Looking Ahead: Patch Adams and Brodeur head to Tampa Bay Derby

Mar 07, 2025 Sara Dacus/TwinSpires.com

Patch Adams wins at Churchill Downs. (Photo by Coady Media)

The Tampa Bay Derby (G3) is the sole Kentucky Derby (G1) prep race Saturday, and it drew a solid field of seven. The 1 1/16-mile race offers 105 total points (50-25-15-10-5, respectively) to its top five finishers toward Kentucky Derby starting eligibility.

Two-time Grade 1 winner Chancer McPatrick, making his first start since his unplaced finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) ended his perfect record, is the morning line favorite.

But second choice Patch Adams is an intriguing prospect. In his second career start, he obliterated a 12-horse Churchill Downs maiden race by 10 1/2 lengths, earning a Brisnet Speed figure that placed him among the fastest 2-year-olds of 2024.

This led to his starting his sophomore season as the 4-5 favorite in Oaklawn’s Southwest S. (G3). In this race, Patch Adams bobbled at the start, never recovered, and finished fourth. Trainer Brad Cox said that the race was a learning experience, and he still has confidence in his horse. Jockey Florent Geroux, who had the call in his dominant Churchill win, returns to the irons. Patch Adams is a son of leading sire Into Mischief.

Patch Adams may have finished 4th in the Southwest Stakes @OaklawnRacing, but is still one of the top @KentuckyDerby contenders!

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— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 7, 2025

Brodeur, at 15-1 odds, is also worth considering. The bay colt won his last two races, both in front-running fashion, at Oaklawn Park. The latter was an allowance at 1 1/16 miles, the distance of the Tampa Bay Derby. He is the lone colt in the field making his stakes debut, and jockey Jose Ortiz will ride him for the first time. Brodeur is a son of 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and the multiple stakes-winning Pulpit mare Tea Time. He is conditioned by dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse.

“He’s a nice horse with a big pedigree, and we kind of want to see where he fits in,” Casse said.

In 2007, Street Sense won the Tampa Bay Derby before winning the Kentucky Derby with Calvin Borel in the irons. Three years later, Super Saver finished third in the Tampa Bay Derby before capturing the Kentucky Derby under Borel.

The Tampa Bay Derby is one of five stakes—four of which are graded—on the Festival Day 45 card. First post is 12:05 pm ET. The approximate post time for the Tampa Bay Derby, race 11, is 5:34.