The 1 1⁄16-mile Tampa Bay Derby (G3) is Saturday at Tampa Bay Downs.
The race has long existed in the shadow of richer Derby preps at nearby Gulfstream Park.
But even in the face of fierce competition to attract the best three-year-olds in Florida, the Tampa Bay Derby has more than held its own as a productive prep for the First Saturday in May.
First held in 1981, the Tampa Bay Derby got off to a quick start when 1982 Winner REINVESTED went on to finish 3rd in the Kentucky Derby, but it wasn’t until the turn of the century that the Tampa race really hit its stride.
Tampa Bay Derby runners-up MENIFEE (1999) and IMPEACHMENT (2000) went on to hit the board in the Kentucky Derby, prompting the race to receive Grade 3 status in 2002.
That upgrade, coupled with steady purse increases, seemed to necessitate better horses to target the Tampa Bay Derby.
2006 runner-up BLUEGRASS CAT gave the race a boost when finishing 2nd in the Kentucky Derby, and STREET SENSE raised the bar in 2007, Winning both the Tampa Bay Derby and the Kentucky Derby.
Todd Pletcher has been the most successful trainer of Tampa Bay Derby Champions, Winning with LIMEHOUSE in 2004 before saddling four Winners during a five-year span from 2013 to 2017.
Pletcher also saddled 2010 3rd-place finisher SUPER SAVER, who went on to claim the 2010 Kentucky Derby.
The Tampa Bay Derby continued to grow during the 2010s, reaching Grade 2 status in 2011 while riding the talent wave generated by STREET SENSE and SUPER SAVER.
The purse reached $400,000 in 2018, one year after Pletcher’s TAPWRIT used a Tampa Bay Derby Victory as a springboard to success in the Belmont Stakes (G1).
In 2019, TACITUS Won the Tampa Bay Derby in the Stakes-record time of 1:41.90, the start of a productive season that saw him place 2nd in both the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes.
In 2023 the American Graded Stakes Committee downgraded the event back to a Grade 3.
As part of the Kentucky Derby Championship Series, the Tampa Bay Derby offers 100 Derby qualification points to the top five finishers, divided on a 50-25-15-10-5 basis.
Thus, assuring the Winner a spot in the gate to Run for the Roses.
