Uptowncharlybrown has fans on his side

Uptowncharlybrown may not be the most talented horse in today's $300,000 Grade 3 Tampa Bay Derby, the featured race as part of Festival Day at Tampa Bay Downs.

But he definitely is the most popular.

The 3-year-old chestnut colt out of Limehouse (the 2004 Tampa Bay Derby winner) has his own blog and even his own Facebook fan page - with 868 other Facebook members as fans.

Charly, as he's called on Facebook by Fantasy Lane Stable general partner Bob Hutt, was purchased by Hutt and a group of 58 other partners that put up no more than $5,000 at the Ocala Breeders' Sales on April 20, 2009, for $57,000. According to Fantasy Lane Stable's Web site, the horse is now worth more than $3 million.

Tampa Bay Downs defending jockey champion Daniel Centeno will ride Charly against six other contenders in today's race. Charly is the second favorite on the morning line at 5-2. Todd Pletcher-trained Super Saver is the favorite and Schoolyard Dreams, which beat Uptowncharlybrown in the Sam F. Davis Stakes at Tampa Bay Downs last month, is third at 3-1.

Charly broke his maiden at TBD on Dec. 26 as a 2-year-old, winning a $20,000 maiden race by nine lengths. From there, he went on to win the $75,000 Pasco Stakes by six lengths before faltering in the final turn in the Sam F. Davis, finishing third.

"He's a big, growthy colt," trainer Alan Seewald said. "He's not clumsy but wasn't ready to run as a 2-year-old. I was training him at Monmouth Park (Oceanport, N.J.) during the summer but we backed off on him because he wasn't ready to go on early. Then I started training him later in the meet and the first couple of breezes, he really showed some ability. He actually was faster than I wanted that early (in his career) so I backed off again and kind of pointed to the end of the year because I knew I was going to come to Tampa for the first time."

In his last two races, Charly has had trouble in the final turn before the homestretch. In the Pasco Stakes, he was able to overcome it but couldn't in the Sam Davis.

"Even though he won the Pasco, he was a little green on the turn when he swept up outside and hung there a little bit and kind of lost his focus," Seewald said. "We usually want him to change leads at the top of the stretch and he didn't until midway down the stretch. In his last race (Sam Davis), he did the same thing in the last turn but he couldn't overcome it. Rule (another Pletcher-trained Kentucky Derby hopeful) and Schoolyard Dreams were a little bit tougher than the previous competition. He made a move like he was going to move right up but in the turn he kind of just throttled out there. He didn't pay much attention to what he was doing out there and late in the stretch when he got his act together, he came running very late."

Seewald has opted to put blinkers on Charly for today's race.

Fantasy Lane Stable is beginning to make a habit of finding inexpensive horses at the 2-year-old sales and turning them into stakes-caliber competitors.

Another baby Hutt and the Fantasy Lane group found was R Betty Graybull, a 4-year-old filly that is entered in today's seventh race.

Seewald doesn't know what the future holds for Charly but the Fantasy Lane Web site indicates all eyes are focused on the Kentucky Derby.