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2014 Florida Derby Results: Constitution rallies for the win

Todd Pletcher has another Kentucky Derby hopeful as Constitution edges Wildcat Red to win the Florida Derby.

Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

Constitution, in his first race against graded stakes company, snuck through along the rail and edged out pacesetter Wildcat Red at the wire to win the Grade 1 Florida Derby and lock up a place in the 2014 Kentucky Derby. General a Rod finished third while Cairo Prince, the 6/5 favorite at post time, finished a very disappointing fourth.

Wildcat Red broke well and grabbed a one length lead over General a Rod through the first six furlongs. Constitution, rank early and tossing his head repeatedly as he ran in to the first turn, eventually settled into the third position during the run down the backstretch. As the field his the top of the lane, Constitution and Javier Castellano dove down to the rail where he made his wining move to the front of the field.

Morning line favorite Cairo Prince raced in mid-pack during the early stages of the race and appeared to gain some momentum as the field neared the far turn. As the field entered the far turn, the crowd's choice found himself just two and a half lengths from the lead and in what appeared to be a good position to make a move to the leaders. But Cairo Prince would get no closer to the front as he flattened out in deep stretch and finished three and a half lengths behind the winner.

Constitution is a three-year-old colt by Tapit out of a Distorted Humor mare (Baffled), trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Javier Castellano. With his victory in the Florida Derby, Constitution picks up 100 points on the road to the 2014 Kentucky Derby. Along with attempting to win a Kentucky Derby, Constitution will attempt to break the "Curse of Apollo" at Churchill Downs; no horse has won the Derby without racing as a two-year-old since Apollo in 1882. 1882

Overall, the results of the Florida Derby were pretty much in line with the opinions of the bettors; the top four betting interests finished in the superfecta, while the four longest shots on the board made up the last four finishers at the wire.

Below are the results from the 2014 Florida Derby:

Horse Win Place Show
4-Constitution $8.60 $4.20 $3.60
1-Wildcat Red
$4.80 $3.40
6-General a Rod

$3.40
Base Bet Combo Payout Pays to -
$1.00 Exacta 4/1 $19.10
$0.50 Trifecta 4/1/6 $26.50
$0.10 Superfecta 4/1/6/3 $9.54
$1.00 Double 10/4 $34.90
$1.00 Pick 3 11/10/4 $232.00 3-of-3
$0.50 Pick 4 5/11/10/5 $1,571.65 4-of-4
$0.50 Pick 5 2/5/11/10/4 $11,777.75 5-of-5
$0.20 Pick 6 2/2/5/11/10/4 $43,217.26 6-of-6
Distance Fractions Internal
1/4: 24.01 24.01
1/2: 48.19 24.18
3/4: 1:12.00 23.81
Mile: 1:36.46 24.46
Finish: 1:49.16 12.70