2025 Sam F. Davis Stakes Entries

Sam F. Davis (G3) Offers 20, 10, 6, 4 and 2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points

The Sam F. Davis, a mile-and-a-sixteenth race on the main track, is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race. The top five finishers will receive 20, 10, 6, 4 and 2 qualifying points toward securing a spot in the Run for the Roses starting gate on May 3 at Churchill Downs.

Pre-Draw News

Undefated Poster Probable for 45th Sam F. Davis

Feb 2 – After turning in an impressive 5-furlong breeze this morning on the Tampa Bay Downs main track, unbeaten 3-year-old colt Poster appears headed to Saturday’s $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes, the centerpiece of the Oldsmar oval’s Festival Preview Day.

Poster, whose workout time of 1:01 3/5 was best today of 20 horses at the distance, is one of 10 horses currently considered likely to compete in the 45th running of the mile-and-a-sixteenth race, which awards Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale. Owned by his breeder, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum’s Godolphin operation, Poster is trained by Eoin Harty.

A son of Munnings out of Pin Up, by Tapit, Poster concluded his 2-year-old campaign on Dec. 7 in the Grade II, mile-and-an-eighth Remsen Stakes at Aqueduct under jockey Flavien Prat with a nose victory from Aviator Gui. Poster’s first two victories came on the turf at Ellis Park and Keeneland.

The Sam F. Davis is one of four main track stakes races on the Festival Preview Day card. Three-year-old fillies will take the spotlight in the $150,000, mile-and-40-yard Suncoast Stakes, which awards Kentucky Oaks qualifying points to the top five finishers. The Godolphin-Harty duo is expected to have a top contender in homebred Deloraine, who won a turf allowance/optional claiming race here on Dec. 13 by 8 ¼ lengths.

Tracy Farmer’s homebred filly La Cara, a Grade III winner trained by Mark Casse who finished fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies on Nov. 1 at Del Mar, is also expected for the Suncoast, along with Grade III-placed Italian Soiree, trained by John P. Terranova, II, and Dancing Magic, who won the Gasparilla Stakes here on Jan. 11 for owner Mellon Patch and trainer Michael Campbell.

Stakes winner Her Laugh, trained by D. Whitworth Beckman, is a Suncoast possible.

Saturday’s menu of stakes offerings also includes the $125,000, 6-furlong Pelican Stakes for horses 4-years-old-and-upward and the $100,000, 6-furlong Minaret Stakes for fillies and mares 4-and-upward.

Most of the national attention will be squarely focused on the Sam F. Davis, which is the major prep race for the Grade III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 8.

The Sam F. Davis is also expected to attract Oldsmar trainer Gerald Bennett’s Naughty Rascal, a three-time stakes winner owned by Mr Pug and J.P.G. 2 who won the Pasco Stakes here on Jan. 11 via disqualification, and Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing’s Owen Almighty, trainer Brian Lynch’s colt who was dropped from first to fifth in the Pasco by the stewards for a bumping incident on the far turn.

Naughty Rascal breezed 5 furlongs here on Thursday in a sharp 1:00 1/5, while Owen Almighty breezed 5 furlongs in a minute flat on Saturday at the Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach.

Among the other Sam F. Davis probables are Calumet Farm’s colt Very Bold, the official second-place finisher in the Pasco, who is trained by Harty; John Hancock, who broke his maiden here under jockey Samy Camacho on Jan. 8 sprinting 6 furlongs for owners WinStar Farm, CHC, Inc., and Siena Farm and trainer Brad Cox; and Smoken Boy, winner of the Grade I Clasico Agustin Mercado Reveron Stakes on Dec. 8 on a muddy track at Camarero in Puerto Rico, for owner Sonata Stable and trainer Jose Francisco D’Angelo.

