Horse Racing This Weekend: Key Races, Top Horses & Best Bets [Feb 4-Feb 9]
Tampa Bay Downs Scenic (SV Photography)
February 7th, 2025
INDEX: Top Horses and Best Bets | Promotional Bonus Offers | Tournaments | Sam F. Davis | Official Triple Crown Nomination List 2025 | More Horse Racing This Weekend
Get ready for horse racing this weekend
Discover everything you need to know about horse racing this weekend, including top horses, best bets, tournaments, key races, and many great promotional bonus offers you just can't say no to.
Come back to find more weekly horse races and promotional offers every weekend.
Top horses and best bets for horse racing this weekend
The key horse races this week on the Road to the Kentucky Derby and Oaks offers some of our top horses and best bets this week, alongside some interesting fields Turfway and Oaklawn.
Click to jump to each race listed:
Best Bets for the Sam F. Davis
Read the full analysis here: Tipsheet: 2025 Sam F. Davis Stakes
A talented group of 10 three-year-old prospects will run 1 1/16 miles on the Tampa Bay Downs dirt oval in Saturday’s $250,000 Sam F. Davis S. (G3). Be ready to place your best bets with the picks below!
Sam F. Davis Stakes Wagers
Does jockey experience influence win rates and earnings?
The career of an elite jockey can last for decades. It’s not uncommon for jockeys to win major races in their 40s and 50s. But does years of experience counterbalance the benefits of youth, which can be an advantage for athletes in so many other sports? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!
Top Horses: Sam F. Davis
Click on each horse name to add them to your stable. Never miss a race they're a part of again!
Treaty of Rome: Well-bred Uncle Mo colt was a head shy in Mucho Macho Man S. at Gulfstream in his latest performance and fits well in the field for trainer Chad Brown. The colt is bred to handle two turns with ease, and his last pair of tries indicate that he will appreciate the added ground on Saturday. Dylan Davis will guide the dangerous
Poster: Unbeaten son of Munnings has improved his Brisnet Speed figure in each career run to date and comes off of a visually impressive tally in the Remsen S. (G2) last out for conditioner Eoin Harty. The Godolphin homebred drilled a bullet five-eighths on the strip in advance of his local debut and picks up good local jockey Antonio Gallardo.
Owen Almighty: Major threat from the Brian Lynch barn crossed the wire in first only to be taken down in the Pasco S. on the oval most recently. The Iroquois S. (G3) runner-up will have blinkers added for this assignment, and it’s a good thing that he retains pilot Irad Ortiz, Jr., too. The Speightstown colt will be forwardly placed from the break.
John Hancock: Second timer from the Brad Cox shedrow led at every call in a maiden special weight score on the oval on debut and could be any type going forward. The Constitution chestnut showed speed and came home swiftly during his unveiling, and the colt has trained well with two nice morning drills in the interim, as well. Flavien Prat coming in to ride is a major plus.
RELATED: Meet the Contenders: 2025 Sam F. Davis Stakes
Mage winning the Kentucky Derby (G1) at Churchill Downs (Photo by Horsephotos.com)
Kentucky Derby: Is the Apollo Curse a negative or positive?
For over a hundred years, the “Apollo Curse” was a seemingly unbreakable Kentucky Derby handicapping rule.
In 1882, Apollo became the first horse who did not race as a two-year-old to win the Kentucky Derby. His feat went unmatched throughout the 20th century; it seemed juvenile racing experience was basically a prerequisite to win the Derby.
However, is the Apollo Curse shattered and irrelevant? CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!
Jason Beem's Racing Podcast
Jason looks ahead to Saturday's big Sam F. Davis Day card at Tampa Bay Downs.
The Jury with your best bets and fades
Ashley Anderson, James Scully, and Darin Zoccali go over their best bets and fades at Tampa Bay Downs, including the Sam F. Davis, a Road to the Kentucky Derby (G1) prep. Plus, they look at racing at Oaklawn Park and Turfway Park.
Best Bets: The Suncoast Road to the Kentucky Oaks points race
Read the full analysis here: Betting With, and Against, La Cara in the Suncoast Stakes
La Cara holds as the favorite at 2-1 as she makes her 2025 debut. However, for those that don't like the idea of this favorite we also have you covered. Here are some best bets with and against La Cara.
