The Florida Derby, run this Saturday, will kick off the final round of Kentucky Derby prep races. These are the big ones: the Blue Grass Stakes, the Wood Memorial, the Santa Anita Derby. The fields in these races will be serious, and there will be a lot of money on the line.

The $1 million Florida Derby is being run later than in previous years, and has taken on even more importance than usual. Last year, Friends Lake took advantage of a tiring track surface to win the race on March 13; he didn’t race again until the Derby, in which he finished 15th.The Cliff’s Edge closed hard to come in third, and went on to win the Blue Grass Stakes at Keeneland on April 10; he was the favorite at Churchill Downs, and he finished fifth. The previous year, it was Empire Maker, winning by 9 3/4 in the Florida Derby and then going on to toy with Funny Cide in the Wood; Funny Cide got him back, you’ll remember, in the Kentucky Derby.

This year, there’s not enough time for all that racing. Trainers who enter a horse Saturday must then train up to the Derby. This suits the growing number of trainers who are relying on morning workouts to get their horses in shape rather than races, perhaps because these animals are becoming more fragile, and races tougher.

But it’s not ideal for the horses or the bettors. Horses like competition, real racing, to get in shape. Bettors like lines of information on the past performance sheets that tell us what’s what.

All the more weight, then, is placed on these last races. If a horse has only a couple of stakes starts going into the Kentucky Derby, those results gain added importance.

The pressure starts to build on Saturday. Two of the favorites, Bandini and Closing Argument, came up with bruised feet, and they are out. Their attrition opened up the race, and nine horses are going.

The first of Nick Zito’s entries in tomorrow’s race, Noble Causeway, has the enviable first post-position. The start for 9 furlongs is right up close to the first turn, and horses with the inside track have been doing pretty well at Gulfstream this season. I like the pattern I see in Noble Causeway. Earlier this year, he was getting up from midpack to place in 7-furlong races. Zito stretched him out to 1 1 / 8 miles, and he won two in a row. But he has yet to run in stakes company.

Next to him, B.B. Best will be gunning for it. His wretched debut in the Sunshine Millions Dash on January 29 at Gulfstream was followed by a better run in the Fountain of Youth, a Grade II stakes where many of these horses met on March 5. He took the lead, and was overtaken by High Fly and Bandini. He’ll try again.

And High Fly will catch him again. Coming out of the fourth slot, High Fly is an intriguing colt. Bill Smith lost one race with him, his only defeat in five races, and subsequently lost the horse to Zito (giving the trainer his fourth Derby contender). He runs very close to the pace, and his impressive victory in the Fountain of Youth was run on the same track at the same distance. That’s very hard to ignore, and he’ll be the favorite Saturday.

The other horse to watch is Vicarage. His position in the fifth slot ought to set him up right behind the speed. He was very comfortable in that slot in the Louisiana Derby on March 12. He couldn’t catch High Limit, who took that race gate to wire, but he might take advantage of B.B. Best and High Fly murdering each other out front on Saturday.

I’m foolishly intrigued by this horse Might Mecke. He won his maiden February 12 at Gulfstream, and then earned a 95 Beyer figure holding just off the pace and scoring in the last steps of a non-wagering event on March 21. If ever there was a dark horse, he’s it.

Rounding out the field are Park Avenue Ball, who doesn’t look like he wants the distance; Papi Chullo, who won’t break his maiden here; Wallstreet Scandal, who liked the Gulfstream turf earlier this year, but was no threat against this class last out in the Louisiana Derby; and Evil Minister who is searching for someone who wants to stay up in the irons, having already been deserted by Gary Stevens and Jerry Bailey.

We start the 3-year-old season with slightly older 2-year-olds, showing us if they’re going to grow into real horses. Most of the prep season, the spring, leading up to Kentucky, is spent separating the wheat from the chaff. But from the Florida Derby on out, and we’re converting the wheat to sour mash and distilling it down to good whiskey.