.
6. River Thames: The less experienced of two from the Todd Pletcher barn, he has only run twice, but both of those races were good. He romped in stalk-and-pounce fashion on debut going six furlongs at Gulfstream in January, and then prompted the pace before drawing off to win a first-level allowance at a mile on February 1. John Velazquez rode both of those times, and returns for this. But, there are questions. He steps up to stakes company for the first time and will have to run without Lasix for the first time. He also has a lot of sprinter-miler pedigree, particularly on the dam’s side, meaning this could test his stamina.
7. Neoequos: He has more starts than anyone except rail-drawn Gate to Wire, but most of those have come against Florida-breds. To his credit, he did break his maiden in a sprint against open company. However, his next three starts have come in Florida-bred sprints. He chased home Florida-bred star Rated By Merit in his next two before winning a muddy allowance race in January, in his first start after a break. The big question is the distance: he’ll have to prove himself at his longest distance yet, though his pedigree interests, as does Saffie Joseph, Jr.’s strong track record with stretching horses to a route.
8. Keep It Easy: In four starts as a juvenile, this Dale Romans trainee had a good race-bad race pattern going. His last start, back in November, was his best yet: a 5 ¼-length victory in track-and-pounce fashion in a 6 ½-furlong stakes at Churchill Downs. His tactical speed should help him handle the outside post, and his pedigree suggests that the extra distance ought to move him forward. However, Romans can be hit-or-miss off the layoff, so make sure to demand a price.

Fountain of Youth Stakes Past Winners Past Performances

In the recent history of the Fountain of Youth, the key recent prep for finding winners is the obvious one: the Holy Bull. Five of the last ten winners have last raced in the Holy Bull. They don’t have to win the Holy Bull to win the Fountain of Youth, but they do have to run well. Mohaymen (2016) and Greatest Honour (2021) came out of Holy Bull wins and repeated in the Fountain of Youth, while Gunnevera (2017), Ete Indien (2020), and Simplification (2023) were second in that prep.

Four of the other five winners in the last ten years came out of stakes races. Dornoch (2024) won it in his first start since winning the Remsen (G2) the previous year, while Forte (2023) won the Fountain of Youth in his first start since winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. Code of Honor (2019) had been fourth in the Mucho Macho Man, while Promises Fulfilled (2018) had last run third in the Kentucky Jockey Club (G2).

The other winner in the last ten years, Itsaknockout (2015), came out of an allowance win and won the Fountain of Youth in his stakes debut.

Fountain of Youth Stakes Undercard

The Fountain of Youth Stakes is the 13th of 14 races on Gulstream’s Saturday card. The card is one of the biggest of the Gulfstream Park Championship Meet, with nine stakes, including eight graded. One of them is a 50-point Kentucky Oaks prep, the $200,000 Davona Dale (G2).

Other stakes on the card include the $200,000 Mac Diarmida (G2) for older turf routers, the $150,000 Honey Fox (G3) for turf mile mares, the $200,000 Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) for older dirt horses, the $200,000 Herecomesthebride (G3) for three-year-old turf mile fillies, the $150,000 Canadian Turf (G3) for older middle-distance turf horses, the $150,000 Very One (G3) for older turf route mares, and the $200,000 Colonel Liam for three-year-old turf milers.

With classy racing and big fields all day long, make sure to stay tuned to Gulfstream Park on FanDuel TV and to bet the card through FanDuel!

Gulfstream Park

Gulfstream Park is the historic racetrack that hosts the Florida Derby, one of the major preps for the Kentucky Derby, each year. It is the only American racetrack that offers all three racing surfaces: conventional dirt, turf, and a synthetic Tapeta surface. The outer track is a dirt course measuring one and one-eighth miles around, complete with a chute that allows for classic one-turn dirt mile races. The next track inward is a one-mile and seventy-yard Tapeta track that opened in 2021. The inner course is a seven-furlong turf track.

Gulfstream Park has hosted many major races over the years, including the Breeders’ Cup in 1989, 1992, and 1999. In 2017, the race ran the rich Pegasus World Cup for the first time, which was at one time the world’s richest horse race. But the Florida Derby, run along the road to the Kentucky Derby, remains Gulfstream Park’s most established and famous race.

Fountain of Youth Stakes FAQ

Q: When is the Fountain of Youth Stakes?

A: The Fountain of Youth Stakes happens Saturday, March 1 at 5:44 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. It is the 13th of 14 races on Saturday’s stakes-laden card.

Q: Where is the Fountain of Youth Stakes?

A: It takes place at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Fountain of Youth Stakes?

A: Todd Pletcher leads all trainers with four wins in the Fountain of Youth. Those winners include Scat Daddy (2007), Eskendereya (2010), Itsaknockout (2015), and Forte (2023). Pletcher can make it five wins if either Gate to Wire or River Thames wins in 2025.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Fountain of Youth Stakes?

A: The 2-1 morning-line favorite is River Thames for trainer Todd Pletcher. It would be no surprise to see him well bet after his impressive allowance victory on February 1. However, make sure to respect action on Burnham Square, 5-2 second choice on the morning line. He comes out of a good-looking win in the local prep, though may escape action since his trainer Ian Wilkes is a little more under-the-radar than Pletcher.

Q: Who is the best Fountain of Youth Stakes jockey?

A: Jockey John Velazquez leads all riders with five wins in the Fountain of Youth between 2007 and 2019, most notably with Kentucky Derby winner Orb (2013). He can win his sixth with River Thames in 2025.

Q: Who won the 2024 Fountain of Youth Stakes?

A: Dornoch won the 2024 edition of the Fountain of Youth for trainer Danny Gargan and jockey Luis Saez. Gargan does not have an entrant in 2025, though Saez returns with Solid Left for trainer Brian Lynch.

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