Winfor the Money, the G1 champion who claimed third place in two significant Saratoga races last summer, is anticipated to compete this Saturday in the 40th edition of the $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes. Scheduled over 1 1/16 miles on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs, the 7-year-old gelding has an impressive resume, including a victory in the G1 Rogers Woodbine Mile last September and a third-place finish in the G1 FanDuel Forster Dave Stakes last August. Owned by Live Oak Plantation and trained by Mark Casse—who previously won this race with Live Oak’s Homebred World Approval in 2018 and trained last year’s Eclipse Award Turf champion and Breeders’ Cup Mile winner—Winfor the Money is one of eight older horses on the entry list for the Tampa Bay Stakes.
Saturday’s card also features the 27th running of the Grade 2 Endeavor Stakes, a 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares aged four and older, with a $175,000 purse. Among the leading contenders is Scythian, a 4-year-old mare owned by Lawrence Goichmann and trained by Bill Mott, the 2025 Eclipse Award-winning trainer. Scythian notably triumphed over Mott himself—who had back-to-back Endeavor victories in 2005 and 2006 with Delta Princess and My Lordship—in the 2024 Grade 2 Miss Grillo Stakes at Belmont Park.
Bill Mott is also expected to enter Simulate, a 4-year-old colt owned by Claiborne Farm and Adele B. Dilschneider, in the Tampa Bay Stakes. Mott, a Hall of Famer alongside trainers Mark Casse and Claude “Shag” McGaughey III, aims to secure a fifth Tampa Bay Stakes title with Sherlock’s Jewel, a 6-year-old gelding owned by Wharton Connell Racing. Additional confirmed or potential runners in the Tampa Bay Stakes include Tom’s Magic, a 4-year-old colt owned by CJ Thoroughbred and Morspeed Racing who placed second in the G1 Hollywood Derby, Spellcast (5 years old, owned by WinStar Farm and Blazing Meadows Farm), Heathgard (6 years old, owned by Lambholm Stables), Innately Good (4 years old, owned by Brant Laue and Recovery Stable), and Kitten, a 7-year-old gelding from Bella Mia Stables.
In the Endeavor Stakes, Scythian’s competition includes Bell of Lights, a 5-year-old filly owned by Emory A. Hamilton and trained by McGaughey; Love You Anyway, a 4-year-old mare trained by George R. “Rusty” Arnold II; and Public Defender, a 5-year-old mare trained by Saffie A. Joseph Jr. McGaughey, who took the 2023 Endeavor Stakes unexpectedly with a Phipps stable runner, hopes to continue his success. Jockey Arnold, a three-time Tampa Bay Stakes winner with his most recent victory in 2010 aboard Karelian, will be seeking his first Endeavor win guiding Love You Anyway, who finished second in the Grade III Pebbles Stakes last November at Aqueduct and is owned by Bregman Family Racing LLC.
Public Defender boasts five wins out of 11 starts for trainer Joseph and owner Miller Racing LLC. She debuted in stakes company with a solid third-place finish in the Suwanee River Stakes at Gulfstream on December 20th. Trainer Joseph is a familiar figure at Oldsmar, known for conditioning 7-year-old Skippy Longstocking, who recently notched three consecutive wins, including the G3 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs and an upset victory in the G1 Pegasus World Cup Invitational at Gulfstream.
Likely contenders for the Endeavor also include Woodford Thoroughbreds’ 6-year-old Aussie Girl and 5-year-old Madame Mischief, owned by Amo Racing USA.
This article was first published by Paulick Report on January 26, 2026, and appeared initially in the News section.
Fan Take: This lineup highlights the deep talent and competitive spirit thriving in turf racing, signaling an exciting future for fans and participants alike. These stakes performances not only showcase top equine athletes but also underscore the strategic brilliance of Hall of Fame trainers shaping the sport’s evolving narrative.
