Tampa Bay raises claiming purses

Tampa Bay Downs, bolstered by a 5-percent increase in handle, is raising some purses for the rest of its meet beginning Friday. An average of $5,000 a day will be allotted to all claiming races run for a $12,500 claiming price or less, the track announced Wednesday.

The track's vice president and general manager, Peter Berube, said in a release, "We are pleased to be able to offer increased purse for our lower-level claiming races. We could have done a $500 per race across-the-board increase, but we felt at this time the increase would be better served in select classes of races."