The race for the Run for the Roses will get tighter when the 2025 Sam F. Davis Stakes runs at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday. The top five horses in the 2025 Sam F. Davis field will be award points on a sliding scale 20-10-6-4-2, which will put the winner in prime position to qualify for the 2025 Kentucky Derby. Three entrants into the 10-horse 2025 Sam F. Davis lineup have already accumulated Kentucky Derby points, which will make the competition at the 1 1/16-mile track even more fierce. Post time is 5:14 p.m. ET.
Owen Almighty is the 2-1 morning-line favorite in the 2025 Sam F. Davis Stakes odds. The top five 2025 Sam F. Davis Stakes favorites are rounded out by John Hancock (3-1), Poster (4-1), Treaty of Rome (6-1) and Naughty Rascal (6-1). With several accomplished horses set to enter the starting gate on Saturday, you’ll want to see what SportsLine writer Gene Menez has to say before making any Sam F. Davis Stakes picks or horse racing predictions.
A former reporter and editor at Sports Illustrated, Menez covered an array of sports, including horse racing, for the magazine and its website for almost 14 years. Between 2010 and 2012, he served as SI’s handicapper for the Triple Crown races and correctly predicted Super Saver to win the Kentucky Derby in 2010.
In 2015, while writing for Sports on Earth, Menez accurately gave out the Kentucky Derby superfecta (American Pharoah, Firing Line, Dortmund and Frosted), which paid $1,268.20 for $2. Then in 2017, he tweeted out his Kentucky Derby picks, including Always Dreaming to win, and hit the Pick 4, which paid almost $6,900 on a $1 bet.
In May of last year, Menez gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby. Last November, he crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for a $5,303 score.
For Saturday, Menez has handicapped the 2025 Sam F. Davis Stakes field, made his picks and constructed his best bets. You can head to SportsLine now to see them.
One surprise: Menez is fading Owen Almighty, even though he is the top favorite at 2-1. The Brian Lynch-trained horse has two first-place finishes in four career starts and finished 2024 as the runner-up at the Iroquois Stakes (Gr. 3) at Churchill Downs. However, that race was all the way back in September and he is coming off of a fifth-place finish at Tampa Bay in January. The expert acknowledges the two-year-old’s intrigue, but is weary of his short odds.
“I actually think Owen Almighty is a horse to watch on the Kentucky Derby trail, but 2-1 is too short to take on a horse who will be going two turns for the first time and will be facing other speed horses up front,” Menez told SportsLine. You can see all of Menez’s 2025 Pegasus World Cup bets here.
Moreover, Menez’s top pick is a horse who “figures to have a hot early pace.” He also is high on a double-digit longshot who is “projected to get to the front.” Menez is including these horses in his 2025 Sam F. Davis Stakes bets, and so should you. He’s sharing what horses to back at SportsLine.
So what horse wins the Sam F. Davis Stakes 2025? And how has Menez constructed his wagers? Visit SportsLine to see Menez’s picks for the Sam F. Davis Stakes, all from the expert who gave out 18-1 Mystik Dan as a live longshot in the Kentucky Derby and crushed the late Pick 4 on Breeders’ Cup Saturday for $5,303, and find out.
