A flashy field of 9 clashes in the 1-1/16 miles Tampa Bay Derby on Saturday with 50 Kentucky Derby qualifying points to the winner. Horses who ran in arguably the best maiden races at Keeneland, Gulfstream and the current Tampa Bay Downs meeting are in the spotlight with power broker barns like Cox, Brown and Pletcher taking attendance.
Horseplayers with 1/ST BET and Xpressbet take advantage of up to a $10 money-back special promo on Triple Crown prep race win bets, featuring Saturday’s Tampa Bay Derby as well as the same-day San Felipe Stakes at Santa Anita. Get up to $10 back if your win bet finishes second or third when you bet with 1/ST BET and Xpressbet.
Let’s meet the contenders for the Tampa Bay Derby (Race 11):
#1-REDLAND REBELS: Kitten’s Joy Stakes runner-up switches back to dirt after a couple of promising grass tries at Gulfstream Park. The gelded son of Uncle Chuck has shown speed since stretching out around 2 turns and jockey Junior Alvarado could be aggressive from the rail for trainer Patrick Biancone.
#2-TALKIN: Champagne Stakes runner-up tanked in the Remsen when ninth to finish a 3-race freshman campaign. This $600,000 Good Magic colt returns with a new rider in Joel Rosario for trainer Danny Gargan. His lone victory came sprinting at Saratoga in August, easily defeating potential Tampa Bay Derby favorite Further Ado in their only head-to-head.
#3-ROGER THAT DANA: Florida-bred debuted a wire-to-wire sprint winner at Gulfstream in October and set the tempo in the Florida Sire Stakes In Reality before fading to third. Didn’t get into the mix early in the Mucho Macho Man on Jan. 3, but ran on well enough to be a distant second to Commander, who returned last week to win the Fountain of Youth. Luis Ramirez trains.
#4-HULKAMANIA: Four-length debut sprint winner Feb. 8 over the Tampa Bay Downs surface makes the immediate rise in class and distance. Whit Beckman trains the $160,000 son of McKinzie whose grand dam Schiaparelli was a fast turf sprinter / miler in SoCal. Jareth Loveberry takes over in the saddle for local ace Daniel Centeno.
#5-POWERSHIFT: Locked up in a veritable match race in his Feb. 7 Tampa debut when second-best to Chad Brown’s Emerging Market. Earned rave reviews while more than 13 lengths clear of the rest and posting a big speed figure. $500,000 Constitution colt takes the baton from stablemate Renegade, who won the Sam F. Davis Stakes and bypassed this spot for the Arkansas Derby. Dam Free Flying Soul was a top-class California dasher, third in the 2009 Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint. Todd Pletcher holds the Tampa Bay Derby record for training wins with 6, most recently Tapit Trice in 2023. John Velazquez is 1 of 6 riders to win this race twice (2013, 2015).
#6-FURTHER ADO (pictured): Vaulted from Saratoga disappointment to Keeneland superstar when winning his third start Oct. 10 by a whopping 20 lengths. He followed up that 2-turn stretchout with a harder-fought Kentucky Jockey Club Stakes win at Churchill to close his season. The $550,000 Gun Runner colt hails from the female family of champion mare Beautiful Pleasure and has a trio of bullet workouts at Payson Park for his sophomore unveiling. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. won this race last year aboard Owen Almighty as well as 2022 aboard Classic Causeway. Trainer Brad Cox has won the Mucho Macho Man, Jerome and Fountain of Youth so far on the 2026 trail.
#7-THUNDER BUCK: Calumet Farm home-bred was moved from trainer Brad Cox to Brendan Walsh after a last-place finish in the Jan. 17 Lecomte Stakes. This Gun Runner colt won his initial route try prior to that at Fair Grounds after debuting fourth at Keeneland in a race that produced eventual stakes winner Chip Honcho. Local leading rider Samuel Marin takes the mount for the first time.
#8-THE PUMA: The only Sam F. Davis Stakes alum to run back in the Tampa Bay Derby, the 2-race maiden finished a credible third in that one while trying stakes and 2 turns for the first time. His debut second to Chief Wallabee also looked better when that one came back to run a just-miss second in the Fountain of Youth last week. Javier Castellano rode 2016 Tampa Bay Derby winner Destin. Gustavo Delgado seeks his follow-up to 2023 Kentucky Derby winner Mage with this colt by dual-Eclipse Award and Belmont Stakes winner Essential Quality.
#9-CANALETTO: Smashing Jan. 25 debut winner flashed one of the more impressive Gulfstream maiden victories of the Championship Meet. That 8-length score was flattered when the third-place finisher returned to blow away a maiden field 4 weeks later at GP. Chad Brown trained 2024 Tampa Bay Derby winner Domestic Product. Flavien Prat has the call on the $1 million son of Info Mischief, who is half-brother to 2025 Arkansas Derby winner Sandman. The outside post provides a challenge as he tries 2 turns for the first time.
.svg){kind=logo}
