Tampa Bay Downs kicks off winter-spring meet

Another season of racing at Tampa Bay Downs gets under way Wednesday when nine races are run amid sunshine and mid-70s temperatures at the Oldsmar, Fla., track.

Purses are up marginally over what was offered during the 2021-22 season, with maiden-specials starting at $25,000 and first-level allowances at $25,500 (neither including nominal Florida-bred bonuses). They’re a far cry from the purses being offered these days on other American racing circuits, but Tampa lacks the racino funding mechanisms that are fueling those other tracks.

Still, Tampa is a go-to venue for untold numbers of horsemen and fans, making for one of the more popular simulcast signals on the continent during the winter months. Average handle surpassing $4 million per card assures sizable pools for serious players, and fields for certain races often attract runners from the Atlantic side of the Florida peninsula representing nationally prominent stables, strengthening the already competitive nature of day-to-day racing programs.

Horses trained by Mike Dini were among the earliest returnees to Tampa ahead of its reopening for training Nov. 2.

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“A lot of trainers basically have two seasons – Tampa and wherever we race the rest of the year,” said Dini, who has won a combined 54 races over the last three Tampa seasons. “It’s very horse-friendly. It has a good racing surface that’s probably one of the best in the country. Usually when your horses leave here, they’re going to do good if you put them in the right races.”

As for top jockeys, Samy Camacho and Antonio Gallarado once again figure to spearhead a deep colony, while Dale Bennett, the perennial leader, and Kathleen O’Connell can be expected to top the trainer standings. All will be in action opening day, when the first race for “beaten” $8,000 claimers leaves the gate at 12:38 p.m. Eastern.

The opening-day feature is the lone allowance (race 8), a first-level sprint in which Expensive Style and the Bennett-trained Drama’s Prayer rank among the top contenders in a field of 10 3-year-olds and up. Jon Arnett, in for a third straight Tampa season after years of wintering at Sunland Park, sends forth the uncoupled duo of Scrutinizer and Classic Bet.

One horse of interest in an earlier Wednesday race is Native Hawk, who can be claimed for $5,000 in race 3. The 10-year-old gelding has been third or better in 45 of 71 career starts, including a 10-6-5 record from 30 Tampa starts.

The high points, as always, at the five-month-plus meet, which runs through Kentucky Derby Day (May 6), are two Derby points qualifiers, the Sam F. Davis on Feb. 11 and the Tampa Bay Derby on March 11. Both of those graded races for 3-year-olds will anchor multi-stakes cards also to include other longstanding Tampa fixtures.

The first stakes are set for Dec. 3, with the Inaugural and Sandpiper, both for 2-year-olds going six furlongs. Both have $50,000 baseline purses, along with another $50,000 available to eligible Florida-breds. The next stakes are a pair of $100,000 statebred races on Dec. 10, followed by a five-week gap to the next set of stakes on Jan. 14.

Tampa will run a three-day schedule (Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays) through 2022, with Sundays being added with the turn of the calendar to Jan. 1. First post will vary slightly but will always be before 1 p.m. Eastern.

Tampa, founded in 1926, is independently owned and operated by Stella Thayer, with Peter Berube as general manager and Allison De Luca as racing secretary. Jason Beem will call the races for a second full season and Ren Carothers again will provide handicapping analysis via in-house programming.

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