Renegade had made it with big Derby Prep win at Tampa Bay Downs

Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher continued his supremacy in the $210,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs when his trainee Renegade won the preliminary race for the Kentucky Derby presented by Woodford Reserve, earning Pletcher’s record-extending eighth career victory in the race.

For Renegade, the Sam F. Davis was his first career victory, but he entered the race like no ordinary girl. After a distant third in his debut on August 16 at Saratoga Race Course, he crossed the line first ahead of the promising Paladin in a maiden race on October 17 at Aqueduct, but was disqualified and finished second for interference. Renegade then raced again at Aqueduct in the December 6 Grade 2 Remsen Stakes, trailing Paladin by two lengths after launching an early move and racing wide. Paladin is considered one of the early favorites for the Kentucky Derby.

Renegade made another trip outside in the Sam F. Davis, but that didn’t matter against the foes he faced on Saturday. Closing from eighth in the field of nine, he reeled in the small stakes winner Wayne’s Law and pulled away to score by 3 3/4 lengths under Irad Ortiz Jr.

“This is one of the best first wins I’ve ever had in my life,” Repole Stable co-owner Mike Repole joked in an interview on FOX Sports.

Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. took a third win in the Sam F. Davis after riding Classic Causeway (2022) and Ocean Knight (2015) to victory for other trainers.

Leader Wayne’s Law, who posted fractions of :23.80, :48.30 and 1:12.81, held on to second place by 2 1/4 lengths over show finisher The Puma, who was the second favorite in the race after finishing second in a well-judged first race in his only other start last month. Game for It came fourth and Epic Desire came fifth. Another of the favorites in the Sam F. Davis, Confessional, weakened to seventh after dealing with stretch traffic.

With the Sam F. Davis portion of the Road to the Kentucky Derby points series, the top five finishers earned qualifying points on a scale of 20-10-6-4-2 for the first leg of the Triple Crown on May 2 at Churchill Downs. Officials there use qualifying points as a preferential system when the Derby draws more than its 20-horse capacity.

Combined with the five points he had already taken for his second place in the Remsen, Renegade now has 25 Derby points. With one more race ahead of him before the Derby Renegade’s next start could be in the $1.5 million Grade 1 Arkansas Derby on March 28 at Oaklawn Park.

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