46th Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs Offers 20 Derby Points

The Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs carried high stakes for 3-year-olds, with 20 Kentucky Derby qualifying points for the winner and a $250,000 purse on offer over 1 1/16 miles. Now in its 46th running, the race capped Festival Preview Day as the 11th and final heat of a card that opened at 12:10 p.m. and was scheduled to go off around 5:30 p.m. The Davis also serves as a prep for Tampa Bay’s Grade III, $400,000 ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby on March 7.

Connections stacked the entries with elite barns represented. Todd Pletcher shipped two runners, Epic Desire (No. 2 post) and Renegade (No. 6 post), while Brad Cox entered Confessional from the inside No. 1. Brian Lynch was credited with Own Almighty (also reported as Owen Almighty in some sources), listed by one outlet as the 2-1 morning-line favorite after a controversial Pasco Stakes in which he crossed first but was disqualified and placed fifth. Naughty Rascal, upgraded to the Pasco win on the DQ, entered with a 4-for-6 record and recent form that included a one-mile turf victory in the Armed Forces at Gulfstream Park.

The weekend also featured the Suncoast Stakes, a mile-and-40-yard Oaks qualifier for 3-year-old fillies offering 20-10-6-4-2 points. Pletcher’s unbeaten filly Zany was widely cited as a heavy favorite for the Suncoast, listed as Repole Stable-owned, 2-for-2 as a juvenile and coming off a dominant Grade II Demoiselle win at Aqueduct in 1:50.55. That Demoiselle time was noted as .42 seconds faster than Paladin’s Remsen time in a nearby heat, a comparison used to underline Zany’s upside. Sources conflict on the Suncoast purse - reported as $125,000 by several outlets and $150,000 by another - and the official program should be consulted for final confirmation.

Even with differing reports on field size - most outlets cited a nine-horse Sam F. Davis field while one listed 10 starters - the narrative was clear: major stables used Tampa Bay Downs to position 3-year-olds on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. Wagering editors chimed in with actionable angles; Iron Bets recommended wagering plays, including "WIN: Treaty of Rome to win at 4-1 or better," and supplied exacta matrices for bettors.

Beyond the races themselves, Tampa Bay Downs announced a track-level operational change tied to strong wagering handle: a $1,500 daily purse increase for each overnight claiming race effective Feb. 11. Nationally, the Road to the Derby conversation continued on KentuckyDerby.com’s podcast Inside the Kentucky Derby with hosts Darren Rogers and Kevin Kerstein, while other weekend preps such as the Robert B. Lewis and Withers kept the Derby picture fluid.

For fans and handicappers, the Sam F. Davis and Suncoast reshaped pecking order and futures value more than they resolved it; official entries, morning lines, and charted results should be checked in the track program or Equibase for final point allocations and postrace placements as the trail now moves toward Tampa Bay’s March showcase and the next series of Derby and Oaks qualifiers.