Calder concluded its 33rd Tropical meet on Sunday with slight decreases in
attendance and handle. Highlights of the 55-day meet included three Grand Slam
programs and the third annual Florida Million.
“We’re very proud of the horsemen’s participation,” Calder President Ken Dunn
said. “It’s always a challenge with the number of races we run, but the meet was
well-supported. The quality of racing, especially the stakes, was top-notch and
the Grand Slam series of stakes events continues to grow and get better each
season.”
Dan Hurtak earned his second training title at Tropical with 21 wins, three
better than Angel Salinas. Manny Tortora was third with 15. Eddie Castro, the
Eclipse Award-winning apprentice in 2003, won the leading rider honors at
Tropical for the second straight year with 83 wins, one shy of the single-season
mark set by Cornelio Velasquez in two seasons ago. Manoel Cruz finished second
in the standings with 60 victories and Manny Aguilar came next with 39.
Michael Sherman was the leading owner for the third straight year at Tropical
with 17 winners. Dennis Punches finished second with eight wins and J D Farms
garnered seven.
The 2005-06 Tropical meet runs from October 17-January 2.