His maiden status notwithstanding, Renegade is very much the horse to beat in Saturday’s Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs. Renegade is one of three maidens in the nine-horse Sam Davis, a race advertised as having a $250,000 purse, though $50,000 of that is reserved only for Florida-breds. Wayne’s Law is the lone Florida-bred in the field. Of more importance, perhaps, is the 42 qualifying points the Sam Davis offers its top five finishers (20-10-6-4-2) toward the May 2 Kentucky Derby. Todd Pletcher, who trains Renegade, has won the Sam Davis a record seven times, though none of those seven were successful in Louisville on the first Saturday in May. Renegade is a son of Into Mischief owned and bred by Robert and Lawana Low. The Lows and owner Mike Repole partnered on the colt at the 2024 Keeneland yearling sale where he sold for $975,000. :: Celebrating 100 Years of racing at Tampa Bay Downs! DRF Past Performances and Picks are available now. After finishing 18 1/4 lengths behind runaway winner It’s Our Time in a six-furlong maiden race at Saratoga in August, Renegade finished first in a one-mile maiden at Aqueduct on Oct. 17. He was disqualified for interfering late with Paladin in a call that still raises Pletcher’s eyebrows. Renegade finished second, two lengths behind Paladin in the Grade 2 Remsen in a race where Renegade raced three to four wide throughout while Paladin saved all the ground until the quarter pole. “As far as I’m concerned, he’s not a maiden,” Pletcher said. “I thought his last two races were very good. The Remsen was, I think if you go back and look at it, a tale of two races – the horses that drew 6 and inside and the horses that drew outside of that. Pretty rough trip for several of the horses out there, including Renegade.” Irad Ortiz Jr. rides Renegade from post 7. Pletcher also sends out Epic Desire in the Sam Davis. Epic Desire is coming off a 2 1/2-length maiden score in a Jan. 9 race going a mile and 40 yards at Tampa. “I think he’s had an improved early winter,” Pletcher said. “We knew he was a two-turn horse. Once we got down here, his works have improved, his maiden win over the track was a step forward. Subsequently, he has trained well; we’ll see where he fits in the bigger picture.” Samy Camacho rides Epic Desire from post 2. Confessional, trained by Brad Cox, looms the major threat to Renegade. After winning his debut at Keeneland going seven furlongs last October, Confessional was beaten five lengths by Nearly in a first-level allowance at Gulfstream. Nearly came back to win last Saturday’s Grade 3 Holy Bull at Gulfstream by 5 3/4 lengths. Cox is removing blinkers from Confessional’s equipment on Saturday. “I’m hoping that could allow him to get in the race naturally, then take a deep breath and get the two turns,” said Cox, who trains the son of Essential Quality for owner Steve Landers. “He’s not the biggest dude in the world. He doesn’t pull. He reminds me a lot of Essential Quality in that regard, always gallops out well in his works.” Flavien Prat rides Confessional from the rail. The Puma is also a maiden, having finished to Chief Wallabee in a highly rated seven-furlong maiden race at Gulfstream on Jan. 10. The Puma got off a bit slow and raced four wide down the backstretch, stuck his head in front at the three-eighths pole before being outfinished down the lane by Chief Wallabee. The Puma, beaten by 1 1/2 lengths, finished 9 1/4 lengths clear of third-place finisher. The Puma, from the barn of 2023 Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Gustavo Delgado, is also entered in a maiden race Saturday at Gulfstream. As of Thursday morning, a decision had not yet been made on where The Puma would run. Game for It, trained by Chad Summers, overcame a slight stumble at the start with a strong stretch kick to outfinish longshot Sixer and win a six-furlong race on Dec. 10. Game for It scratched from last Saturday’s Holy Bull for this spot. “I’ve never seen a horse who loves to train as much as him,” Summers said. “He wants to run all day.” Ocelli, with a second and two thirds in three career starts for Whit Beckman, does have two-turn experience. His last race came with the addition of blinkers. Wayne’s Law, the Aventura Stakes winner going a mile last September at Gulfstream for trainer Amador Sanchez; Max Capacity, fourth in the Mucho Macho Man Stakes for trainer Rick Sillman; and Dr. Kapur, sixth in the Kentucky Jockey Club for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., complete the field. The Sam Davis goes as the final race on an 11-race card that begins at 12:10 p.m. and includes three other stakes. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.