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Candy Man Rocket Headlines 43 Nominees To March 6 Tampa Bay Derby

Grade 1 Breeders' Cup winner Fire At Will, Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes winner Candy Man Rocket and highly regarded Greatest Honour are among a stellar collection of 43 3-year-old colts and geldings nominated for the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on March 6 at Tampa Bay Downs.

The 41st running of the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is the centerpiece of an outstanding Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South card offering $1-million in stakes purse money, with four graded stakes and one listed stakes on tap.

Run on the main track at a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth, the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race, with the first four finishers earning 50, 20, 10 and 5 points toward qualifying for the May 1 Run for the Roses at Churchill Downs.

The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby has produced two Kentucky Derby winners: 2007 Tampa Bay Derby winner Street Sense and 2010 Tampa Bay Derby third-place finisher Super Saver.

Fire at Will, owned by Three Diamonds Farm and trained by Michael Maker, hasn't raced since his victory on Nov. 6 in the Grade 1 Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf presented by Coolmore America at Keeneland. He is ranked among the top 2021 Triple Crown candidates, along with Essential Quality, Life Is Good and Greatest Honour.

Candy Man Rocket vaulted up the contender list with his impressive victory in the Sam F. Davis here on Feb. 6. He is owned by Frank Fletcher Racing Operations and trained by Bill Mott, who has won the Tampa Bay Derby twice.

Mott has also nominated breeder-owner Michael Shanley's colt Nova Rags, who won the Pasco Stakes here on Jan. 16 before finishing second to Candy Man Rocket in the Sam F. Davis.

Greatest Honour, who is trained by Claude “Shug” McGaughey, III, received excellent reviews for his dominant victory on Jan. 30 in the Grade 3 Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream. The colt is owned by Courtlandt Farms.

Among other Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby nominations of note are trainer Doug O'Neill's colt Hot Rod Charlie, second in November in the TVG Breeders' Cup Juvenile presented by Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance; trainer Victoria Oliver's Hidden Stash, third in the Sam F. Davis; Grade 2 winner Brooklyn Strong, a gelding trained by Daniel Velazquez; multiple graded-stakes placed colt Proxy, trained by Michael Stidham; and trainer Mark Casse's colt Gretzky the Great, who won the Grade 1 Summer Stakes in September at Woodbine.

Here are the links to the nominations and their past performances for the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby:

https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=SN-TAM-20210306-559609

https://www.equibase.com/premium/eqbHorsemenAreaDownloadAction.cfm?sn=SNPP-TAM-20210306-559609

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Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 Features Races From Aqueduct, Tampa Bay Downs

The New York Racing Association will host a Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday featuring racing action from Aqueduct Racetrack and Tampa Bay Downs.

Live coverage will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports. Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/aqueduct/racing/cross-country-wagers.

A field of eight sophomores seeking a first career win get things started in Race 5 at Aqueduct with a scheduled post time of 3:20 p.m. Eastern. Harrell Ventures' Good Culture looks to make his career debut a winning one for trainer George Weaver. The son of Anchor Down is out of the Kodiak Kowboy mare Lady Fifty Two – a half-sister to Grade 1-winner Lady of Fifty. Trainer Jonathan Thomas will saddle million dollar-purchase Will E Sutton in hopes for a successful second start. Last out, the son of Curlin out of stakes-placed Yes Liz was fourth going seven furlongs on February 8 at the Big A.

Action shifts to Tampa Bay Downs for the second leg, where a field of ten will assemble over the main track for a $5,000 tag. Leading Tampa Bay trainer Gerald Bennett sends out Malio's, who seeks a career fifth lifetime victory over the Oldsmar oval. Larry Cronin and Joseph Keenan's Irish Major was second beaten a length under the same conditions last out and seeks to come out on top this time for trainer Tim Padilla. The race is carded as Race 8 with a 3:47 pm. post.

Aqueduct takes the reins for the middle leg of the sequence where fillies and mares bred in the Empire State seek an allowance victory at six furlongs. Repole Stable's More Glitter will make her first start since December 2019, where she was fifth in an off-the-turf edition of the Tepin at the Big A. Trained by Todd Pletcher, the daughter of More Than Ready broke her maiden in October 2019 at Belmont Park going 1 1/16 miles. Carded as Race 7, the third leg of the sequence will go off at 4:20 p.m.

