Tom Pedulla presents five key takeaways from an exciting Saturday of racing action that included the $1 million Curlin Florida Derby presented by Hill 'n' Dale Farms at Xalapa and the $1.25 million Arkansas Derby.

Each key Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve prep race was run at 1 1/8 miles and was worth 200 qualifying points for the run for the roses. The top five finishers were awarded points on a 100-40-30-20-10 basis.

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ALL HEART: Everyone knew Forte possessed talent. He displayed that in abundance when he swept three consecutive Grade 1 races, capped by the FanDuel Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Presented by TAA, to earn the 2-year-old crown. His determined one-length victory in Saturday’s Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park was a magnificent display of heart. The win required a prolonged drive from post-position 11 and then Forte had to find even more after Mage blew past him around the final turn. “He came by me at the eighth pole and he looked beaten,” trainer Todd Pletcher said. “Then, if you would have told me at that point that he was going to win by a length with his ears pricked, I would have said, ‘No, couldn’t do that.’ ” Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. said of Forte’s reaction to Mage, “When he feel that horse, he jump on the bit. I say, ‘All right, now he give me a great feeling like I have some horse. Beautiful.’ ”

WORK IN PROGRESS: Mage, making his third career start, did well to miss by a mere length to the seasoned Forte in the Florida Derby. But he would need to grow up in a hurry to turn the tables against him in Kentucky. Despite being schooled at the gate twice after his fourth-place effort in the March 4 Fountain of Youth Stakes, he again broke slowly, to the consternation of trainer Gustavo Delgado and his son, Gustavo Delgado Jr. “We expected a better break from the gate. That was key,” said Delgado Jr., who assists his father. “It happened again. It can’t happen in a race like the Derby.” Delgado has been a runner-up in the Florida Derby three times now. Majesto was the first to do it, having just broken his maiden in 2016. Bodexpress came in second as a maiden three years later.

HUGE DAY: Florida Derby day was a huge one for the Ortiz Brothers. Irad Ortiz Jr. and Jose Ortiz combined to sweep 10 of the 14 races on the card, with Irad bringing home six of those. Irad is the reigning Eclipse Award winner as outstanding jockey in North America. Few riders could have found a way to overcome post-position 11 as Irad did with Forte in the Florida Derby. The post had yielded only two winners from 49 starters at Gulfstream Park at a mile and an eighth since 2008 due to the almost impossible combination of a quick run into the first turn and a short stretch. Irad found a way. “Irad rode a terrific race. He rode the race that he had to ride,” winning trainer Todd Pletcher said.

Arkansas Derby day crowd. (Eclipse Sportswire)

ALL ALBAUGH: Albaugh Family Stables, based in Iowa, is dedicated to buying horses with the potential to compete in classic races and developing them into those kinds of runners. They are hardly alone in that mission, which is difficult to begin with. Thanks to the keen eye of racing manager Jason Loutsch and the team he formed to work the sales and then train the prospects, Albaugh could have as many as three horses in the Kentucky Derby in Arkansas Derby winner Angel of Empire, third-place Florida Derby finisher Cyclone Mischief, and Jace’s Road, third in the Twinspires.com Louisiana Derby. “To have three potential starters in the Kentucky Derby is a dream come true. I just can’t hardly believe it,” Loutsch said.

TAKING HER TIME: Godolphin’s Wet Paint became only the second filly in history to sweep Oaklawn Park’s series of prep races for 3-year-old fillies aiming for the Longines Kentucky Oaks when she rallied from last to win the 1 1/16-mile Fantasy Stakes on Saturday. She had previously won the Jan. 28 Martha Washington Stakes and the Feb. 25 Honeybee Stakes. She was still toward the back of the pack through three-quarters of a mile in the Fantasy for jockey Flavien Prat. Once she gets moving, she is a sight to behold. “She’s able to win nice races and graded stakes and she doesn’t need to be involved in the race early,” winning trainer Brad Cox said. “Flavien came back and said, ‘Wow, her turn of foot is really devastating.’ She’s kind of like a grass horse. When you ask her to go, she really, really accelerates.” She bested Taxed by 2 ½ lengths in the Fantasy.