La Cara – With
- $6 trifecta 6 with 3,4 with 2,3,4 ($24)
- $3 superfecta key 6 with 2,3,4 ($18)
La Cara – Against
- $2 trifecta 3,4 with 2,3,4,6 with 2,3,4,6 ($24)
- 30-cent superfecta 3,4 with 2,3,4,6 with 2,3,4,6 with all ($18)
Top Horses: Suncoast Stakes
La Cara (2-1): This Pocahontas S. queen will make her 2025 debut in this spot for conditioner Mark Casse and rates a big chance with her best performance. By Street Sense, the Tracy Farmer homebred broke through in her fourth lifetime effort when dominating maiden foes at Saratoga, and she followed that up with her graded coup beneath the Twin Spires in her penultimate start as a juvenile. The bay can be effective from on or off the pace, and she has posted a long string of good morning moves in advance of Saturday, as well. Dylan Davis inherits the mount.
Italian Soiree (7-2): She offers a lot of appeal to me in her seasonal bow for conditioner John Terranova. Purchased for $600,000 as a two-year-old, the filly romped in her debut performance at Aqueduct prior to finishing a clear second in the Adirondack S. (G3) at The Spa second time out. In her last pair of runs, the Kentucky-bred ran evenly on the lawn with graded company and I like that she will return to the dirt for her sophomore bow. She is training in good fashion, will wear blinkers for the first time, and also picks up Flavien Prat, too.
Her Laugh (5-2): She has done little wrong from two lifetime showings for trainer Whitworth Beckman. The Practical Joke homebred graduated at first asking at Churchill Downs in November, prior to leading throughout in the Untapable S. at Fair Grounds in her juvenile finale. She could be any kind going forward, and the chestnut has to be considered a serious win threat with Irad Ortiz, Jr. in the stirrups.
Dancing Magic (8-1) She is a lively exotics piece if one of the top three falters for trainer Michael Campbell. This Good Magic filly has good form leading up to this affair, led by a triumph in the Gasparilla S. on the oval most recently, and I expect her to appreciate going two turns for the initial time. I prefer others in the top slot, but the chestnut surely merits inclusion in the vertical exotics beneath Junior Alvarado.
TwinSpires Weekend Windup@AshleyAnd502 gets you ready for this weekend's stakes racing action from coast to coast. pic.twitter.com/52Ar9lW7HG
— TwinSpires Racing 🏇 (@TwinSpires) February 7, 2025
Turfway Park (Coady Photography)
Pick 3 of the Week: Turfway Park Saturday
This week’s Pick 3 of the Week will come from Turfway Park on Saturday.
Race 6 Wager:
- $1 Pick 3: All with 1,3,4,5 with 5 ($36)
Lightning Struck wins at Oaklawn Park. (Photo by Coady Media)
Pick 4 of the Week: Oaklawn Park on Saturday
A fun final quartet of races on the Oaklawn Park card on Saturday, led by the Bayakoa S. (G3), comprises the late Pick 4 at the Hot Springs, Arkansas venue.
Race 7 Wager:
- 50-cent Pick 4: 5,10 with 3,7,8,9,10 with 1,3,6 with 3,5,8 ($45)
Official Triple Crown Nominations List 2025
Triple Crown nominated three-year-old colts, geldings, and fillies, are listed among this list of 373 potential participants for the Triple Crown. A horse must be declared and placed on a listing of suitors which could compete in each of the three Triple Crown jewels. To be eligible for a shot on the trail, a paid fee of $600 accompanies a submission form for each individual horse. BUT if you wait until the last minute of Monday, April 7th, the fee will grow to $6,000! CLICK HERE TO READ MORE!
Sam F. Davis day 15% Profit Boost
Opt in to receive a 15% boost on your winning Win, Exacta, Trifecta, and Superfecta wagers at Tampa Bay Downs for Sam F. Davis Day on Saturday, February 8th.
Oaklawn Park 15% Across The Board Boost
Opt in to receive a 15% odds boost on any winning individual Win, Place, or Show wager or combination of Win, Place, and Show wagers each Friday in February.
Turfway Park Selected Races $10 Money Back
Opt in to receive up to $10 back on your first single horse bet if your horse runs second in select races at Turfway Park each Thursday and Friday in February.
Gulfstream Park 2,000,000 Points Late Pick-5 Hit it & Split it
Opt in and play the Late Pick-5 at Gulfstream Park each Sunday in February for a chance to split the 2,000,000 rewards points prize pool each promotional day.
8x Points at Fair Grounds
Opt in and receive 8x reward points on all races, excluding Show wagers, at Fair Grounds each Thursday in February.
