HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – One hundred days after winning his maiden under a $16,000 claiming tag, Maximum Security became a Grade 1 winner and established himself as one of the leading contenders for the Kentucky Derby after cruising to a relatively easy 3 1/2 length victory over the 71-1 Bodexpress in Saturday’s $1 million Florida Derby at Gulfstream Park. Maximum Security, who followed his easy 9 3/4-length maiden win on Dec. 20 with a pair of similarly one-sided starter-allowance victories, got away with a relatively pedestrian pace in the Florida Derby under jockey Luis Saez.  Maximum Security broke alertly and quickly set up shop on the front end while posting splits of 24.42 and 48.98 seconds for the opening quarter and half-mile while stalked by Bodexpress, who entered the race a maiden after four starts. Maximum Security readily spurted away from Bodexpress when finally set down by Saez entering the stretch, quickly opened a comfortable advantage, and was never threatened thereafter while kept under steady urging to the end.                                                       Bodexpress, beaten a neck in a well graded, seven-furlong maiden special weight dash in his previous start, was put to a drive by jockey Nik Juarez on the second turn but proved no match for the winner while finishing 3 1/4 lengths clear of Fountain of Youth winner Code of Honor for second. :: DERBY WATCH: Top 20 Kentucky Derby contenders with comments from Jay Privman and Mike Watchmaker Bourbon War, a late-running second in the Fountain of Youth, saved ground but was never a serious factor, finishing fourth, seven and one half lengths behind the winner.  Hidden Scroll, the 9-5 favorite, stalked the early pace but had no response when set down by jockey Javier Castellano after six furlongs, ultimately finishing a well-beaten sixth in a field of 11 3-year-olds. Maximum Security, a homebred son of New Year’s Day owned by Gary and Mary West and trained by Jason Servis, completed nine furlongs over a fast track in 1:48.86 and paid $11.60. Servis said going into the Florida Derby that he really didn’t know what to expect from Maximum Security, who was not only taking a giant leap in class but was stretching out beyond seven furlongs for the first time. Nor did he expect his horse to be allowed to cruise along on such an easy lead. “He’d been beating up on lesser horses, his last win was against a six-horse field, and the jury was really still out on him,” said Servis. “In fact, last week I was almost regretting I didn’t put him in with that small field in the seven-furlong Hutcheson. If he had finished sixth today, I really wouldn’t have been surprised. I also thought somebody else would take the lead and we’d tuck in behind them. I thought Luis really did a great job getting him out there and backing it up like he did. And when I saw the fractions after a half-mile, and saw him with his ears up like that, I was feeling okay.” Saez replaced Irad Ortiz Jr., who chose to keep his regular seat on Bourbon War in the Florida Derby.  Servis explained why he ran Maximum Security under a $16,000 claiming tag in his debut. “I really didn’t think he’d get claimed,” said Servis. “He’s a homebred, it wasn’t like he was a $100,000 yearling or something, I had the bug on him, and he had a few things going on that I don’t want to get into right now. I claim a lot of horses, and to me he wouldn’t have been attractive.” Servis said he’d talk to the Wests and their racing managers, but gave every indication the former claimer will be on his way to Churchill Downs for the Kentucky Derby. Maximum Security earned 100 points for his Florida Derby victory under the system Churchill uses to determine starters for the Run for the Roses. “I guess this is going to ruin my fishing plans in May,” Servis said with a smile. “I always felt God had a plan, that we could be the first two brothers to win the Kentucky Derby. It may not be this year, but I’ll be trying.” Servis’s brother John won the Kentucky Derby in 2004 with Smarty Jones.      Trainer Shug McGaughey felt the slow pace put his horse, Code of Honor, at a big disadvantage and said he is not ruling the Kentucky Derby out at this point. “Our horse kind of had a spotty run into the first turn and the pace didn’t help any, the horse in front led all the way,” said McGaughey. “That isn’t going to happen in the Derby.” Trainer Bill Mott said Hidden Scroll, a sensational maiden winner in his debut earlier in the meet, was off the Derby trail following a second straight disappointing effort. He finished a tiring fourth as the 6-5 favorite four weeks earlier in the Fountain of Youth. “I thought he was having a good enough trip, I know the pace wasn’t that fast, but we were still close enough to the pace,” said Mott. “If the horse beats us a head or a neck, you say maybe it would have been nice to take him on earlier. I can’t give him that excuse." As for Hidden Scroll’s future plans, Mott said "We’ll start over, which is probably what most sensible trainers would have done in the very beginning anyway. We probably bit off more than we could chew.” – additional reporting by David Grening