There aren't any Kentucky Derby points at stake for Saturday's Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs, but the winner will be pointed towards the Tampa Bay Derby in March, the winner of which will gain automatic entry into the Kentucky Derby.
You can find horse racing odds at BookMaker.eu at the online racebook.
ODDS ANALYSIS
1: No More Chillin 30/1
2: Gettysburg 5/2
3: Destin 3/1
4: Whatawonderflworld 7/2
5: Rafting 7/2
6: Morning Fire 4/1
7: Awesome Slate 15/1
It's strange to see nothing anywhere even remotely near to an odds-on favorite in a race with just seven colts in it. No More Chillin and Awesome Slate are both going to be relative longshots to win the Sam F. Davis Stakes, but the rest of the horses are lumped between 5 to 2 and 4 to 1, and any of the five could end up going off as the favorite.
Gettysburg opened as the morning line favorite at 5 to 2, but again, we can see anything happening between now and Saturday afternoon's post-time.
FAVORITE TO FOLLOW
You get the feeling that Destin is the horse with the most potential in this field. He was run at Gulfstream Park in January for the LeComte Stakes, but after a poor showing, Todd Pletcher decided to give him a change of scenery. He's never raced at Tampa Bay Downs, and in fact, he isn't even training here either, so this is going to be his first look at this track.
That said, Destin was a 6 to 1 choice at the LeComte and might be in better shape here in the Sunshine State running on what should be a faster track. A trainer like Pletcher doesn't come here to Tampa Bay Downs with a jockey like John Velazquez without a purpose.
UNDERDOG TO WATCH
We actually kind of think Awesome Slate has a shot here on Saturday. Sure, he's a 15 to 1 shot, but he's never failed to hit the board in his career when he finished the race. He's a skittish horse who has already bounced his rider once in his career, but he's trained well here in Florida and could improve after running third in the Pasco Stakes in January.
Prime Power actually has Awesome Slate ranked second best in this field, and if nothing else, that gives him a great price on the morning line of 15 to 1.
ANALYSIS AND PREDICTION
This is going to be a tight race, but we think there could be an upset here. There's a ton of speed, and that makes Whatawonderflworld more dangerous at 7 to 2 than most of the other favorites considering the fact that he's a rare pony who wants to start from the middle of the pack.
However, we don't know how he's going to fare as the trailer, and there's a good chance that's where he's going to be after the opening two furlongs.
Morning Fire has been great on this track, while Gettysburg certainly looks promising after finally breaking his maiden on his third try, but we still prefer the odds on Awesome Slate more than any of the other colts here at the Sam F. Davis Stakes. He's not winning this one more often than not, but we do think he's winning it at least one in 15 times, and that's more than good enough for us.
Play Awesome Slate to win the Sam F. Davis Stakes
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