HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – A trio of highly competitive turf stakes, one for 3-year-olds and two for 4-year-olds and up, are among the variety of offerings Saturday on the huge Fountain of Youth card at Gulfstream Park, where a lengthy spell of warm and dry weather can be expected to have the turf course very firm. The newly christened Colonel Liam (formerly the Palm Beach) for 3-year-olds is the first of nine stakes on the day. It goes as race 5 (post 12:58 p.m. Eastern) and will be followed as the afternoon unfolds by a pair of graded events for older horses, the Grade 3 Canadian Turf (race 8, 2:29) and Grade 2 Mac Diarmida (race 13, 5:09). Here’s a rundown: Mac Diarmida Mike Maker has carved out quite a record for himself over the last decade or so with older stakes horses going long on the turf – and to no one’s surprise, the veteran trainer will send out three starters in the $200,000 Mac Diarmida, which will be run around three turns at 1 3/8 miles. :: Get ready for Gulfstream Park racing with DRF Past Performances, Picks, and Clocker Reports.  Maker swept the trifecta in the last local race in this niche, the W.L. McKnight on Jan. 28, but of course he’ll be hard-pressed to repeat that remarkable feat Saturday. The winner that day, Red Knight, is being withheld in favor of the April 1 Pan American, leaving Maker with Value Engineering and Wicked Fast, the respective 2-3 McKnight finishers, along with Bemma’s Boy. They’re among an oversubscribed field of 13; only as many as 12 are allowed to start. Value Engineering (post 10, Jose Ortiz) launched a sustained rally from mid-pack to find himself on the lead in deep stretch of the 1 1/2-mile McKnight, only to be passed late by Red Knight. His Beyer Speed Figure of 94 was just a shade below what the likely Mac Diarmida favorite, Highest Honors (post 1, Irad Ortiz Jr.), earned in his last three starts of 2022 for Chad Brown. Still, Highest Honors hasn’t won in more than a year, and figures to be a lukewarm choice at best while facing challenges from the Maker trio and other corners. Astronaut (post 7, Luis Saez) is one of those top threats, having earned back-to-back triple-digit Beyers in his last two starts, both over the Aqueduct turf. His 102 earned in a front-running 15-1 upset of the Grade 2 Red Smith in late November in his latest represents a career high. “His last two races were really good,” said his trainer, Tom Albertrani. “We gave him a little break and freshened him up and he’s been working really well. We’re really excited to have him in Saturday.” Other possibilities include Master Piece, the Chilean-bred winner of the Grade 2 Eddie Read last summer at Del Mar, and Abaan, the 2022 McKnight winner, who’ll need to reverse his recent form. This is the 27th running of the Mac Diarmida, which is named for the 1978 turf champion trained by the late Scotty Schulhofer. Canadian Turf Emmanuel scarcely could have looked better in setting the course record of 1:39.25 for 1 1/16 miles over the Tampa Bay Downs turf in winning the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes with a 98 Beyer last month following a six-month layoff. His trainer, Todd Pletcher, can only hope the 4-year-old colt doesn’t bounce off that huge effort. “This is back a little quick off the Tampa race,” said Pletcher, “but he ran well and came out of it in great shape. We felt running back here was nice spacing for the Maker’s Mark Mile or Woodford Reserve [Turf Classic],” a pair of Grade 1 turf races this spring in Kentucky. With Javier Castellano back to ride, Emmanuel will break from post 3 in a field of 10 in the $150,000 Canadian Turf, to be run at 1 1/16 miles. At this time last year, Emmanuel was on the Triple Crown trail, but his connections bypassed the Kentucky Derby following a third-place finish in the Blue Grass Stakes, noting his pedigree – he’s by the noted turf sire More Than Ready – when eventually moving him over to the grass. :: Get Gulfstream Park Clocker Reports from Mike Welsch and the Clocker Team. Available every race day.  Pletcher has a second contender here in Steady On (post 10, Irad Ortiz Jr.), whose last two starts came in off-turf races over Tapeta. The 4-year-old colt owns a nice body of work, and the fact Ortiz takes the mount may be the signal that he’s live. Among those opposing the Pletcher pair are English Bee (post 1, Luis Saez), a last-out allowance winner as a first-time gelding, and Safe Conduct (post 8, Emma-Jayne Wilson), winner of the 2021 Queen’s Plate. Safe Conduct “got a well-needed break” following his last race nearly five months ago, said trainer Phil Serpe. “He’s come back really well. It’s probably the best I’ve seen him since he won the Queen’s Plate.” Notably absent from the Canadian Turf lineup is Atone, winner of the Grade 1 Pegasus World Cup Turf on Jan. 28 for Maker. He’s been maintaining a steady work pattern at Gulfstream while being aimed at the richer Kentucky races. Colonel Liam While saving Major Dude for the Jeff Ruby Steaks later this month, Pletcher still will have three of the nine 3-year-olds in the $200,000 Colonel Liam, the only ungraded event among the nine Saturday stakes. Major Dude was a last-out winner of the Kitten’s Joy, a Feb. 4 race in which another Pletcher trainee, the British-bred Dude N Colorado, was a decent third after leading most of the way in his first try outside of the maiden ranks. Dude N Colorado gets Irad Ortiz Jr. breaking from post 9 in this one-mile race. Ok Boomer (post 2, Luis Saez) and Santorini (post 6, Joel Rosario) are the other Pletcher runners. Both are making their stakes debut, with Ok Boomer having gone 2 for 2 so far, both on turf, and Santorini having knocked out his maiden condition with an eye-catching 87 Beyer making his grass debut in his latest. Belouni (post 3, Tyler Gaffalione) probably rates the closest look among the rest, even with this being his North American debut after going 2 for 4 in France. He is now in the shed row of Chad Brown, whose acumen with Euro shippers is well documented. Others in the mix are the Mark Casse pair of Boppy O and Webslinger, as well as Bluebirds Over, winner of the Grade 3 Grey Stakes over the Woodbine Tapeta when last seen. The Colonel Liam honors the recently retired two-time (2021-22) winner of the Pegasus Turf for Pletcher and owners Robert and Lawana Low. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.