[1] The event was named after the industrialist Sam F. Davis who in 1972 became President of the Florida Downs and Turf Club and worked to make the track successful.
[2] The following year the Turf Club inaugurated the event on 28 February 1981 in honor of Sam F. Davis over the distance of one mile and seventy yards with the Robert E. Van Worp Jr. owned and the Robert E. Van Worp Sr. trained Croziers Ace defeating eight other starters with a winning margin of 2+1⁄2 lengths in a time of 1:452⁄5.
[3] Two of the starters, Ironical and Jealous Count fell when they were impeded by the second-placed finisher Rightorwron who was disqualified and placed last.
The scheduling of the Sam F. Davis has made it a logical prep race for the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby which is usually held one month after.
The event was classified Listed for the first time in 2004 and was upgraded to Grade III in 2009 which headlines Tampa Bay Downs' Festival Preview Day.