Tampa Bay Derby awards top-five finishers 50-25-15-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points

Mar 6 - A field of 10 3-year-olds will vie for "Road to the Kentucky Derby" qualifying points in Saturday's Grade III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, the main event on a 12-race Festival Day 44 card at Tampa Bay Downs.

No More Time, the winner of the Oldsmar oval's Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 10, drew the No. 7 post position for the mile-and-a-sixteenth race on the main dirt track. Owned by Morplay Racing and trained by Jose Francisco D'Angelo, the Iowa-bred colt will be ridden by Javier Castellano.

The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby will be the 11th race on a card scheduled to begin at 11:55 a.m. Admission is $15, with each patron receiving a "Mystery Mutuel Voucher" worth between $5-$1,000.

The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is one of five stakes, four of them graded, on a 12-race Festival Day card offering $1-million in stakes purse money. The winner will earn 50 qualifying points, more than enough to qualify for the 20-horse field for the May 4 classic at Churchill Downs.

The runner-up earns 25 points, with the next three finishers picking up 15, 10 and 5, respectively. The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby has produced two winners of the Run for the Roses: Street Sense, who won both races in 2007, and Super Saver, who finished third in Oldsmar's premier race before his Kentucky Derby victory.

Thoroughbred trainers Todd Pletcher and Chad Brown will seek to extend their dominance of two of the premier stakes races on the Tampa Bay Downs calendar Saturday.

Pletcher is gunning for his seventh Tampa Bay Derby victory with Heartened, who broke his maiden here in his fourth career start on the Sam F. Davis Stakes undercard on Feb. 10. Heartened's 94 speed figure for the mile-and-40-yard distance matched the number earned later that day in the mile-and-a-sixteenth Sam F. Davis by winner No More Time

Pletcher's previous winners in the mile-and-a-sixteenth Oldsmar showcase include Limehouse (2004), Verrazano (2013), Carpe Diem (2015), Destin (2016), Tapwrit (2017) and Tapit Trice (2023). No other trainer has won the race more than twice.

Heartened will break from the No. 1 post in the 10-horse field under jockey Jose Ortiz, who rode him in last month's victory.

While Pletcher's record in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is staggering, Brown's preeminence in the Grade II, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes for fillies and mares 4-years-old-and-upward is otherworldly. He has sent out the winner in six of the last 12 runnings of the mile-and-an-eighth turf event: Zagora (2012), Stephanie's Kitten (2015), Fourstar Crook (2018), Rymska (2019), Bleecker Street (2022) and Shantisara (2023).

Pletcher, with four victories, is the only other trainer to win the Hillsborough more than twice, most recently in 2013 with Old Tune.

On Saturday, Brown will send out two horses in the eight-horse field: Fluffy Socks and Marketsegmentation, who will break from the Nos. 1 and 2 posts under brothers Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Jose Ortiz, respectively. Marketsegmentation is the 5-2 morning-line favorite, followed by Fluffy Socks at 3-1.

The Hillsborough is the ninth race.

Pletcher does not have a horse in the Hillsborough. His only other stakes entrant on the card is Dynamic One, a 6-year-old who will compete in the Grade III, $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes, scheduled as the sixth race.

Brown, by contrast, trains seven of Saturday's 46 stakes entrants. In addition to Fluffy Socks and Marketsegmentation, he has two horses in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, two in the Grade III, $200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf and one in the $75,000, 1-mile Columbia Stakes for 3-year-olds on the turf.

Brown has had only three previous starters in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, with none finishing better than sixth. Both of his horses in this year's race - Good Money, who will break from the No. 4 post under Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Domestic Product, who will start from the No. 5 post under Tyler Gaffalione - appear to be heading in the right direction with even bigger 3-year-old races on the near horizon.

Good Money broke his maiden here on Jan. 26 going 7 furlongs in his lone career start. Domestic Product, who is the 8-5 second choice on the morning line, is the more highly regarded of the Brown runners, having finished a solid second with blinkers off in the Grade III, mile-and-a-sixteenth Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park to unbeaten Hades.

Domestic Product broke his maiden as a 2-year-old on Oct. 27 at the Belmont At Aqueduct meet going a mile-and-an-eighth.

Brown has two horses in the Florida Oaks, a race he has won three times - with Dolce Zel in 2022, Domain Expertise in 2021 and Testa Rossi in 2014. Brown is tied with Bill Mott and Neil J. Howard for the most winners in race history.

On Saturday, Brown's Weigh the Risks will break from the No. 10 post in a 12-horse field under Irad Ortiz, Jr., directly inside of 7-2 morning-line favorite Dynamic Pricing and Jose Ortiz.

Weigh the Risks will make her first start since breaking her maiden on Sept. 3 at Saratoga in a mile-and-a-sixteenth turf race, also with Irad aboard. Dynamic Pricing is also 1-for-2 and finished third on Feb. 3 in the Grade III Sweetest Chant Stakes at Gulfstream, a neck behind runner-up Style Points, another Florida Oaks contender trained by Christophe Clement.

