Domestic Product will get added seasoning in Tampa Bay Derby

Domestic Product, runner-up to Hades in the Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park, will most likely make his next start in the Grade 3, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby on March 9, trainer Chad Brown said this week.

Brown believes Domestic Product is the type of horse who will benefit from more racing and by running in the Tampa Bay Derby, which allows him to run him back once more before a potential start in the Kentucky Derby.

“With that particular horse I feel it may be more beneficial to run him more than to wait for a race like the Wood Memorial which is on my mind,” Brown said. “Running once in between gives him a chance for a little bit more experience and conditioning and such.”

Domestic Product has been a bit inconsistent in his four career starts. After finishing fifth sprinting at Saratoga, he came back to win a 1 1/8-mile maiden race at Aqueduct in October. He was a bit headstrong in that race and again in the Grade 2 Remsen where he finished seventh.

Brown removed blinkers from Domestic Product’s equipment for the Holy Bull, and while the horse was still pulling some, he finished a good second to Hades while finishing 1 1/2 lengths in front of favored Fierceness.

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Brown admitted that there is a risk to running at Tampa, where some heavily favored horses have run poorly in stakes.

“If he doesn’t handle the track, I feel like I have less risk and it’s not the end all,” Brown said. “If he has success, it’s a huge positive. If not, I have time to wheel him back in the Wood or Blue Grass.”

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