HALLANDALE BEACH, Fla. – The complexion of the $400,000 Fountain of Youth Stakes changed dramatically at scratch time Saturday morning when likely favorite Locked and the promising maiden Victory Avenue were both declared from the race. The scratches left Remsen Stakes winner Dornoch and sensational local maiden winner Speak Easy – Locked’s uncoupled stablemate from the barn of trainer Todd Pletcher – to vie for favoritism in the Grade 2 fixture for 3-year-olds. The 1 1/16-mile Fountain of Youth is the second in a series of three important Kentucky Derby preps decided here each season during the Championship meet, culminating with the $1 million Florida Derby on March 30. The Fountain of Youth offers 105 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to be meted out on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis and is the finale on a 14-race program that begins at 11:15 a.m. The outstanding card features eight other stakes, including the main event’s filly counterpart, the Grade 2, $200,000 Davona Dale, that features the 3-year-old debut of reigning juvenile filly champion Just F Y I. Post time for the Fountain of Youth is listed for 6:10 p.m. Dornoch won his maiden in his third start, by 6 1/2 lengths, making his two-turn debut on Oct. 14 at Keeneland, although he was already stakes-placed at the time having finished second behind Pletcher’s Noted in the one-mile Sapling at Monmouth Park in his previous start. He then vaulted to the upper echelon of the division after out-gaming Sierra Leone to win the Grade 2 Remsen at Aqueduct by a nose in his 2-year-old finale despite bumping into the inner rail in upper stretch and relinquishing the lead to that rival briefly near midstretch. That performance was later flattered when Sierra Leone came back to win the Grade 2 Risen Star to start his 3-year-old season two weeks ago at Fair Grounds. :: KENTUCKY DERBY 2024: Derby Watch, point standings, prep schedule, news, and more “He’s sound, he’s doing good, he’s switching his leads,” trainer Danny Gargan said of Dornoch. “We debated taking blinkers off him, we worked him a couple of times without them, but Luis [Saez] said we better keep something on him because when he get to the front he’s still looking around a bit. Hopefully, he outgrows that in his next two races.” Gargan has worked Dornoch five times at his winter home at the Palm Meadows training center in preparation for the Fountain of Youth. “I have him pretty fit, he can win, but I think he’ll run better the next time I run him and the next time,” Gargan said. “I’m just hoping his best race is in May and not March.” Speak Easy – who is owned in partnership by his breeder, WinStar Farm, and Siena Farm – also was entered in a nine-furlong, entry-level allowance race for Friday but after debating the two choices for several days, his connections announced early Thursday their intention to put their potential Kentucky Derby prospect up against stakes competition in just his second career start. “After talking it through with Todd, we made the decision to run in the Fountain of Youth,” said Elliott Walden, president and CEO of racing operations for WinStar. “Obviously, the Fountain of Youth is a little stronger race but we have Irad [Ortiz Jr.], he’s doing very well, and the race is at 1 1/16 miles, which we preferred to the 1 1/8 miles of Friday’s race for his first start around two turns.” Walden added that the bonus of the potential for Speak Easy to earn valuable Kentucky Derby points in the Fountain of Youth was not a key element in the decision. “It’s more about the opportunity to put a race on his resume than chasing the points right now,” Walder explained. “If he’s good enough, he’ll get the points in the next one.” :: Access morning workout reports straight from the tracks and get an edge with DRF Clocker Reports Speak Easy, who drew the advantageous inside post in races decided at 1 1/16 miles at Gulfstream Park, owns the highest Beyer Speed Figure of any member of the Fountain of Youth field, a 100 he received for defeating Victory Avenue when making his debut going seven furlongs here Jan. 27.  With the speedy Victory Avenue now out of the race, Speak Easy could ultimately prove the one to catch in his stakes debut.  “He obviously ran fast enough to show he belongs in a stakes, and the fact he drew the rail makes it more enticing to run him there [rather than the allowance race] than if he had drawn outside,” Pletcher noted. :: Subscribe to the DRF Post Time Email Newsletter: Get the news you need to play today's races!  The remainder of the field will include Frankie’s Empire and Le Dom Bro, first and second respectively in the Swale Stakes on Feb.3; the Grade 1-placed Dancing Groom; and recent allowance winner Real Macho. Merit also scratched after having run second behind Conquest Warrior in Friday’s allowance headliner. – additional reporting by David Grening :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.