Also expected as of today are Treaty of Rome, a stakes-placed Chad Brown-trained colt owned by Mrs. John Magnier, Michael Tabor and Derrick Smith; Dr Ruben M, a well-bred son of Vino Rosso owned by The Del Mar Group and trained by Doug O’Neill; Camp Hale, second in all three starts for breeder-owner Whitham Thoroughbreds and trainer Ian Wilkes; and Gateskeeper, owned by Gervais Racing and trained by S. Jade Cunningham.

2025 SAM F. DAVIS STAKES DRAWS 35 NOMINEES

Jan 29 – The mile-and-a-sixteenth Sam F. Davis Stakes, which awards points to the top five finishers toward qualifying for the Kentucky Derby on May 3 at Churchill Downs, is one of four stakes scheduled on a quality-laden Festival Preview Day 45 card.

The other Feb. 8 stakes are the 45th running of the $150,000, mile-and-40-yard Suncoast Stakes for 3-year-old fillies, which awards points to the top five toward qualifying for the May 2 Kentucky Oaks; the 41st edition of the $125,000, 6-furlong Pelican Stakes for horses 4-years-old-and-upward; and the 44th running of the $100,000, 6-furlong Minaret Stakes for fillies and mares 4-and-upward.

The Suncoast has attracted 31 nominations, while the Pelican and Minaret drew 19 and 18, respectively. The Pelican nominees include Grade I winner Book’em Danno, a 4-year-old gelding owned by Atlantic Six Racing and trained by Derek Ryan who won last year’s Pasco Stakes by 12 ½ lengths to launch a magical campaign for the New Jersey-bred.

Naughty Rascal, who was elevated to victory in the 7-furlong Pasco on Jan. 11 upon the disqualification of Owen Almighty to fifth place for interfering with Rookie Card on the turn, is 4-for-6 with a second and a third for owners Mr Pug, LLC and J.P.G. 2, LLC and trainer Gerald Bennett. He has won races on the dirt and turf at distances ranging from 5 furlongs to a mile.

Disco Time is a perfect 3-for-3, beginning his 3-year-old campaign on Jan. 18 at Fair Grounds in New Orleans with a thrilling come-from-behind victory in the Grade III Lecomte Stakes on a sloppy track. He is owned by his breeder Juddmonte and trained by Brad Cox, who has nominated six horses to the Sam F. Davis.

Another strong nominee is the Godolphin-bred-and-owned Poster, an Eoin Harty-trainee who improved to 3-for-3 on Dec. 7 at Aqueduct with a victory in the Grade II, mile-and-an-eighth Remsen Stakes. That was his first start on the dirt after two turf victories.

Grande, who is owned by Repole Stable and trained by Todd Pletcher, kicked off his career with a 1-mile triumph at Gulfstream on Jan. 11. He is one of three horses nominated to the race from the barn of Pletcher, who has won the Sam F. Davis a record seven times.

Owen Almighty, owned by Flying Dutchmen Breeding and Racing, LLC and trained by Brian Lynch, lost little luster despite his Pasco setback after powering past Naughty Rascal late. Already a stakes winner, he finished second in the Grade III, 1-mile Iroquois Stakes as a 2-year-old in September at Churchill Downs.

Other top Sam F. Davis nominees include Aviator Gui, owned by his breeder Three Chimneys Farm and trained by Chad Brown, who was second by a nose to Poster in the Remsen; First Resort, another Godolphin homebred trained by Harty who concluded his 2-year-old campaign on Nov. 30 with a victory in the Grade II Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes at Churchill; and Guns Loaded, who won the Mucho Macho Man Stakes on Jan. 4 at Gulfstream for owners Morplay Racing, Joey Platts and Lady Sheila Stable and trainer Jose Francisco D’Angelo (Morplay and D’Angelo teamed to win last year’s Sam F. Davis with No More Time).

Needless to say, when a race offers a quarter-million in purse money plus 20, 10, 6, 4 and 2 Kentucky Derby qualifying points, there will be no shortage of accomplished nominees, especially since there was no cost to nominate (there is a supplementary fee of $3,000 for late nominations).

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