Big weekend of horse racing Super Bowl weekend

It’s a big weekend for sports fans all over the world. Super Bowl LIX is on tap, featuring the Kansas City Chiefs going for three titles in a row against Jalen Hurts, Saquon Barkley, and the Philadelphia Eagles.

It’s also a big weekend in horse racing. Big cards at Tampa Bay Downs and Oaklawn Park on Saturday afternoon provide plenty of horse racing betting options for players, and we’ll take a look at those below!

A Derby prep highlights Saturday’s Tampa card

Saturday’s program in Oldsmar, Florida, is a good one. We’ve got 12 races on tap, including a race for three-year-olds on the Road to the Kentucky Derby. That event, the Sam F. Davis S., goes as the 11th race and awards a total of 42 Kentucky Derby points (with 20 going to the winner).

The Sam F. Davis drew a field of 10, and the 2-1 morning line favorite is #6 Owen Almighty. This son of Speightstown won his first two races last summer before finishing second in the Iroquois (G3). He’ll look to bounce back from a disappointing 2025 debut, which came in last month’s Pasco S. over this track. He crossed the wire first, but was disqualified and placed fifth after forcing another runner to check going around the turn. Jockey Irad Ortiz Jr., was aboard that day, and he keeps the mount for conditioner Brian Lynch.

Other contenders include the Brad Cox-trained #3 John Hancock, the 3-1 second choice, and the undefeated #7 Poster, who moved to 3-for-3 with a victory in the Remsen (G2) at Aqueduct in December. Post time is 5:14 p.m. ET.

Tampa’s card also features three other stakes races, too. The Pelican S. and Minaret S. go as the fifth and sixth races, respectively, while the Suncoast S. for three-year-old fillies goes as the ninth and kicks off the 50-cent late Pick 4.

RELATED: May the 4th: The Kentucky Derby meets Star Wars Day

Oaklawn pays tribute to a legend

Saturday’s card at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, meanwhile, is headlined by the Bayakoa S. (G3) for older fillies and mares. The race’s namesake won 13 Grade 1 races during her career, including two renewals of the Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1). She was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame in 1998.

This year’s Bayakoa features six fillies and mares looking to establish themselves within the older distaff division. One mare that could be on the rise is #6 Loved, the 9-5 morning line favorite. She comes into the Bayakoa off an impressive win in the Falls City S. (G3) last November at Churchill Downs. Her race prior to that was a fourth-place finish in the Spinster S. (G1) at Keeneland, which was won by two-time divisional champion Idiomatic.

Loved’s biggest competition could come from the runner directly to her inside. #5 Free Like a Girl is one of the most fun horses to root for in the sport. In an era where horses don’t run nearly as much (and are often retired at younger ages), she’ll make her 48th career start in the Bayakoa and hope to earn her 22nd lifetime victory. She’s banked more than $2.1 million, and has won stakes races in every year since 2021.

Some others to watch include #1 Corningstone, a winner of two straight races and the likely pacesetter. #3 Little Jamie, meanwhile, ships to Hot Springs after winning the Wayward Lass S. at Tampa last month.

Post time for the Bayakoa is 5:25 p.m. ET. As the ninth of 10 races, it’s the third leg of a 50-cent late Pick 4 sequence that holds plenty of appeal. The other three races each drew 11 runners, making for big fields and the potential of a big score for sharp horseplayers.

RELATED: 3 sports betting wagers that are similar to horse racing bets