OLDSMAR, Fla. - A blend of the old and the new best describes the trainers and jockeys who have gathered for the 80th season of racing at Tampa Bay Downs, which opened on Saturday.
A new racing secretary, John Morrissey, has added some new blood and new faces to join an already strong group of horsemen who have called Tampa their winter home for many seasons. A tour of the backstretch recently also turned up many Tampa regulars and old friends.
The jockey Miguel Mena, 19, had never won a race worth more than $40,000, and his sense of elation when he crossed the wire first Saturday in the Pat Whitworth Illinois Debutante lasted about two minutes. By the time Mena came back to unsaddle Rolling Sea, his number was blinking: The connections of the second- and third-place finishers had lodged objections.
"No change," chimed in veteran horsemen Wayne Catalano, on his way to saddle a horse for the next race.
Fillies with experience training or racing over Polytrack dominated the first division of the My Charmer Stakes at Turfway Park, with favored Eyes on Eddy winning by 7 1/4 lengths over 27-1 longshot Malaysia.
Eyes on Eddy, who had trained smartly over the Polytrack surface at Turfway since November, had no trouble racing over it for the first time. Confidently placed on the inside by jockey Jesus Castanon, she tracked the pace in midpack before being angled to the outside and blowing away the opposition by 7 1/4 lengths.
Are You Serious ($23.50) notched his first stakes under a smart ride from Corey Fraser in the $142,125 Kennedy Road at Woodbine.
Are You Serious, one of three 3-year-olds in the 10-horse field, raced about three lengths off the lead while saving ground on the turn of the six-furlong dash. Fraser angled him into the four path early in the stretch, and they overhauled Bishop Court Hill at the 70-yard pole en route to a one-length win in a final time of 1:09.55 seconds.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Dream of Summer has already had a standout season this year. She won her first Grade 1 in the Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn in April and surpassed $1 million in earnings with a victory in the California Cup Matron Handicap at Santa Anita last month.
When she starts in Sunday's $150,000 Bayakoa Handicap at Hollywood Park, Dream of Summer will be attempting to win the seventh stakes of her career in a race designed as a prep to the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 28.
INGLEWOOD, Calif. - Santa Anita will not expand its menu of turf racing at the upcoming winter-spring meeting to compensate for a lack of turf racing during the current fall meeting at Hollywood Park, track officials said on Thursday.
According to racing secretary Rick Hammerle, Santa Anita will offer one to three turf races per day, depending on the day of the week.
"We've got a four-month meeting. We won't change the way we do things," Hammerle said. "There are plenty of opportunities to run. It will be just like normal.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - The first time trainer Martin Ciresa raced Little Matth Man over Aqueduct's inner track, the horse won a New York-bred allowance race at 13-1. Little Matth Man followed that with a victory in the open company Whirlaway Stakes in his next start over the inner track.
OZONE PARK, N.Y. - Though the snow forecasted for Friday at Aqueduct never came, New York Racing Association officials still believe they made the right decision to scrap Friday's nine-race card. The storm, which did dump several inches of snow north and west of New York City, began as snow but quickly changed to rain around Aqueduct.
