OnlineSportsBetting
By , Updated on: Jan 24, 2025 12:00 AM

Tampa Bay Downs has been a gem of south Florida racing since 1926, when it was opened by a team led by Colonel Matt Winn: the man who made the Kentucky Derby famous. Over the last hundred years it has earned its spot as one of the most popular racetracks in the country, loved by fans, horsemen, and gamblers.

Surprisingly, one of Tampa Bay Downs’ most renowned features is also one of its newest. Though the track has one of the premier turf courses in the country, the track had dirt racing only until May of 1998, when the grass course was opened. It is consistently regarded as one of the best and safest turf courses in North America

Tampa Bay Downs holds live racing for about half the year. The meet gets underway in mid-November, and its closing day happens in May, right around the Kentucky Derby. With top horses and competitive fields, it is worth getting to know Tampa Bay Downs and betting the track online all meet long!

Tampa Bay Downs Racetrack Best Bets

If you’re ready to bet Tampa Bay Downs, keep a few things in mind.

First of all, the dirt course there is very “love-it-or-hate-it”, so especially in dirt races, make sure to compare each horse’s record at Tampa Bay Downs with their record away from it. Some horses run much better at Tampa than elsewhere, and especially at the start of the meet they can be a big price. Some horses run worse at Tampa than elsewhere, so it can be profitable to bet against favorites who have either never tried the track, or have raced there a few times and run poorly.

Secondly, make sure to consider running style and post position. In dirt sprints, early speed is strong from any gate, but especially in inside (1-3) posts. Going long on dirt, an inside or middle (4-6) gate is a good one, with speed horses and horses tracking within a few lengths of the pace faring generally better than closers. Tampa Bay Downs doesn’t run enough turf sprints to draw a reliable picture of post or running style bias, but in turf routes, any gate can be a winner but stalkers and closers do much better than pacesetters.

Remember, you can bet races at Tampa Bay Downs securely from anywhere with an account at an online racebook! You can bet from your computer, tablet, or phone, and these sites give you up-to-the-minute fields and odds. They also offer bettor-friendly bankroll builders like sign-up and deposit bonuses, referral benefits, and

Top Horse Races at Tampa Bay Downs

Tampa Bay Downs hosts a full program of stakes including six as the graded level, including races on both dirt and turf.

Tampa Bay Derby

The flagship race at Tampa Bay Downs is the Grade 3, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby, a 50-point prep for the Kentucky Derby. The race dates back to 1981 and has been rated as high as a Grade 2 during its history; it has been a Grade 3 again since 2023. It covers 1 1/16 miles on the dirt, and it virtually assures its winner a spot in the Kentucky Derby starting gate.

Todd Pletcher is the undisputed king of the Tampa Bay Derby with eight wins between 2004 and 2023. His 2023 winner Tapit Trice followed up the victory with a win in the Blue Grass (G1), and Destin (2016) missed by just a nose in the Belmont Stakes. Pletcher would win the Belmont the next year with his Tampa Bay Derby winner, Tapwrit, who set a stakes record with his Tampa Bay Derby win.

One horse has won both the Tampa Bay Derby and the Kentucky Derby. Street Sense, trained by Carl Nafzger and ridden by Calvin Borel, won them both in 2007.

Challenger Stakes

The newest graded stakes on the Tampa Bay Downs calendar is the $100,000 Challenger, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race for older horses. The race dates back to 2002, but earned a grade for the first time in 2020. It is also run in early March, typically on the same card as the Tampa Bay Derby

Hall of Fame trainer Todd Pletcher leads all trainers with four wins in the Challenger, including with high-flying California sire Stanford in 2017. Consistent fan favorite Skippylongstocking, a graded-stakes fixture all over the country, won the race in both 2023 and 2024, becoming the first horse to win it more than once. Perhaps its best winner is Fort Larned (2012), who went on to win the Breeders' Cup Classic later that year.

Florida Oaks

The Florida Oaks, whose history goes back to 1984,  was run for the first time in 1984 and was originally contested on the dirt as a prep race for the Kentucky Oaks. The race was moved to turf in 2011. It currently offers a purse of $200,000 and has Grade 3 status.

Bill Mott, one of the top trainers in the country, has won this race four times. That is the most Florida Oaks wins of any trainer. Mott won the race with Ebony Breeze (2003), Tapicat (2013), Quality Rocks (2015), and Waskesiu (2024).

When it was still a dirt race, two Florida Oaks winners went on to win the Kentucky Oaks. The two horses who completed that sweep were Luv Me Luv Me Not (1992), trained by Glenn Wismer, and Secret Status (2000), trained by Neil Howard.

Hillsborough Stakes

The only Grade 2 race at Tampa Bay Downs as of 2024, the Hillsborough Stakes, dates back to 1999, The race is a 1 1/8-mile grass event for older fillies and mares. It has been graded since 2004, and held Grade 2 status since 2016.

Top turf trainer Chad Brown leads all conditioners with six wins in the Hillsborough. His first came with eventual champion turf mare Zagora in 2012, who would go on to win the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf at the end of that season. His 2015 winner, Stephanie's Kitten, also went on to win that same Breeders' Cup race at the end of the year. Brown has also won with Fourstarcrook (2018), Rymska (2019), Bleecker Street (2022), and Shantisara (2023).

Perhaps the biggest stars to win this race include 2015 Breeders' Cup Mile winner and two-time champion Turf mare Tepin (2016) as well as 2006 champion juvenile filly Dreaming of Anna (2008).

Sam F. Davis Stakes

The Sam F. Davis Stakes, a Grade 3 race worth $250,000, covers 1 1/16 miles on the dirt. Run since 1981 and graded since 2009, this early-to-mid-February feature serves as a local prep for the Tampa Bay Derby. The 20 points earned by the winner won't guarantee them a spot in the starting gate, but along with a good performance in one or two more preps they will be Kentucky Derby bound.

Trainer Todd Pletcher is the perennial star of the Sam F. Davis, with seven winners during the course of his career: Bluegrass Cat (2006), Any Given Saturday (2007), Rule (2010), Brethren (2011), Vinceremos (2014), Destin (2016), and Litigate (2023).

Seven horses have won the Sam F. Davis Stakes and have gone on to win the Tampa Bay Derby – Phantom Jet (1987), Speedy Cure (1991), Marco Bay (1993), Thundering Storm (1996), Burning Roma (2001), Destin (2016), and Classic Causeway (2022). No horse has yet won the Sam F. Davis and the Kentucky Derby.

Endeavour Stakes

The Endeavour Stakes is a 1 1/16-mile race for older fillies and mares, is typically run in early-to-mid-February. The Grade 3 event offers a purse of $175,000. The race's history dates back to 2000, and it has held its current grade since 2008.

Chad Brown has won the Endeavour the most times of any trainer, with four. He won with Zagora (2012), Testa Rossi (2015), Counterparty Risk (2021), and Bleecker Street (2022).

Three champions have won the Endeavour. Dreaming of Anna, the champion juvenile filly of 2006, stayed in training as an older horse and won the Endeavour in 2008 for trainer Wayne Catalano. Zagora started her 2012 season with a win in the Endeavour and then went on to win the Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf, along with champion turf mare honors. Tepin, who won the Breeders' Cup Mile in 2015, won her very next start in the 2016 Endeavour. She would go on to win both the Queen Anne (G1) at Royal Ascot and the Woodbine Mile (G1) against males, finish second in the Breeders' Cup Mile, and be named champion turf mare again that year.