OLDSMAR - Three-year-old colts trained by Todd Pletcher and Brad Cox, who have combined to win the Kentucky Derby three times, comprise one-third of a nine-horse field for Saturday’s $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, one of four stakes races on Tampa Bay Downs’s annual Festival Preview Day card.
    The 46th edition of the mile-and-a-sixteenth race for 3-year-olds on the main track is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race. At stake are 20, 10, 6, 4 and 2 Run for the Roses qualifying points for the top five finishers. The Kentucky Derby is scheduled May 2 at Churchill Downs in Louisville.
    The Sam F. Davis is also the major prep race for the Oldsmar oval’s biggest race of the meet, the Grade III, $400,000 ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby, to be contested March 7.
Pletcher has two Sam F. Davis entries in Renegade and Epic Desire, who will break from the Nos. 6 and 2 post positions, respectively, while Cox has entered Confessional, who will break from the inside No. 1 post.
    Post time for the first race Saturday is 12:10 p.m. The Sam F. Davis is carded as the 11th and final race at approximately 5:30 p.m.
    It’s a busy week at Tampa Bay Downs, with an eight-race card on Thursday offering fans five consecutive days of racing. The track will also race Wednesday through Sunday next week.
    The $125,000 Suncoast Stakes, at a mile-and-40-yards for 3-year-old fillies on the main track, is a “Road to the Kentucky Oaks” points race, awarding 20, 10, 6, 4 and 2 qualifying points to the top five finishers. It is the fifth race on the card. There are eight sophomore distaffers entered, headed by unbeaten Zany, the potential-laden daughter of 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah trained by Pletcher.
    Also on tap Saturday are a pair of $125,000, 6-furlong sprint stakes for older horses. The 45th edition of the Minaret Stakes for fillies and mares 4-years-old-and-upward, which is the fourth race, has attracted six entrants, headed by 5-year-old mare Mystic Lake, a multiple-Grade II winner and career millionaire, from the barn of trainer Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.
    The remaining stakes on the card is the 42nd running of the Pelican Stakes for male sprinters 4-years-old-and-upward, which is the 10th race. Nine-time leading Tampa Bay Downs trainer Gerald Bennett has a strong hand for the Pelican with three entrants, including his three-time stakes-winning 4-year-old Florida-bred colt Naughty Rascal, who won last season’s Pasco Stakes via disqualification; 6-year-old Florida-bred gelding Chrome Ghost, winner of his last two starts; and 5-year-old stakes-placed Florida-bred gelding El Principito.
    Of course, the focus of a majority of racing fans Saturday will be on the Sam F. Davis Stakes, won by Cox and jockey Flavien Prat last year with John Hancock. Both Renegade and Confessional will be ridden by world-class jockeys, with Irad Ortiz, Jr., aboard Renegade and Prat on Confessional. Epic Desire’s jockey will be Samy Camacho.
    Prat has won the two most recent Eclipse Awards as North America’s Outstanding Jockey, with Ortiz winning the two before that and five of the previous six.
    Pletcher has won the Sam F. Davis a record seven times, including five times between 2010-2023 when the race was classified as a Grade III stakes. The conditioner’s first two Sam F. Davis victories played a vital role in the race achieving Grade III status in 2009.

    Pletcher’s first Sam F. Davis winner, Bluegrass Cat (2006), subsequently finished second in the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby, the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes and won the Grade I Haskell Invitational.
    The trainer’s Sam F. Davis winner the following year, Any Given Saturday, was second in the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby and won the Grade II Dwyer Stakes, the Grade I Haskell Invitational and the Grade II Brooklyn Handicap.
    Pletcher’s sixth Sam F. Davis winner, Destin (2016), also won that year’s Grade II Tampa Bay Derby and the Grade II Marathon Stakes Presented by TAA and was second by a nose to Creator in the Belmont Stakes.
Although Renegade is a maiden (non-winner), he is held in high regard by respected handicappers. On Oct. 17, he won a 1-mile maiden special weight race at Belmont At The Big A but was disqualified and placed second behind Paladin for a bumping incident. In the Grade II Remsen Stakes on Dec. 6 at Aqueduct, Renegade took the lead briefly in the stretch before falling victim by 2 lengths to Paladin’s late rally.
    Confessional won his career debut on Oct. 16 at Keeneland, then finished second by 5 lengths to the Pletcher-trained Nearly on Jan. 2 in an allowance/optional claiming race at Gulfstream Park. Nearly won his next start, Saturday’s Grade III Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream, winning by 5 ¾ lengths to make Confessional’s last performance better-looking.
The full field for the Sam F. Davis in post position is as follows: No. 1, Confessional, No. 2, Epic Desire; No. 3, The Puma; No. 4, Game For It; No. 5, Ocelli; No. 6, Renegade; No. 7, Wayne’s Law; No. 8, Max Capacity; and No. 9, Dr. Kapur.
Pletcher appears to have a heavy favorite for the Suncoast in Zany, who posted a 2-for-2 mark as a 2-year-old. She will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr. The Repole Stable-owned filly broke her maiden by 6 ½ lengths on Nov. 2 at Gulfstream, then went north to capture the Grade II Demoiselle Stakes on Dec. 6 at Aqueduct at the demanding mile-and-an-eighth distance. She won by 6 ½ lengths in a time of 1:50.55, .42 seconds faster than Paladin’s Remsen time six races later.

