Monday, May 03 2010
TAMPA BAY DOWNS’ 84TH SEASON SETS NEW RECORDS
OLDSMAR, Fla. (May 3, 2010) On May 2, Tampa Bay Downs concluded its 84th live racing meet with this season’s total all-sources handle increasing to $380,938,090,up $6,739,919 or 1.8%; this was accomplished despite three fewer racing days than the 2008-2009 season. The average all-source daily handle is a new record for the Oldsmar oval, with $4,186,133 wagered daily on Tampa Bay Downs, a 5.16% increase. This translates to $402,683 wagered per race, also a new record, up 6.21% from last year’s figures.
Tampa Bay Downs’s Vice President and General Manager Peter Berube said of the record setting increases, “The track faired exceptionally well this season in the national marketplace with the total average all-source handle reaching an all-time high. I’m pleased that we bucked national trends by climbing to these record-setting levels, securing our position as the fourth most wagered on racetrack in the nation during the winter months.”
Sunday, May 02 2010
DANIEL CENTENO BOOTS HOME FOUR WINNERS
OLDSMAR, Fla. (May 1, 2010) Leading rider Daniel Centeno booted home four winners on the card, giving him 129 victories through 90 days of racing at Tampa Bay Downs. Centeno piloted Solari Island for his first win of the day; Solari Island is a three-year-old Deputy Wildcat filly trained by John Pimental for owner Old First Ward Stable. Centeno scored again aboard Concert Quest; the four-year-old Concerto filly was bred in Florida by owners Diane and Wilbur France and is trained by Donna Schneider. Centeno took home another win with Go ‘Xango, this time for owner Annie O Productions and trainer Bernard Bramante. Centeno also celebrated a victory with Bubber, this time for owner Midwest Thoroughbreds and trainer Jamie Ness. With that win, Ness is now tied for the leading trainer position with Kathleen O’Connell; O’Connell has seven horses entered for tomorrow’s Closing Day, and Ness has a single horse entered. Additionally, Midwest Thoroughbreds accepted the trophy for leading owner at Tampa Bay Downs today.
Saturday, May 01 2010
T.R.O.T. THE TRACK TOMORROW; KENTUCKY DERBY PREVIEW
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 30, 2010) Tampa Bay Downs is pleased to host the Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa’s fundraiser T.R.O.T. the Track, to be held on Kentucky Derby Day. T.R.O.T. the Track is a one mile walk around the Tampa Bay Downs oval beginning at 11 AM on May 1, 2010. Entry cost is $30, and participation is limited to 300 people. All proceeds from the event benefit the Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa, a 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to transitioning unsuccessful racehorses into new careers as pleasure, show or companion animals.
After T.R.O.T. the Track, Tampa Bay Downs celebrates the 136th edition of the Run for the Roses with an eleven race card; gates open at 10 AM, mutuel lines will open at 10:15 AM and post time for the first race at Churchill Downs will be at 10:30 AM, and post time for the first live race at the Oldsmar oval is approximately 12:15 PM. Parking is always free, valet parking is $5, Grandstand admission is $2 and Clubhouse admission is $3. Mint juleps will be on sale throughout the facility all day in the official commemorative glass of the Kentucky Derby.
Thursday, April 29 2010
GRANITZ NAMED FLAMESTONE TRAINER OF THE MONTH
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 28, 2010) FlameStone Trainer of the Month Anthony Granitz has celebrated an outstanding month of April at Tampa Bay Downs; in the week of April 21 – April 28, Granitz saddled 5 winners, 1 second place finisher and 1 third place finisher from 8 starters at average odds of 4-1.
Granitz was born in Chicago, Illinois on October 25, 1963. He began learning about horses at the age of 13, when he took a summer job looking after his neighbors’ horses. “I mucked stalls, rode, just took care of them,’ says Granitz.
Monday, April 26 2010
CATALDI, McCARTHY TRAIN TWO WINNERS EACH
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 25, 2010) Trainers Sandi Cataldi and Brenda McCarthy each saddled two winners on today’s ten race card.
McCarthy took her first trip to the Winner’s Circle with Triptane in the afternoon’s opener. The five-year-old Trippi mare was bred in Florida by Harold J. Plumley, is owned by TK n Stride Stable and was ridden to victory by Yamil Rosario. The trio struck again in the sixth race, this time with recent claim All the Bases.
Saturday, April 24 2010
TRAINER’S TITLE UP FOR GRABS
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 24, 2010) The battle for the training title for the 2009-2010 Tampa Bay Downs meet will come down to the wire; with only five racing days left in the season, Kathleen O’Connell has 48 wins to her credit, while past leading trainer Jamie Ness has 46 victories.
Kathleen O’Connell finished the 2009 Calder summer meeting as that track’s first female leading trainer, and was leading trainer at Tampa Bay Downs in the 1998-1999 Oldsmar oval meet. Jamie Ness has secured the training title here for the past three years, and in the 2007-2008 season set a record for the most wins in a season by haltering 68 victories.
