Tampa Bay Derby

Notes:
Unbeaten Verrazano is the star attraction in the 33 rd edition of the Tampa Bay Derby despite presence of five stakes winners among the nine entries. All will be vying for a share of the 350,000 purse plus the 50-20-10-5 Kentucky Derby qualifying points awarded to the top four finishers, respectively. Verrazano has been nothing short of spectacular in winning his two starts by a combined 24 lengths. The 104 BRIS Speed Rating Todd Pletcher s charge earned in a 1m Gulfstream Park allowance race last month is the only triple digit figure from any of this bunch. Falling Sky won the local prep, the G3 Sam F. Davis S., for this race and sports a bullet work in preparation for his return from his South Florida base at Palm Meadows. Dynamic Sky came up a neck short in the Sam Davis and previously took the Pasco S. over this surface to begin his sophomore campaign. Undefeated Purple Egg is the local hope and also has a stakes victory here, having won the Inaugural S. on 12/1 to end his juvenile season. The gelding has been sidetracked with a number of issues since and must overcome the lengthy layoff in his two-turn debut. G2 Hutcheson S. champ Honorable Dillion will also be routing for the 1 st time, but the son of Tapit should be able to handle this distance. He s never been off-the-board in four starts. Grassy Sunday Silence S. hero Java s War gets another chance on dirt after closing out his two-year-old campaign with a 6 th -place finish in the G2 Kentucky Jockey Club S. at Churchill Downs. Marylou Whitney s homebred Eton Blue was a distant 2 nd in Verrazano s allowance score but was flattered when the 3 rd -place runner from that returned to take a strong allowance optional claiming event at Gulfstream on 3/2. By Giant s Causeway out of Kentucky Oaks heroine Bird Town, he s bred to run all day. Park City is another unbeaten entrant making his two-turn debut. A stablemate of Verrazano, he could be scratched in favor of the G2 Rebel S. at Oaklawn Park next week. Calder invader Offlee Fast has outrun his long odds in each of his last two and made a spectacular pre-race appearance before winning a Gulfstream maiden turf race on 1/26. He followed that up with a narrow miss to Capo Bastone in the slop there.
Tampa Bay Derby has gained wide popularity over the past few years. Horsemen use this thoroughbred-racing meet as the preparatory ground for the Kentucky Derby. Tampa Bay Downs organizes this grade III racing meet generally in March for three year olds willing to run eight and a half furlongs on the dirt track.

Street Sense clinched the Tampa Bay Derby posting a record time of 1 43.11 by .02 seconds. Deputy Glitters won the title in 2006 while Sun King got it in 2005. Limehouse won the 2004 title and Region of Merit won it in 2003. Musket Man won the 2009 title.

Tampa Bay Derby Past Winners

Year	Winner	Trainer	Jockey	Owner	Time
2012	Prospective	Mark Casse	Luis Contreras	John Oxley	1:43.35
2011	Watch Me Go	Kathleen O'Connell	Luis Garcia	Gilbert G. Campbell	1:44.25
2010	Odysseus	Thomas Albertrani	Rajiv Maragh	Padua Stables	1:44.31
2009	Musket Man	Derek Ryan	Daniel Centeno	Eric Fein/Vic Carlson	1:43.67
2008	Big Truck	Barclay Tagg	Eibar Coa	Eric Fein	1:44.25
2007	Street Sense	Carl Nafzger	Calvin Borel	James B. Tafel	1:43.11
2006	Deputy Glitters	Tom Albertrani	Jose Lezcano	Joseph Lacombe Stable	1:44.26
2005	Sun King	Nick Zito	Edgar Prado	Tracy Farmer	1:43.98
2004	Limehouse	Todd A. Pletcher	Pat Day	Dogwood Stable	1:43.99
2003	Region of Merit	Christophe Clement	Eibar Coa	Calumet Farm	1:44.61
2002	Equality	H. Graham Motion	Ramon Dominguez	Pin Oak Farm	1:43.66
2001	Burning Roma	Heather A. Giglio	Richard Migliore	Harold L. Queen	1:44.30
2000	Wheelaway	John C. Kimmel	Richard Migliore	C. Kimmel / P. Solondz	1:43.90
1999	Pineaff	Kenneth McPeek	Jose A. Santos	Roy & Joyce Monroe	1:45.20
1998	Parade Ground	Neil J. Howard	Pat Day	W. S. Farish / S. Hilbert	1:45.40
1997	Zede	William I. Mott	Jerry D. Bailey	Allen E. Paulson	1:44.80
1996	Thundering Storm	Don R. Rice	Jorge Guerra	Deborrah Artz	1:43.80
1995	Gazook	J. Bert Sonnier	Gary Boulanger	Du-Zee Stables	1:45.40
1994	Prix de Crouton	Loren Berg	Mickey Walls	Loren & Kathleen Berg	1:46.60
1993	Marco Bay	Sarah Lundy	Ron Allen, Jr.	Jay Shaw	1:44.40
1992	Careful Gesture	Elbert Dixon	Robert N. Lester	Cecilia Dixon	1:45.80
1991	Speedy Cure	Harvey Culp	Ricardo Lopez	Susan B. Fisher	1:46.20
1990	Champagneforashley	Howard M. Tesher	Jacinto Vasquez	Baker/Kaskel/Feinbloom	1:44.00
1989	Storm Predictions	Luis Olivares	S. Gaffalion	Three G Stables	1:43.80
1988	Cefis	Woody Stephens	Eddie Maple	Ryehill Farm/ R. Kirkhar	1:44.40
1987	Phantom Jet	Phillip Gleaves	Keith K. Allen	Aisco Stables	1:43.80
1986	My Prince Charming	Newcomb Green	Craig Perret	Aronow Stable	1:46.60
1985	Regal Remark	James E. Day	Jeffrey Fell	Sam-Son Farm	1:46.80
1984	Bold Southerner	P. Maxwell	W. Crews	Rusticwoods Farm	1:44.60
1983	Morganmorganmorgan	A. Monteiro	W. Rodriguez	M. Bishop	1:47.20
1982	Reinvested	Stanley M. Hough	Richard D. Luhr	Harbor View Farm	1:45.20
1981	Paristo David	George Handy	David Ashcroft	Belmont Farm	1:45.40

Tampa Bay Derby Video