Tampa pre-game show includes three supercompetitive stakes

There’s been talk of a big sporting event this weekend in Tampa, and a first guess as to whether or not it’s the Festival Preview Day card at Tampa Bay Downs wouldn’t be a bad one.

A terrific 12-race Saturday card at the Oldsmar, Fla., track will include not only the Sam F. Davis Stakes as a Kentucky Derby points qualifier, but three other stakes with degrees of importance within their divisions. Indeed, racing fans in need of fast and furious pre-game action leading up to Super Bowl LV at nearby Raymond James Stadium on Sunday will get their wish a day early.

Here follows a rundown of each of the stakes that directly precede the Davis, which goes as race 11 on a program that starts at 11:50 a.m. Eastern. There is no pick four linking all the stakes, but there are rolling pick three wagers and a late pick five (races 8-12) ending with an $8,000 claiming race. One allowance (race 6) and three maiden specials (races 3, 5, 7) are among the earlier offerings.

Tampa Bay Stakes

Not many graded races that will be run prior to turf racing resuming this spring in more northerly destinations will be as deep as this 35th running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Tampa Bay Stakes.

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A full gate of 12 older horses has turned out, with seven of them being graded or group winners. Admission Office and Fancy Liquor are perhaps the most accomplished in the group, with both having additional benefit of a race at the current championship meet at Gulfstream Park, but there are quite a few others that stand a fighting chance in this 1 1/16-mile race.

The speedy Get Smokin, a two-back winner of the Grade 2 Hill Prince at Belmont Park, figures particularly sharp off a 10-week layoff when facing older horses for the first time for trainer Tom Bush, while the uncoupled Chad Brown duo of Delaware and Greyes Creek also will command tote respect. Proven Strategies surely will get a few calls from announcer Richard Grunder when likely to keep Get Smokin honest out top, while the prodigal Sole Volante adds intrigue as the winner of the 2020 Sam Davis.

The stretch-running Admission Office could be the one to fear most once they straighten for home, assuming jockey Julien Leparoux can work out the right kind of trip from post 2. The 6-year-old Amerman Racing homebred was no factor in the Jan. 9 Tropical Turf at Gulfstream, but that was his first race in nearly seven months.

“He definitely needed it,” trainer Brian Lynch said from his Palm Meadows base. “He’s trained on nicely since then, and he should enjoy the long stretch there at Tampa.”

Besides the base purse, there’s an additional $25,000 bonus available to the only Florida-bred in the lineup, Proven Strategies, in case he can hang on to prevail for Mark Casse.

Suncoast Stakes

Even though the $100,000 Suncoast still is not a graded event, it’s held in high enough regard to be a points qualifier (10-4-2-1) toward the April 30 Kentucky Oaks. That added incentive was enough to draw a solid field of 10 3-year-old fillies going a mile and 40 yards on the main track.

Gulf Coast and Honorifique, the respective one-two finishers in the Jan. 1 Cash Run at Gulfstream, figure among the major players, along with Feeling Mischief, who will be stretching out as the beaten favorite in the Gasparilla at Tampa three weeks ago.

Likewise, Special Princess, who dead-heated for win in the Gasparilla at 13-1, could be a threat with another peak effort, while the Lael Stables homebred Be Sneaky also seems live after training smartly over the local course in recent weeks for trainer Arnaud Delacour. Last-out maiden winners Curlin’s Catch and Scenic Overlook are two more possibilities in a very well-matched lineup.

Jade Empress and Special Princess, the only Florida-breds in the 41st Suncoast, are eligible for an additional $50,000 win-only bonus.

Endeavour Stakes

As the filly-mare counterpart to the Tampa Bay, this race has been an early season stop for such divisional standouts as Zagora (2012), Tepin (2016), and Dona Bruja (2018) in recent years, and who’s to say one of its participants won’t again be using this 22nd running of the Grade 3, $150,000 Endeavour as a launching pad to a big 2021.

New York Girl, a Group 3 winner in Ireland, could come a slight favorite in this 1 1/16-mile turf race following a highly promising North American debut victory for Bill Mott, while another Atlantic Coast shipper, Counterparty Risk, could be a close second choice for Chad Brown. Both Irish-bred 4-year-old fillies sport considerable upside.

The Endeavour also offers a $25,000 win-only bonus to two Florida-bred longshots, No Mercy Percy and Kelsey’s Cross. In all, eight are entered, although Eres Tu is unlikely to run as a main-track-only designate.