Brown's remaining stakes entry on the card (he has four others entered) is Move to Gold, a stakes winner who will be ridden by Irad Ortiz, Jr., in the Columbia. Move to Gold is the 5-2 morning-line favorite.

With their tremendous skill, wealthy owners and an abundance of well-bred horses to develop, it's clear Pletcher and Brown are at the top of the list of respected, and feared, trainers wherever they compete.

And with $1-million in stakes purse money available Saturday, rivals intent on grabbing a major slice of the riches will need to do it the old-fashioned way: They'll have to earn it.

No More Time Seeks Kentucky Derby Qualifying Points

Mar 3 - When it comes to handicapping major races, speed figures carry more weight than ever, even if the formulas for determining the numbers can be more difficult to grasp than the Pythagorean theorem.

But with the 150th running of the Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve rapidly approaching, the connections of 3-year-old prospects are more concerned with picking up qualifying points than what the experts are saying about their horses.

Jose Francisco D'Angelo, the trainer of Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes winner No More Time, would enjoy changing the minds of critics who pointed out the Iowa-bred colt's supposed shortcomings after his victory here on Feb. 10. The colt is expected to get the chance to earn more respect in Saturday's 44th edition of the Grade III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, the centerpiece of the Festival Day card at Tampa Bay Downs.

"I think he is going to get better. He is still improving and he knows the track there, which is a big advantage for him," D'Angelo said earlier today.

The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby will be run on the main track at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth. No More Time passed that distance challenge with flying colors last month, posting a Sam F. Davis time of 1:43.26, .82 seconds off Flameaway's 2018 stakes record.

No More Time turned in a scintillating half-mile breeze time of 47.95 seconds Saturday at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach under exercise rider Wilnell Mercado, the fastest of 27 recorded workouts at the distance.

"It was very similar to his workout (a week before) the Sam F. Davis, and his gallop-out was amazing," D'Angelo said. "He's a horse who doesn't need too much anyway because he's not too big. He was very nervous and green when I started with him, but he's more focused now and more mature. I think he's perfect to go for longer distances."

Whether he gets that opportunity in bigger races could depend to a large extent on how he performs Saturday. D'Angelo said he and the partners in owner Morplay Racing - Orlando resident Rich Mendez, his son Josh and Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo - have decided to switch jockeys from Paco Lopez to Javier Castellano, since Lopez is committed to ride trainer Joseph Orseno's unbeaten (3-for-3) Grade III Holy Bull Stakes winner Hades moving forward.

The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is one of five stakes, four of them graded, on a Festival Day card offering $1-million in stakes purse money. The winner of the race will earn 50 "Road to the Kentucky Derby" qualifying points, stamping his ticket to the May 4 classic.

The runner-up earns 25 points, with the next three finishers picking up 15, 10 and 5, respectively. The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby has produced two winners of the Run for the Roses: Street Sense, who won both races in 2007, and Super Saver, who finished third in Oldsmar's premier race before his Kentucky Derby victory.

The remaining stakes on the Festival Day 44 card include the Grade II, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes, for fillies and mares 4-years-old-and-upward at a mile-and-an-eighth on the turf course; the Grade III, $200,000 Florida Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf; the Grade III, $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes, for horses 4-and-upward at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track; and the $75,000 Columbia Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on the turf.

In the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher - who sent out last year's winner, Tapit Trice, for his record sixth victory in the race - is expected to start Heartened, who broke his maiden on the Sam F. Davis undercard in impressive fashion under jockey Jose Ortiz.

Trainer Chad Brown could enter as many as three sophomores in the race, with the Klaravich Stables, Inc.-owned Domestic Product looking most dangerous based on his second-place finish to Hades in the Grade III Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park.

40 3-Year-Olds Nominated for 44th Tampa Bay Derby

Feb 28 - No More Time and Agate Road, the top two finishers in the Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes, and two of the top-10 horses in the Daily Racing Form "Derby Watch" rankings are among 40 3-year-olds nominated for the 44th running of the Grade III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on Saturday, March 9 at Tampa Bay Downs.

The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, contested at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main dirt track, awards 50 "Road to the Kentucky Derby" points to the winner toward qualifying for the 150th Run for the Roses on May 4 at Churchill Downs.

The Tampa Bay Derby is one of five stakes races worth a combined $1-million in purse money on the Festival Day 44 card. The others are the Grade II, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes, for fillies and mares 4-years-old-and-upward at a mile-and-an-eighth on the turf course; the Grade III, $200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at a mile-and-a-sixteenth, also on the turf; the Grade III, $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes, for horses 4-and-upward at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track; and the $75,000 Columbia Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on the turf.

