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16-562: The inaugural running of the event was on 2 March 1986, on the last day of a 71-day annual winter meeting as the Gulfstream Park Breeders Cup Handicap , the tenth race on the under-card of Florida Derby day. The event had additional sponsorship from the Breeders' Cup which gave the event immediate recognition and value. The event was won by Craig B. Singer's Irish-bred five-year-old Sondrio who started at odds of 7/1 and ran

32-537: A $ 500,000 entry fee with the organizer adding an extra $ 1,000,000 for a total purse of $ 7,000,000. In the 2020 edition, the race adopted the Invitational format and entry fees were suppressed, so the purse was limited to the organizer contribution. Time record: Margins: Most wins: Most wins by an owner: Most wins by a jockey : Most wins by a trainer : Legend:    Turf    Dirt Notes: § Ran as an entry † In

48-563: A 15-length deficit. The betting favorite, Needles won the 1956 Kentucky Derby by coming from 16th place in a field of 17 to make up 24 lengths and win "going away". His victory marked the first time a Florida-bred horse won America's most prestigious horse race. In the Preakness Stakes , the next leg of the U.S. Triple Crown races at Pimlico Race Course , Needles finished second to the Calumet Farm colt Fabius , whom he had beaten in

64-419: The 1 + 1 ⁄ 16 miles distance in 1:40.60 winning by 2 + 1 ⁄ 4 lengths. The following year the event was held on the dirt track due to the condition of the turf track. The event had additional sponsorship from Budweiser and this reflected in the name of the race. Budweiser sponsorship continued for nine years ceasing after the 1995 running of the event. The event was upgraded in 1990 by

80-534: The American Graded Stakes Committee to a Grade III race. In 1991 the distance of the event was lengthened considerably to 1 + 3 ⁄ 8 miles and the following year the event was upgraded to Grade II classification. In 1994 the event was transferred to the dirt track and held over a distance of 1 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles. After the 2007 running of the event the Breeders' Cup ceased to sponsor

96-1026: The Flamingo Stakes was known as the Florida Derby. In total, 21 winners of the Florida Derby have gone on to win one or more Triple Crown Classics (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Belmont Stakes). Kentucky Derby Winners: Needles (1956), Tim Tam (1958), Carry Back (1961), Northern Dancer (1964), Forward Pass (1968), Spectacular Bid (1979), Swale (1984), Unbridled (1990), Thunder Gulch (1995), Monarchos (2001), Barbaro (2006), Big Brown (2008), Orb (2013), Nyquist (2016), and Always Dreaming (2017). Preakness Stakes Winners: Nashua (1955), Tim Tam (1958), Bally Ache (1960), Carry Back (1961), Candy Spots (1963), Northern Dancer (1964), Forward Pass (1968), Spectacular Bid (1979), Snow Chief (1986), and Big Brown (2008). Belmont Stakes Winners: Nashua (1955), Needles (1956), Swale (1984), Thunder Gulch (1995), Empire Maker (2003), and Tiz

112-600: The Kentucky Derby , which is held on the first Saturday in May. Thus the Florida Derby is currently run either at the end of March or the beginning of April. Added to the racing schedule in 1952, the Grade I race is run at 1 + 1 ⁄ 8 miles on the dirt. The purse was increased to $ 1 million in 2011 but was reduced to $ 750,000 for 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . The purse

128-511: The Kentucky Derby ; that year he also won the Belmont Stakes . Needles was a bay colt bred and raised in Ocala, Florida . He was the descendant of Blenheim and a son and grandson of Kentucky Derby winners Ponder and Pensive. Needles was a sickly foal who was given his name because of the numerous veterinary injections he was given to overcome broken ribs and pneumonia . Needles' dam Noodle Soup

144-457: The 2010 running of the event Take The Points was first past but was disqualified for interference in the straight and placed fifth and Court Vision was declared the winner. Florida Derby The Florida Derby is an American Thoroughbred horse race for three-year-old horses held annually at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach, Florida . Since 2005, it has been run five weeks before

160-559: The Derby. Needles came back in New York to win the grueling one and a half-mile Belmont Stakes , the final and longest leg of the Triple Crown races. Career Boy finished second and Fabius ran third. Needles earned another championship as three-year-old colt in 1956. At age four, Needles started three times, finishing 1, 2, and 3. His 1957 racing season ended early following an injury. Needles

176-457: The Law (2020). Speed Record: Most wins by an owner: Most wins by a jockey : Most wins by a trainer : Largest margin of victory: Shortest priced winners: Longest priced winner: Needles (horse) Needles (April 29, 1953 – October 15, 1984) was an American Hall of Fame Champion Thoroughbred racehorse . In 1956, he became the first Florida-bred horse to win

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192-608: The event and the event was known as the Gulfstream Park Turf Handicap. In 2009 the distance of the event was decreased by two furlongs to 1 + 1 ⁄ 8 miles. In 2019 Gulfstream Park Administration created a racing series called the Pegasus World Cup and this event was rebranded as the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational . In the first edition, each entrant's connections had to pay

208-503: The race five weeks before the Kentucky Derby. This was originally believed to be a liability, as the preferred spacing of races is typically three to four weeks. When Barbaro won the 2006 Kentucky Derby , the five-week spacing began to be viewed as a potentially positive feature, allowing a horse to come into the Kentucky Derby well rested. In 1977, a large field resulted in the race being run in two divisions. Between 1926 and 1937,

224-417: Was a descendant of the influential Irish broodmare Golden Harp . Owned by Jack Dudley and Bonnie Heath who raced as the D & H Stable, at age two Needles won six of ten starts, including the prestigious Hopeful Stakes . His performances that year earned him the 1955 championship as two-year-old colt. Ridden by David Erb , Needles was a crowd favorite for his come-from-behind style, sometimes overcoming

240-464: Was once again increased to $ 1 million in 2022. The Florida Derby was first run in 1952. It has long been a prestigious prep race for the Kentucky Derby and since 2013 has been part of the official Road to the Kentucky Derby . The race was originally run in early to mid-March and Kentucky Derby hopefuls would then run in another major prep race in April. In 2005, Gulfstream Park shifted its scheduling to run

256-612: Was sent to stand at stud at owner Bonnie Heath's breeding farm in Marion County, Florida . Needles' success in racing sparked a boom in Florida horse breeding. Among others, it produced notable runners such as Carry Back and Affirmed . Needles died in 1984 at the age of 31. His heart and hooves are buried in the Garden of Champions at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Company Pavilion. In 2000, he

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