Lambholm South to Sponsor Tampa Bay Derby
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Tampa Bay Downs has reached an agreement with Lambholm South to sponsor the 36th renewal of the Tampa Bay Derby, the track's grade II Triple Crown prep race scheduled for March 12, 2016.
The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, which carries a purse of $350,000, will be the centerpiece of the most lucrative card in track history and will also include the $200,000 Florida Oaks and the $150,000 Hillsborough Stakes, both grade III events on the turf, and the $100,000 Challenger Stakes.
The 2015-2016 Tampa Bay Downs meeting, which began July 1, is set to resume Nov. 28.
"We are based in Florida, we're supporters of Florida racing and the Tampa Bay Derby is a high-profile sporting event," said Lambholm South owner Roy Lerman, who is also a trainer that maintains a string of horses at Tampa Bay. "It is a race I've enjoyed attending, and we like to support things close to home.
"The importance of the race continues to grow as the importance of the track as a winter racing center keeps increasing, and hopefully we can do this for many years in the future," Lerman added. "A lot of horses that run in that race, whether they win or not, go on to great accomplishments later in the spring and summer."
Lambholm South is a 1,830-acre Thoroughbred facility near Reddick, Fla., that offers clients a full range of services, from breaking and training young horses to sales prep and boarding. Established in 2000, it moved to its current location on the site of the former Hobeau Farm in 2005.
The Lambholm South operation has been the early training grounds for nine Eclipse Award champions and more than 50 grade I stakes winners, the most recent being Colts Neck Stables' 3-year-old colt Force the Pass, winner of the Belmont Derby Invitational Stakes on July 4.
Lambholm South is also the presenting sponsor of the track's annual Festival Preview Day that will be held Feb. 13, 2016.
"We are delighted Lambholm South has agreed to sponsor our most important and best-known race, while continuing to sponsor Festival Preview Day and the Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes," said Margo Flynn, Tampa Bay Downs' vice president of marketing and publicity. "Mr. Lerman and his team share our commitment to Thoroughbred racing, and their ongoing involvement is a major benefit to Tampa Bay Downs, our horsemen and our fans."
The first four finishers in the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby will earn "Road to the Kentucky Derby" qualifying points.
Lambholm South becomes the first title sponsor of the Tampa Bay Derby in 30 years. Budweiser sponsored the first six runnings of the event, from 1981-1986.