Florida Derby 2021 Entries: Greatest Honour leads field of 11

The 2021 Florida Derby sees several interesting angles with Greatest Honour looking to backup his wins at the Holy Bull and Fountain of Youth to cement his position as one of the very top Kentucky Derby contenders. Bob Baffert has sent Spielberg across the country as the experienced three-year-old continues to show some Derby potential and what about Mark Casse and Soup and Sandwich?

Our editor takes a quick look at the field after the Post Position draw this lunchtime as 11 three-year-olds have been drawn into the field.

It would be fair to say that even before seeing the Morning Line Odds - Greatest Honour is the three-year-old to beat in this one. When the Morning Line odds popped up on the screen and he was as short as 6-5 - that was a bit of a surprise however.

Having already ensured a spot in the Run for the Roses on May 1, the Tapit colt is looking to sow up three wins on the spin at Gulfstream in the Spring Derby Preps. With many people (including myself) being a bit down on the quality of horse that have trod the Florida Road so far this season - this has led to me being just a little bit down on his chances in the big one. A win on Saturday though would go some way to alleviating those concerns. Deserves to go off as favorite but tough to back at a short price. He's been drawn into PP 7.

Throughout the week in the buildup to the Florida Derby, the horse with the most column inches that has entered hasn't even stepped foot on the track in a Graded Stakes race yet. Mark Casse has brought Into Mischief colt Soup and Sandwich to Gulfstream and he has some legitimate buzz surrounding him. His 89 Beyer in his debut matches the best we've seen from presumed favorite here Greatest Honour. Lots of chatter around and this three-year-old is maturing nicely and he may well be one to watch as a potential long shot for Churchill Downs five or so weeks from now. You have to love his pedigree so they'll be plenty of takers but his opening line of 20-1 is way too long. Expect that to be significantly shorter come Post Time.

Spielberg might be the most experienced horse on the 2021 Kentucky Derby Trail. The Bob Baffert horse is the 4-1 second favorite and goes from Post Position 10. Saturday will be his seventh run in a race that offers up Derby points following a win at Los Alamitos for the Los Al Futurity, two second places at Del Mar (DM Futurity) and Oaklawn (Southwest), a third place at Santa Anita in the American Pharoah and two fourth places in California at SA and Del Mar for the Robert B. Lewis and Bob Hope respectively. Early on he was tabbed as a real Derby horse to watch but since drifted away. That second-place last time out in the slop at Oaklawn in the Southwest though really grabbed my attention. That was by far his best run and showed he had more stamina than I initially thought. The fact Baffert likes him enough to send him across the county indicates he may well be thinking he's in the mix.

Nova Rags chased home Candy Man Rocket at the Sam F. Davis last time out and Papetu grabbed a handful of qualification points at the previous two Gulfstream prep races. Neither horse should be discounted to do something on Saturday but they are a notch below the big three in the field.

Another Into Mischief colt in the field is Saffie Joseph's Collaborate. He may not have received the column inches of fellow Stakes Race debutante in Soup and Sandwich but is another really intriguing prospect. He looks like an absolute tank and whilst top speed is certainly a question mark - if he gets into the lead late then it will be tough to chase him down. I would not be shocked if some smart money comes in for this horse late. He opens as short as 6-1 which seems like the price I expected for the other hot name out there Soup and Sandwich.

Known Agenda opens as 5-1 as the third place finisher at the Remsen and the fifth place finisher at the Sam F. Davis is clearly liked a lot more after his Allowance race victory at Gulfstream in late February.

All in all this should the best race on the Florida Road so far in 2021.

Our in-house handicapper will preview the race later in the week and our turf-man will provide in his in-depth horse-by-horse analysis of the race as well so we have your Florida Derby needs covered right here on HorseRacing.net