Just two minutes later, Tampa Bay Downs will run the penultimate leg and the final event of their nine-race program featuring a field of 11 maiden claimers running six furlongs for a $10,000 tag. Four-time starter Himelstein, who notched his best result in his most recent effort when second, is the lukewarm 2-1 morning-line favorite.

Stakes action concludes the Cross Country Pick 5 in Aqueduct's featured $100,000 Maddie May for New York-bred 3-year-old fillies at a one-turn mile. OXO Equine's promising filly Brattle House faces stakes company for the first time after an impressive November 22 victory for trainer and co-breeder Christophe Clement. She faces accomplished stakes winners Secret Love and Vacay, both of whom scored at said caliber at Aqueduct. The Maddie May has a scheduled post of 4:50 p.m.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, Feb. 20:
Leg A: Aqueduct-Race 5 (3:20 p.m.)
Leg B: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 8 (3:47 p.m.)
Leg C: Aqueduct-Race 7 (4:20 p.m.)
Leg D: Tampa Bay Downs-Race 9 (4:22 p.m.)
Leg E: Aqueduct – Race 8, $100,000 Maddie May (4:50 p.m.)

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Tampa Bay Downs Announces Third Purse Increase This Season

Despite rainy weather, Tampa Bay Downs horsemen and horsewomen are basking in sunshine today upon the announcement of a third purse increase this season, which will go into effect with Saturday's card.

Ongoing gains in simulcast revenue have led to another 10-percent boost, with an additional $2,500 for all allowance races and $1,250 more for maiden special weight, claiming and starter races. The increase amounts to approximately $15,000 more per day in total purse money.

Tampa Bay Downs previously increased purses by 10 percent on Dec. 16 and again on Feb. 3.

In on-track news, officials further postponed the track's annual Turf Sprint Showcase Day – featuring the $100,000 Turf Dash Stakes and the $100,000 Lightning City Stakes – from Sunday to next Wednesday, Feb. 24. Both races had been pushed back from Saturday to Sunday earlier because of the soaked condition of the turf course, which last saw action Friday.

With more rain forecast later this week, the decision was made to give the turf course plenty of time to dry out and create conditions as equitable as possible for all runners.

The Turf Dash is for horses 4-years-old-and-upward and the Lightning City is for fillies and mares 4-and-upward. Both races are at a distance of 5 furlongs on the turf course.

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Tickets For Tampa Bay Derby Day Now On Sale

Tickets for Festival Day 41 Presented by Lambholm South on March 6 are now being sold on the Tampa Bay Downs website, www.tampabaydowns.com.

General Admission attendance will be capped at 2,500. Tickets are $15 plus a $2.55 service fee. Picnic Area tables sold out quickly, but a total of 100 individual Picnic Area spaces are being sold for $15 each, plus the service fee. Anyone purchasing a Picnic Area space must provide their own seating.

The General Admission and Picnic Area ticket price includes a commemorative cap.

Five stakes races will be contested on March 6, headed by the 41st running of the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby for 3-year-olds at a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the main track.

The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is a “Road to the Kentucky Derby” points race, awarding qualifying points for the May 1 Run for the Roses to the first four finishers on a 50-20-10-5 scale. The Oldsmar showcase has produced two Kentucky Derby winners: 2007 Tampa Bay Derby winner Street Sense and 2010 Tampa Bay Derby third-place finisher Super Saver.

Turf-loving females will also be spotlighted. The Grade 2, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes for older fillies and mares – which has produced such top-class winners in recent years as Starship Jubilee (2020), Fourstar Crook (2018), Dickinson (2017), Tepin (2016), Stephanie's Kitten (2015) and Zagora (2012) – will be contested at a mile-and-an-eighth on the grass. The Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies, first run on the turf in 2011, is slated for a mile-and-a-sixteenth.

Rounding out the March 6 stakes menu are the Grade 3, $100,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes for horses 4-years-old-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.

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