Tampa Bay Downs has reshaped one of the most important weekends on its 2026-27 calendar, moving the Tampa Bay Stakes and Endeavour Stakes onto the Feb. 6 Festival Preview program. The two Grade 3 turf races will now share the spotlight with the Sam F. Davis Stakes and turn the card into a broader test of both dirt prospects and established grass runners. BloodHorse reported the schedule revision after the track initially placed the races on Jan. 30.
The Tampa Bay Stakes is scheduled for 4-year-olds and older on the turf, while the Endeavour is reserved for fillies and mares 4 and up. Each race carries a guaranteed purse of $175,000, giving the meet a pair of meaningful older-horse turf targets during a weekend traditionally dominated by the 3-year-old Kentucky Derby trail. The repositioning also gives horsemen more incentive to point toward Tampa rather than split their stables across competing late-January and early-February engagements.
For the track, the move concentrates graded-race quality around a card that already includes the Suncoast Stakes, the Pelican Stakes and the Minaret Stakes. The Sam F. Davis remains the day's principal dirt attraction and an important early-season steppingstone for 3-year-olds, but the addition of two turf stakes gives bettors a more varied handicapping menu and creates opportunities for connections with different racing profiles.
The timing should also help clarify the winter turf divisions. Older horses in the Tampa Bay Stakes will be navigating the demands of a graded race over Tampa's turf course, while the Endeavour offers fillies and mares a separate route to black-type earnings and graded-race credentials. With both purses guaranteed at $175,000, the races should draw more serious consideration from trainers planning campaigns around Florida's winter circuit rather than treating the meet as a series of isolated starts.
The revised calendar keeps the meet's biggest stage in view. Tampa Bay Downs lists Festival day on March 6, with the $500,000 Tampa Bay Derby as its centerpiece, followed by Florida Cup day on March 28. The February reshuffle therefore serves a larger scheduling strategy: make Festival Preview day a stronger attraction in its own right while building momentum toward the track's signature spring programs.