Gallardo targets single-season wins mark as meet winds down

OLDSMAR, Fla. – The 2014-15 meeting at Tampa Bay Downs is winding down, and there’s still lots of interest in the trainers’ and jockeys’ standings, but for altogether different reasons.

Jamie Ness and Gerald Bennett are still battling it out to be leading trainer, while jockey Antonio Gallardo’s biggest challenge is the calendar, as he tries to break the track’s single-season record for wins. After the upcoming four-day race week, the meet has only a single card, June 30.

Ness sent out two winners from three starters Sunday, while Bennett won with the only horse he sent to the post. Heading into Wednesday’s card, Ness leads Bennett in wins, 44-41. Bennett, who led the standings most of the season, has six horses entered in five races Wednesday, while Ness has two. It will be fun to keep an eye on the tote board as these two top horsemen battle it out.

On the riding front, Gallardo bolstered his chances of breaking Daniel Centeno’s mark of 144 victories in a season Sunday, when he and Centeno each won four races. Gallardo now has 140 wins at the meet, and since the rider has been averaging better than 1 1/2 wins a day throughout the meeting, he’s a good bet to set a new mark.