In addition to No More Time, the No. 16-ranked "Derby Watch" colt who won the Sam F. Davis Stakes on Feb. 10 in gate-to-wire fashion under jockey Paco Lopez for owner Morplay Racing and trainer Jose Francisco D'Angelo, and Agate Road, who closed with good energy under jockey Jose Ortiz for trainer Todd Pletcher, the No. 3-ranked horse on the "Derby Watch" rankings, Pletcher's colt Locked, is among the nominees. He has not raced since running third in last year's FanDuel Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance.

Agate Road and Locked are among seven Pletcher 3-year-olds nominated to the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby. Rival trainer Chad Brown has four nominees, including 13th-ranked "Derby Watch" horse Domestic Product. The Klaravich Stables-owned colt finished second to Hades on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park in the Grade III Holy Bull Stakes.

Hades, a Florida-bred trained by Joseph Orseno who is 3-for-3, is also nominated, as is trainer Claude "Shug" McGaughey, III's promising Conquest Warrior, who is ninth on the "Derby Watch" list.

Also nominated is trainer Derek Ryan's gelding Book'em Danno, who finished second by a nose to Japanese runner Forever Young on Saturday in the $1.5-million Saudi Derby.

No More Time Likely for Tampa Bay Derby

Feb 11 - "Plan A" for Saturday's Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes winner No More Time was to race in the Grade III Holy Bull Stakes on Feb. 3 at Gulfstream Park. Instead, trainer Jose Francisco D'Angelo scratched him a few days before that race, deciding he needed more time to present the colt at his best.

"He was supposed to run in an allowance race in December and got a fever, and he only had two workouts for the (Jan. 1) Mucho Macho Man Stakes" (in which he finished fifth), D'Angelo said earlier today. "We're trying to make a campaign for him, and I thought he needed one more workout before his next start to be at his best."

Do Thoroughbreds sense their handlers' thoughts? We may never know, but No More Time responded to the change of plans by breezing 5 furlongs at Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach on the day of the Holy Bull in a minute flat under exercise rider Wilnell Mercado, the fastest of 13 workouts there at the distance.

"That workout was so, so good," D'Angelo said.

So good that he was ready to rip and roar in the Sam F. Davis, in which he busted to the lead out of the gate under jockey Paco Lopez, who rolled with the flow all the way to a length-and-a-quarter victory from a hard-charging but non-threatening Agate Road, who came from last place early under jockey Jose Ortiz after he hit the gate at the start.

West Saratoga, who posed the only serious challenge to the winner at the top of the stretch, flattened out to finish third, five-and-a-quarter lengths behind Agate Road and a head in front of Elysian Meadows.

The time of 1:43.26 for the mile-and-a-sixteenth distance on a fast track was respectable, but mattered little to D'Angelo, Lopez and owners Rich Mendez, his son Josh, Randy Hartley and Dean DeRenzo, who race No More Time under their Morplay Racing banner.

D'Angelo said No More Time is on the small side and the effort took something out of him, but he ate well and was on his way back to south Florida this afternoon. The next step, the trainer said, is to prepare him for a likely start in the Grade III, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 9.

No More Time collected 20 "Road to the Kentucky Derby" points toward qualifying for the Run for the Roses on May 4 at Churchill Downs, elevating him to sixth place in the standings. The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby awards 50 points to the winner, 25 to second, 15 to third, 10 to fourth and 5 to fifth.

"We are preparing him for the Tampa Bay Derby and all the good races ahead, and when you're prepping for races like the Kentucky Derby you need to run," D'Angelo said. "They learn and improve so much more than they would from a workout. They are learning every race."

D'Angelo expects tougher competition next time, but "I feel he will be better, too," he said.

Agate Road, who picked up 10 points Saturday, is another who could return here for the March 9 Festival Day headliner. "Agate Road finished up with good energy," said his trainer, Todd Pletcher. "I'm happy with his effort. We'll consider bringing him back here for the Tampa Bay Derby."

Agate Road is owned by St. Elias Stable and Repole Stable.

West Saratoga raised his points total to 17, and while trainer Larry Demeritte said he and owner Harry L. Veruchi could choose the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby for his next start, they are leaning toward the Grade III Jeff Ruby Steaks on March 23 at Turfway Park. That race awards 100-50-25-15-10 points to the first five finishers, and a third-place finish or better there would seem to guarantee West Saratoga a spot in the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve starting gate.

The field for the Kentucky Derby is limited to 20 horses.

"He ran a good race (Saturday)," said Demeritte. "It was a good bunch and maybe I thought I had him a little tighter than he was, but I thought he ran well enough. I have no excuses and I know he is going to get better.

"He went right to his feed tub after he cooled down and came out of the race very good. Jesus (Castanon, his jockey) likes this horse as much as I do, and he told me when he came off him he is going to move forward off this race. When he turned for home I thought he was going to kick it in, but this should really set him up for the next one."

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