Tampa Bay Downs gears up for 86th season

The gate will open once more at Tampa on Saturday (Matt Wooley/EquiSport Photos) Tampa Bay Downs has enjoyed a heightened profile in recent years. The track is working to continue that trend during the 86th season beginning Saturday, the earliest kick-off date in its history. Fans will immediately see enhancements like Trakus, and over the course of the 92-day stand, will notice even more nationally-prominent stables represented. Trakus, an electronic tracking system that displays the exact position of each horse during a race, is already in place at Churchill Downs, Del Mar, Keeneland and Woodbine. By implementing Trakus, Tampa Bay Downs has joined a notable club. Tampa has also revamped its wagering menu, with a new 50-cent Pick 5. The wager, which requires bettors to select the winners of the final five races on the card, offers an attractive 15 percent takeout. The track has also lowered its takeout rate on win-place-show wagering to 17 percent and offers a daily double, Pick 3, Pick 4, Super High 5, exactas, trifectas and superfectas.

The Tampa barn area will now house horses trained by Hall of Famers Bill Mott
and Carl Nafzger. Mike Maker and Buff Bradley are also notable additions to the
local training ranks, while Graham Motion is expected to have a larger presence
than ever this season. Regulars Wayne Catalano, Kathleen O’Connell and Tom
Proctor are among the big names back again.

Rejoining the Tampa jockey colony is Rosemary Homeister Jr., who gave birth
to a daughter in August. Homeister was Tampa Bay Downs’ second-leading rider in
2009-10, with 98 victories, and has ridden more than 2,400 winners in her
storied career, second all-time among female jockeys to Hall of Fame member
Julie Krone.

As ever, the meet builds toward Festival Day, slated for March 10. The
Festival’s centerpiece is the Grade 2, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby for
three-year-olds at 1 1/16 miles. The race has produced two of the last five
Kentucky Derby winners — Nafzger’s Street Sense in 2007 and Super Saver, who
won the 2009 Run for the Roses after finishing third locally.

Also on the March 10 card are the Grade 3, $150,000, Hillsborough Stakes, a 1
1/8-mile turf race for older fillies and mares, and the $100,000 Suncoast Stakes
for three-year-old fillies at one mile and 40 yards.

In total, the schedule features 25 stakes worth approximately $2.6 million.
Seven stakes races are offering increases of $25,000, fueled partially by
contributions from the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association.

The Grade 3 Sam F. Davis Stakes for three-year-olds, the leading prep race
for the Tampa Bay Derby, has been increased to $250,000. Also on the February 4
card are two $150,000 turf races at 1 1/16 miles: the Florida Oaks for
three-year-old fillies and the Grade 3 Endeavour Stakes for older fillies and
mares. Both feature a 20-percent increase in purse money from last year. This is
the second year the Florida Oaks will be run on the turf.

Another graded stakes on the calendar is the Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes for
older horses at 1 1/16 grassy miles on February 25. The purse has been raised to
$150,000.

Tampa has also announced a purse increase of $1,000 for first-level allowance
races, as well as for all open claiming events from $16,000-$25,000.

The stakes action opens with Saturday’s $75,000

Lightning City, a five-furlong turf dash for fillies and mares. Defending
champion Suzzona will bid for her fifth career stakes score, having annexed The
Very One, the Candy Eclair and the Turf Amazon in the interim. The overflow
field of 14 also features Grade 3 Royal North winner Jenny’s So Great; Supreme,
runner-up in the Royal North and subsequently second again in the Franklin
County; Grade 1 Princess Rooney third Indulgence; Turf Amazon runner-up Bounding
Bi; New York stakes veteran Legally Blanca; and Don’ttalktome, a 3 1/2-length
winner of the Connie Ann over Calder’s turf two back.

The meet runs through May 6, with a post time of 12:25 p.m. (EST).