Friday, May 09, 2008
NEW RECORDS SET IN TAMPA BAY DOWNS’S 82ND SEASON
OLDSMAR, Fla. (May 8, 2008) – Tampa Bay Downs concluded a season consistent with that of last year with a new record set of $321,963,460 set for out-of-state handle; it is the seventh consecutive meet in which the out-of state handle has increased. The all-source handle also stayed flat from the 2006-2007 racing season with an average of $4,084,508 wagered on the Tampa Bay Downs product daily; it is only the second time in the Oldsmar oval’s history that daily all-source handle exceeded the $4 million mark. Tampa Bay Downs also boasted its highest non-Festival Day co-mingled handle on May 3 when $7,499,020 was wagered on the Tampa Bay Downs races.
The advent of Cotillion Festival Day on December 29, 2007 (which included the $65,000 Inaugural Stakes for two-year-old males and the $65,000 Sandpiper Stakes for two-year-old fillies) and Skyway Festival Day on January 19, 2008 (featuring the $75,000 Pasco Stakes for three-year-olds and the $65,000 Gasparilla Stakes for three-year-old fillies) as well as February 16’s Festival Preview Day and March 15’s Festival Day all contributed to the record out-of state handle plus gains in on-track attendance for those events. On Festival Day, Tampa Bay Downs boasted a new track record attendance of 12,746 fans as well as a handle of $10,282,952, the third highest in the track’s 82 year history.
Monday, May 05, 2008
RECIPIENTS OF YEAR-END AWARDS SHATTER RECORDS
OLDSMAR, Fla. (May 4, 2008) Tampa Bay Downs concluded its 82nd live race meeting today by handing out honors to the leading trainer, jockey, owner and apprentice jockey.
The title of Leading Trainer went to conditioner Jamie Ness for the second year in a row. Ness saddled 68 winners this year with purse earnings approaching $1,000,000, a record on both counts for a conditioner at the Oldsmar oval.
Daniel Centeno, who was also the 2006-2007 meeting’s leading rider, will again be named as top jockey for the current season. The reinsman broke his own record of 125 wins last season to halter 144 victories during this meet. Centeno will take his tack to Monmouth Park over the summer, and plans to return to ride at Tampa when racing resumes here again in December.
Sunday, May 04, 2008
REVVED UP GUNS ENGINE FOR WIN IN CHRIS THOMAS TURF CLASSIC
Oldsmar, Fla. (May 3, 2008) Ten-year-old millionaire Revved Up capped off Tampa Bay Downs’s 2007-2008 stakes schedule with a victory in the $75,000 Chris Thomas Turf Classic for owner/breeder Live Oak Plantation, trainer Christophe Clement and jockey Daniel Centeno. The Florida-bred gelded son of Sultry Song stalked the pace throughout the opening panels of the 1 1/8 miles grass event, moving to the lead at the top of the stretch to win by two lengths. Victory Alleged was second, and I’m Only Laughing completed the trifecta, which paid $187.60 for a $2 wager.
Johnny Collins, the on-farm trainer for Live Oak Plantation, said of Revved Up’s win, “He loves this track so much. And to bring him back the first time off of a layoff, this is where he loves it. He can run at any track, but Tampa seems to be a good track to bring him back on.” Collins said that he was unconcerned by Revved Up’s time off between races. "Well, when you first come back off a layoff you want to make sure they pull up good. When you haven't raced in five or six months, you want to always make sure he's comfortable, looks good, looks happy, moving good. When I can see that, I feel good, and when I saw that today, I knew he was going to be tough to beat."