RON ALLEN, JR. NAMED HILTON GARDEN INN JOCKEY OF THE MONTH
OLDMSAR, Fla. (April 23, 2010) Hilton Garden Inn Jockey of the Month Ronnie Allen, Jr. is enjoying a highly successful 2009-2010 season; in the month of April, the reinsman has booted home eleven winners as of April 23, including three victories on April 21’s card.
Allen, a three-time leading rider at Tampa Bay Downs who in his career has won over 2,100 races and amassed mount earnings of more than $15 million, says of race being a jockey, "There's just no feeling like riding in a race. I really missed it." He continued, “This is where I love to be, with the excitement and action.”
Wednesday, April 21 2010
T.R.O.T. THE TRACK TO BENEFIT RETIRED TAMPA BAY DOWNS THOROUGHBREDS
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 21, 2010) Tampa Bay Downs would like to thank all donors who are contributing to the Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa’s fundraiser T.R.O.T. the Track, to be held at the Oldsmar oval on Kentucky Derby Day. T.R.O.T. the Track is a one mile walk around the Tampa Bay Downs oval beginning at 11 AM on May 1, 2010. Entry cost is $30, and participation is limited to 300 people. All proceeds from the event benefit the Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa, a 501 (c)(3) organization dedicated to transitioning unsuccessful racehorses into new careers as pleasure, show or companion animals.
Tampa Bay Downs is pleased to announce that many of its employees, vendors, veterinarians, owners and breeders were very generous in their support of the Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa’s cause. Additionally, many jockeys from the Tampa Bay Downs rider colony gathered together to become a Gold Level Sponsor. For more information on the Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa and T.R.O.T. the Track, please call Jessica at 813.298.6165.
Sunday, April 18 2010
HOMEISTER WINS FOUR; PROCTOR AND GLEN HILL FARM WINS TWO
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 18, 2010) Jockey Rosemary Homeister, Jr. celebrated four wins today, two of which were for owner Glen Hill Farm and trainer Tom Proctor. Homeister now has 97 wins through 83 days of racing.
Homeister took home her first victory with Heaven’s Reward, a five-year-old Put It Back gelding bred in Florida by Arthur Appleton, owned by Ann Ferrentino and conditioned by leading Tampa Bay Downs trainer Kathleen O’Connell. Homeister took another trip to the Winner’s Circle aboard Unbridled Mon. The Maria’s Mon gelding was bred in Florida by Live Oak Stud and is owned and trained by Kenneth E. Hoffman. Homeister struck again with Tool Time Girl, this time for owner Glen Hill Farm and trainer Tom Proctor. The trio scored again in the afternoon’s closer with Broken Dreams, a four-year-old Florida-bred Broken Vow filly.
GRANITZ TRAINS TWO TO VICTORY; MORALES WINS THREE
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 17, 2010) Trainer Anthony Granitz notched two wins on the card today, giving him four wins over the last two days of racing; both of Granitz’s winning trainees are out of the Timeless Native mare Coni Bug.
Granitz’s fist win of the day came with Prima Donna Pirate, a three-year-old Tiger Ridge filly owned by Captain Jack Racing Stable and The Club Stable and ridden to victory by Ricardo Feliciano. Granitz scored again with Mr. Mischief; the Stormy Atlantic gelding carries the colors of owner Captain Jack Racing Stable and was booted home by Pablo Morales.
Friday, April 16 2010
ANTHONY GRANITZ TRAINS TWO TO VICTORY
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 16, 2010) Trainer Anthony Granitz saddled two horses to victory today, giving the conditioner eight wins for the current meeting.
Granitz took his first trip to the Winner’s Circle today in the seventh race with Strut ‘n Stroll, a four-year-old Stroll gelding carrying the colors of owners Katherine Kirkham and The Club Stable with Carlos Montalvo in the irons. Granitz scored again in the next race, this time with Miracle in May. The four-year-old Songandaprayer filly was bred in Florida by Marion G. Montanari, is owned by James Maday and Anthony Granitz, and was booted home by jockey Pablo Morales.
Thursday, April 15 2010
JANE CIBELLI NAMED FLAMESTONE TRAINER OF THE MONTH
OLDSMAR, Fla. (April 14, 2010) Trainer Jane Cibelli, who is April’s FlameStone Grill Trainer of the Month, has had an outstanding Tampa Bay Downs 2009 – 2010 season, racking up 14 wins, 18 second-place finishes and 9 thirds from 95 attempts as of April 13, 2010 for a total of $184,169 in purses; in the last week alone, Cibelli has notched five wins, three second-place finishers and one third-place horse from eleven starters at average odds of 7.5-1.
Jane Cibelli moved to the United States in 1983 after working with horses in her native United Kingdom. “I was always interested in horses from the time I was a kid. I rode show jumpers as a teenager. I got into racing when I left high school and galloped horses. In England you do everything: you gallop, you rub horses, everything.”
