Tampa Bay Turf: Preview of the Ninth Race Allowance for 3 & Up

Florida-bred mare Rugelach enters the featured ninth race at Tampa Bay Downs on April 15, 2026, as the 9-5 morning line favorite. The six-year-old is seeking to break a streak of three consecutive second-place finishes.

The event is a second condition, $32,000 optional claiming race for fillies and mares aged four, and older. The contest will be held over a distance of a mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf.

The total purse for the race is $56,500. This amount includes $23,000 provided by the Tampa Bay Downs/HBPA/Florida Fund and Florida Owners Awards.

Rugelach will be ridden by jockey Samuel Marin, marking the first time the pair has competed together. The mare has been assigned post position six.

Recent Performance and Form

Rugelach has demonstrated consistent form but has struggled to secure a victory in her most recent outings. Her current streak of runner-up finishes began in August at Del Mar.

In that August start, she finished a neck behind the winner, The White Lady, in a first condition, $50,000 optional claiming race. That event was contested over a mile-and-sixteenth on the grass while she was under the care of trainer George Papaprodromou.

Since being owned and trained by Sam Wilensky, the mare returned to Florida to compete at Tampa Bay Downs. On November 19, she participated in a second condition, $32,000 optional claiming race over one mile on the turf, where she again finished second, trailing the winner, Silver Moonlight, by a neck.

Her most recent appearance took place on January 10 at Gulfstream Park in the $75,000 Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf. In that race, which was contested over one mile, she finished second to the winner, Souper Zonda.

Career Statistics and Pedigree

Rugelach has finished in the top three in 12 of her 19 career starts. Her lifetime record consists of five wins, seven seconds, and three thirds.

Her lifetime earnings total $257,820, which is the highest amount among the nine horses entered in the April 15 race.

Bred in Florida by CESA Farm, the mare is by Twirling Candy out of Proud and Charming, by Proud Citizen.

Eclipse Thoroughbreds purchased Rugelach for $150,000 at the 2022 Ocala Breeders’ Sales March Sale, where she was consigned by New Horizon Farm.

Field Competitors

The race features other Florida-bred representatives, including True Spin, owned by Anne D. Scott, and Lady Cha Cha, owned by Golden Kernel Racing Stable.

Lady Cha Cha, who is trained by Laura Cazares, is looking to improve her standing following a ninth-place finish in the Sunshine Filly and Mare Turf.