Tampa meet extension starts with pair of allowance races
In any other year, the Tampa Bay Downs backstretch would be nearly deserted by now. But the coronavirus crisis has made for a different world, and horses and humans who have stayed put at Tampa will continue to help keep racing in the national sports forefront over the next few weeks.
The first of 12 bonus programs will be run Wednesday at Tampa, where the 2019-20 meet, which was supposed to end last weekend, has been extended through May 30 owing to the extraordinary circumstances dictated by the pandemic. The add-ons are being roundly welcomed by horsemen and fans alike, given that action on most other American circuits still has yet to resume.
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Back-to-back $20,000 allowances (races 4 and 5) are co-features of an eight-race Wednesday card that starts at 1 p.m. Eastern. Both are part of the pick six, a 20-cent jackpot wager that spans races 3-8 and offers a carryover of $52,536.
Race 4 is a seven-furlong, first-level race for 3-year-old fillies. Trainer Tony Margotta holds the strongest hand with an uncoupled duo led by Hopeful Growth, the 9-5 morning-line favorite off a sharp runner-up finish at Gulfstream Park. Gogo Shoes and Judy’s Way also rate as solid challengers in a field of seven.
Race 5 is a first-level race for older fillies and mares going a mile on the turf. A couple of fillies making their first North American starts for high-profile stables – Fashion’s Star for Shug McGaughey and Flighty Almighty for Christophe Clement – will be shipping in from Payson Park on the Atlantic Coast as the program choices in an oversubscribed lineup.
The Wednesday forecast calls for mostly sunny skies and a high of 82.
Camacho in self-quarantine
Samy Camacho will not be able to ride again at Tampa until May 20 because of a rule that requires a 14-day self-quarantine if a jockey leaves to ride elsewhere. Camacho rode King Guillermo, the 2020 Tampa Bay Derby winner, to a second-place finish behind Nadal in the second division of the Arkansas Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
Camacho, the leading rider at the 2018-19 Tampa meet, trails only Antonio Gallardo (108-96) atop the standings.
◗ Jockey Pablo Morales, sidelined since March 20 with a foot injury, is scheduled to return to action Friday when he is named on one mount. Morales was expected to receive medical clearance Monday, said his agent, Paula Bacon. Morales, 31, is just four wins away from the 2,000-win milestone and could reasonably reach it at Tampa before moving at month’s end to Presque Isle Downs, where he is the all-time leading rider.
◗ Kitchen Fire ($21.20) earned a career-high 93 Beyer Speed Figure when dominating the Sunday feature at Tampa, a five-furlong turf allowance. The 5-year-old Pennsylvania-bred gelding is being pointed to a return to the synthetic surface at Presque Isle by trainer Nick Caruso.
◗ Three allowances are part of a nine-race Friday card, while Saturday will end the three-day race schedule. There are no stakes during the meet extension, although a pair of $30,000 overnight handicaps are in the condition book for May 29-30.
◗ Not only have Sundays been dropped from the racing schedule, but there will no training on Sundays through the end of the extended meet. Training proceeds otherwise on a six-day schedule.