For Repole Stable and Robert and Lawana Low’s Renegade, the Sam F. Davis marked his first career victory, but he entered the race like no ordinary girl. After a distant third place in his debut on August 16 at Saratoga Race Coursehe crossed the wire first before the promising one Paladin in a first race on October 17th Aqueduct racecoursebut was disqualified and placed second for interference. He then raced again at Aqueduct in the December 6 Remsen, running second behind Paladin, beaten by two lengths, after launching an early move and racing wide.
Paladin is one of the early favorites for the May 2 Kentucky Derby.
Renegade made another trip outside in the Sam F. Davis, but that didn’t matter against the foes he faced on Saturday. He closed from eighth in the field of nine and captured the minor stakes winner Wayne’s Law down the stretch and pulled away to score by 3 3/4 lengths under Irad Ortiz Jr. He clocked 1 1/16 miles in 1:43.54, culminating in a final sixteenth of a mile in :05.97. He paid $4.40 to win as the favorite.
“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.
Ortiz earned a third win after piloting in the Sam F. Davis Classic causeway (2022) and Ocean Knight (2015) to victory for other trainers.
Leading longshot Wayne’s Law, who posted fractions of :23.80, :48.30 and 1:12.81, finished second by 2 1/4 lengths over the show’s finisher The Puma the second favorite having finished second in a well-regarded maiden race in his only other start last month. Game for it came fourth, and Epic desire came fifth.
One of the other favorites, Confessional weakened to seventh after encountering stretch traffic.
The Sam F. Davis portion of the Road to the Kentucky Derby earned the top five finishers qualifying points on a scale of 20-10-6-4-2 for the May 2 first leg of the Triple Crown on Churchill Downs. Officials there use qualifying points as a preferred system when the race attracts more than the 20-horse field size.
Combined with the 5 points he took for his second place in the Remsen, Renegade has 25 points with one more race ahead of him before the Derby. That start could come in the $1.5 million Arkansas Derby (G1) on March 28 Oaklawn Park.
Heading into the Kentucky Derby qualifying points standings
Pletcher’s first Kentucky Derby winner, Super saver also made his way to Oaklawn before finding success in the 2010 Run for the Roses, finishing second in the Arkansas Derby after a third-place finish in the Tampa Bay Derby (G3) in the kick-off race of his three-year campaign.
Pletcher’s other Derby winner, Always dreaming won the Florida Derby (G1) in 2017 Gulfstream Park before the Kentucky Derby. Pletcher is likely to be the winner of the Holy Bull Stakes (G3). Almost in the Florida Derby on March 28 this year.
No Sam F. Davis competitor has yet won the Kentucky Derby. Since 1983, horses leaving the race have compiled an 0-1-2 record after 31 Derby starts. Bluegrass Cat’s second-place finish in the 2006 Derby reflected the top performance. He was Pletcher’s first Sam F. Davis winner.
Renegade, a brown 3-year-old colt In mischief from the ranked bet-winning Curl mare Herb is tasty now has a profit of $199,000.
The Lows bred him in Kentucky and partnered with Repole Stable to race the colt after West Bloodstock signed on behalf of Repole Stable to purchase the colt for $975,000 from the Taylor Made Sales Agency consignment at the 2024 Keeneland September Yearling Sale.
Into Mischief, sire of the 2025 Kentucky Derby winner Sovereignty is a seven-time leading overall sire. He is listed for $250,000 at Spendthrift Farm in Kentucky this breeding season.
Video: Sam F. Davis S. (BT)
Zany remains undefeated in the win over SunCoast
Zaan one of the top 2-year-old fillies of 2025, improved to 3-for-3 as she opened her 2026 season with a deafening 2 3/4-length win in the $100,000 Suncoast Stakes earlier on the Saturday card ahead of Repole Stable, Pletcher and Ortiz.
Zany was in traffic early and later ran wide around the second corner in the rally from the mid pack, moving away from Rags to Riches Stakes winner Life of joy in the track despite green racing. She was reluctant to switch leads until she was halfway through, dragging under Ortiz, who never had to use his riding crop to encourage the 1-5 favorite to victory.
Zany wins the Suncoast Stakes
The Brad Cox-trained Life of Joy, the second choice in the race at 5-2 odds, finished a clear second ahead of Zany’s Pletcher-trained stablemate, Kadabra in third place. One moment please came fourth and Tremont Tammy fifth in the seven-horse race for 3-year-old fillies.
She ran a mile and 40 yards in 1:40.56, the slowest winning time in the race since Curlin’s catch ran the distance in 1:40.89 in 2021. Early splits of :24.89, :49.55 and 1:13.38 in the race were set by Kadabra.
Zany paid $2.40 for a $2 win bet.
The Suncoast provided qualifying points for the May 1 Kentucky Oaks (G1) on the same scale as the Sam F. Davis.
Zany increased her point total to 30 with Saturday’s win, which put her third on the Kentucky Oaks leaderboard. She earned 10 points last year when she won the Demoiselle Stakes (G2) on December 6 Aqueduct racecoursewhich followed a 6 1/2 length girls romp on debut November 2 at Gulfstream Park. She has an income of $221,500.
Heading into the Kentucky Oaks qualifying points standings
“This is her third public workout. I mean, that’s how I would put it,” Mike Repole told FOX Sports.
Three of the past four Suncoast winners had ranking success: The face (2025), Power squeeze (2024), and Nest (2022). None of these three won the Oaks, with Nest performing best with a second place in the prestigious race at Churchill Downs for three-year-old fillies.
Ortiz, Pletcher and Repole Stable won the Suncoast for the second time after their initial success with Nest, which Repole Stable campaigned in partnership with Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners and Michael House.
Zany, bred by the Len and Jon Green-headed DJ Stable in Kentucky, is a daughter of the 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharaoh out of the Uncle Mo mare Mo is Green . West Bloodstock purchased her in 2024 on behalf of Repole Stable for $350,000 from Taylor Made Sales Agency’s consignment to Fasig-Tipton’s The Saratoga Sale in Upstate New York.
After retiring from racing, American Pharoah stood at Coolmore’s Ashford Stud near Versailles, Kentucky. Relocated for the 2026 breeding season, he is now based at Shizunai Stallion Station in Japan, before returning to Ashford Stud in July.
Video: Suncoast S. (BT)
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