Tampa Bay Downs: Bennett still piling up winners

OLDSMAR, Fla. – Back in the spring of 1976, Gerald Bennett bought a horse named Victoria Sun from a Kentucky horseman for $1,000. He ran the horse at Greenwood Raceway in Canada, and Victoria Sun won.

That victory was the first as a trainer for the native of Springhill, Nova Scotia, and last Friday, when the 72-year-old Bennett sent out Miss Twinkle Toes to win the nightcap, that tally marked the 3,400th career win for the veteran horseman, who now ranks 20th in career wins among North American trainers, active and retired.

He also ranks second to the great Frank Merrill Jr. (3,974 winners) in races won by a Canadian-born Thoroughbred trainer.

It’s been a long road for Bennett, and it hasn’t always been easy, as the trainer has gone from having 200 horses to just six and has seen owners go belly up and file for bankruptcy, leaving him with training bills that totaled tens of thousands of dollars.

He also was forced to move after the racing industry in Michigan, where he raced during the spring and summer for eight years, collapsed and his base, Detroit Race Course, closed. Over the years, he has raced at 35 different tracks in the United States and Canada, winning as many as 168 races in a season and as few as 26.

And through it all, he has managed to win at a 21 percent rate, with his runners having earned more than $31 million in purses.

“It hasn’t always been easy, but we’ve been lucky enough to be able to regroup when things got tough,” Bennett said recently, “It’s the horses that make it worth it, the horses and the people you work with every day. There’s nothing better than having a young horse and watching them develop and learn what it’s all about, or dealing with an old class horse who works through his problems and gives you all he’s got.

“And having a good team, that’s so important. Starting with [my wife] Mary, who is my rock, right on down to the hot walkers, we’ve got a great team, with people who are dedicated and work a lot of hours to get the job done. And I’ve had some loyal owners, guys like Robert Rech and Pat Scanlon, who have been with me over 20 years. It’s a collaborative effort, for sure. My name is the one on the program, but a lot of people are involved when we win a race.”

Bennett is tied with Jason DaCosta for second in the trainers’ standings at Tampa Bay Downs with 11 wins through Sunday, one behind Jamie Ness.

◗ Trainer Dennis Ward, who is racing here for the third season after racing on the West Coast for a number of years, is having another good meeting, with eight wins from 40 starters through Sunday. Ward, who won 17 and 19 races in his first two seasons at Tampa Bay Downs, has a blue-collar lineup comprised mostly of claiming types, but his runners are well placed and are usually competitive.

◗ Ronnie Allen Jr. had another good week last week, topped off with four wins Friday, and leads the riders’ standings with 36 wins through Sunday. Antonio Gallardo has 29 winners, with the injured Fernando De La Cruz third with 23 wins. Then there’s a big gap to Daniel Centeno with 16 victories.