Horse Profile

At Tampa Bay Downs, John Hancock and La Cara recorded frontrunning wins in the Sam F. Davis S. and Suncoast to earn points toward respective berths in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Kentucky Oaks (G1) on Saturday

A handful of new prospects emerged over the past month as ones to watch as we approach Triple Crown season.

The Road to the Kentucky Derby makes its first of two stops at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday. The Sam F. Davis S. awards qualifying points to the top five finishers on a 20-10-6-4-2 scale.

A well-matched field of 10 sophomores will travel 1 1/16 miles on the Tampa Bay dirt in Saturday’s $250,000 Sam F. Davis S. (G3).

Godolphin’s unbeaten Poster kicks off his sophomore campaign against several race-fit rivals in Saturday’s $250,000 Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs.

A competitive 10-horse field has assembled for Saturday’s $250,000 Sam F. Davis S. at Tampa Bay Downs, a 1 1/16-mile Road to the Kentucky Derby qualifier worth 20-10-6-4-2 points to the top five finishers.

The focus of the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks shifts to Tampa Bay Downs, where the Sam F. Davis and Suncoast Stakes will take place.

After Japan’s Forever Young just missed in a three-way photo in the 2024 Kentucky Derby (G1), his compatriots have expressed an unprecedented degree of interest in the 2025 Triple Crown.

Just Steel, the horse that brought 89-year-old Hall of Fame trainer D. Wayne Lukas to his 30th Kentucky Derby and was his 50th starter in the event, is poised to make his 4-year-old debut.

While Hoop Jr. and Crozier were the second betting choices in their respective Derbies, the Fred Hooper-owned colt that was even more widely expected to win the Derby, but didn't, was a blazingly fast horse named Olympia.