Tampa Bay Derby 2024 Picks

By Jarrod Horak

The road to Kentucky Derby 2024 continues at Tampa Bay Downs on Saturday, March 9, and I have included Tampa Bay Derby 2024 picks below. The Grade 3 event for 3-year-olds has a $400,000 purse and the ten entrants will be journeying 1 1/16 miles on the main track. The Tampa Bay Derby is the 11th race on March 9 and the top five finishers will earn Kentucky Derby points (50-25-15-10-5). 

Tampa Bay Derby 2024 Picks & Final Time Ratings

Todd Pletcher has won this race six times. Two of his winners (Destin, Tapwrit) last raced at Tampa Bay, and that is also the case with his 2024 entrant Heartened. The $55k son of Street Boss started the year with a rallying show finish in a turf route at Gulfstream Park. The top two finishers were next-out winners, and this colt switched to dirt and graduated in a local slow early/fast late dirt route as the favorite on Feb. 10. He will probably save ground stalking the pace under his winning rider Jose Ortiz. 

Good Money is a $100k son of Good Magic for Chad Brown. He was 4-1 in his local extended sprint bow on Jan. 26, and he stalked from the inside post and graduated by a length in a professional effort. Irad Ortiz Jr. is his new pilot and he has upside, but he needs to run faster to compete with these. 

Domestic Product is a logical contender for Chad Brown. He added blinkers and stretched out second time out last fall, and chased from second, hit the front, and graduated by 4 1/2 lengths. He was 8-1 in the Grade 2 Remsen at 1/18 miles in the mud last December, and he stalked the pace and weakened in the lane. That was a key race. Winner Sierra Leone won the Risen Star (G2) in February. Runner-up Dornoch captured the Grade 2 Fountain of Youth last weekend, and show finisher Drum Roll Please won the Jerome Stakes in January. This one was 14-1 in the Holy Bull (G3) on Feb. 3, and he stalked a slow pace and landed the place. Tyler Gaffalione knows him now and he projects a decent tactical trip in this spot. 

No More Time carved out legit fractions in the Grade 3 Sam F. Davis and kept to his task in a length and a quarter victory as the favorite. That was not a particularly fast race but this field is probably not much faster, and he might get brave if able to shake loose early under his new rider Javier Castellano.  

The Tampa Bay Derby field also includes Everdoit, Give Me Liberty, Catire Vizcaya, Crazy Mason, Grand Mo the First, and maiden Sturdy. 

Tampa Bay Derby 2024 Picks

The Tampa Bay Derby is my 26th video on the road to Kentucky Derby 2024, and my top choices have eight wins, five runner-up finishes, and five show finishes. I will cover each points race on the Kentucky Derby trail. Check out my Tampa Bay Derby 2024 picks video below.