Around the oval. Tampa Bay Downs is instituting a daily purse increase of $1,500 for each overnight claiming (non-allowance) race. The increase, which will take effect with the Feb. 11 card (condition book 4), is attributable to increases in wagering handle throughout the first third of the mee

    Beth Bayer had good reason to be biased about the gray or roan filly by Taiba in her consignment for the 2026 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Company January Winter Mixed Sale.

    Not only was the newly turned yearling one of the more popular residents in Bayer’s shedrow once she arrived on the grounds, but she carried an added dose of sentiment as Bayer had bred the filly and hence, had been there for every moment of her development.

    “I bred her, I raised her…I’ve loved her since the day she was born,” Bayer said of the filly catalogued as Hip 80.

    The high opinion Bayer held of her homebred proved more than just emotions talking as the youngster headed up an outstanding day for her breeder/consignor when she sold for a sale-topping $150,000 during the one-day January Winter Mixed Sale held Jan. 27.

    In addition to selling the Taiba filly to Marc Gunderson, Bayer also consigned Hip 22, a colt by Nashville, who brought the day’s second highest price when he elicited a final bid of $140,000 to Always Dreaming. When the dust settled, Bayer had sold three of the top four prices during the session, including Hip 133, a colt by Zandon out of the winning Roman Ruler mare Built in a Day, who went to Pine Creek Ranch for $90,000.

    The market for short yearlings was expected to be solid heading into the sale, and that theory indeed held true once the bidding started. The Taiba filly proved most desirable as she is out of the winning Unbridled’s Song mare Tranquil Song and is a half sister to Isolate, a multiple group 2 winner in Dubai.

    “I loved everything about her. She just had so much class and has done everything right for me,” Bayer said. “It ended up paying off for me at the end of the day.”

    The son of Nashville Bayer brought to the auction was another who ended up paying handsome dividends.

    Bred by Boone Family Trust, the colt is out the stakes winning Forest Wildcat mare Rapid Racer and is a half sibling to graded stakes placed Lee’s Baby Girl. Rapid Racer is out of a half sister to the top producing mare Ticket to Houston, dam of multiple graded stakes winner Runway Model who herself produced Grade 1 winner and sire McKinzie.

    “When he arrived, I was pleasantly pleased with him because he was a big strong colt, lots of bone, lots of size, a lot of substance,” said Bayer, who also sold Hip 90, another son of Nashville, for $75,000 to Dark Horse Racing Stable. “He presented himself really well. He reciprocated what I thought he would bring.”

Overall, Bayer led all consignors with 21 head sold for $719,800.

    Bayer’s leading duo were among a trio of yearlings that cracked the six-figure mark during the session. Hip 191, a colt by Simplification, also reached that threshold when he sold for $100,000 to Rising Dividends Racing.

    Consigned by Danielle Loya’s Silver Oaks Farm and bred by Tami Bobo, the colt is out of the Sky Mesa mare Gidget Girl and is a half brother to King’s Plate winner and OBS graduate Mansetti and multiple stakes winner Straight Up G.

    Other notable hips included Hip 91, a colt by Pappacap consigned by Kaizen Sales (Richard Kent), and Hip 260, a colt by Cairo Prince consigned by Hare Hill Farm, both of whom sold for $85,000. The son of Pappacap was purchased by Pinhook Partners while Banks Bloodstock landed the Cairo Prince colt.
    Hip 49, a colt by Drain the Clock, was purchased by Pine Creek Ranch for $82,000 from the Silver Oaks Farm consignment while Hip 116, a filly by Engage now named Ms. Engaged from the Hare Hill consignment, and Hip 217 Mom Said Win, a filly by Win Win Win consigned by Colin Brennan Bloodstock at Highlander Training Center, each brought $65,000. The Engage filly sold to Silver Creek Thoroughbreds with Breeze Easy & Robert Cotran purchasing Mom Said Win.

    The highest priced broodmare or broodmare prospect to sell was Hip 267, Callie’s Courage, a daughter of Girvin consigned by Kaizen Sales, who sold for $48,000 to William Churly. Callie’s Courage sold in foal to Gunite and is out of the winning mare Mom’s a Cougar, a daughter of OBS grad Kantharos, who is a half sister to multiple graded stakes winner and OBS grad Mom’s On Strike and multiple stakes winner Otago.

    The January Winter Mixed Sale finished with across-the-board gains over the 2025 exercise in all key metrics. At the close of business Jan. 27, a total of 186 head sold for total gross receipts of $3,507,850, an increase over the $3,093,700 generated by 212 sold a year ago. The average came in at $18,859, up from $14,593 in 2025, while the median of $12,000 was an improvement over $7,500 a year ago. A total of 71 horses failed to meet their reserve for an RNA percentage of 27.6%, up from 21.4% in 2025.