HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Union Rags is already the Kentucky Derby favorite. That may change depending on what he does Saturday.
Union Rags will almost certainly be sent off as the huge favorite to win Saturday’s Florida Derby, a $1 million, Grade 1 test that typically serves as one of the top prep races before the Kentucky Derby. He’s trained by Michael Matz, perhaps best known for training 2006 Kentucky Derby champion Barbaro.
Matz says Union Rags can still improve, and that may sound scary to those in other barns right now.
Union Rags has won four of his five lifetime starts, beaten only by a head by Hansen in last year’s Breeders’ Cup Juvenile. His only race as a 3-year-old was also at Gulfstream, an easy victory in the Fountain of Youth.
