Merango Tango faces tough assignment

Nothing but claiming races make up a modest eight-race Saturday card at Tampa Bay Downs, but that was by design – almost. One allowance and one maiden-special were in the condition book, and neither attracted enough interest from horsemen to fill.

Still, Tampa will attract sports fans’ interest across the map, given that the Oldsmar, Fla., track remains in business, unlike other sporting venues that have shuttered across the globe because of the coronavirus crisis. Racing continues on schedule, with all but essential personnel excluded from on-site viewing, including spectators.

Among the 76 Saturday entries is Merango Tango, who was assigned post 1 in an $8,000 claiming sprint (race 5). The 9-year-old gelding registered one of the more noteworthy feats of the 2019-20 Tampa meet when he returned from a layoff of more than five years to win a Dec. 27 race and stay unbeaten.

Merango Tango subsequently was dealt his first defeat in four career starts when overmatched in a Feb. 14 turf-sprint allowance.

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“I’ve got him back in for an open $8,000,” said owner-trainer Tim Padilla. “It’s a tough race, but I needed to run somewhere. As far as I’m concerned, with this situation, horses aren’t worth what they were a month or two ago. We’re all in a pretty dire predicament.”

Several of the eight opponents for Merango Tango have proven themselves time and again at this level, which is likely to render him one of the longer shots in the field. Doc Kane, Perfetto, Double Deep, and Spectacular Road all are likely to be lower odds.

Padilla had intended to ship fairly soon to his summer base of Canterbury Park in Minnesota, but is unsure when he can do so. In light of a major track such as Keeneland having already canceled its meet in April – partly because of the enormous difficulty of testing a large influx of workers from hotspots such as Florida, New York, and California for the virus – there exists a widespread uncertainty as to when Northern tracks will open their stable gates ahead of their upcoming meets.

“There are only a few of us that leave here for Kentucky or Indiana,” said trainer Tim Glyshaw, “and there are many more trainers wanting to go to places like Presque Isle, Delaware, and Monmouth. But nobody seems to know when they’re going to open and what we’re supposed to do. It’s a pretty scary situation.”

In the meantime, precautions have begun to attempt to prevent the spread of the virus. Tampa has begun taking the temperature of horsemen and workers entering the frontside, and entries must be made by phone because the backstretch racing office is now off limits to all but officials.

First post Saturday is 12:35 p.m. Eastern. Sunshine and a high of 82 are in the Oldsmar forecast.