Tampa Bay Downs Picks, Entries and Results

Tampa Bay Downs Track Details

Address: 11225 Race Track Rd, Tampa, FL 33626

Website: www.tampabaydowns.com

Meeting:  Tampa Bay Downs conducts racing from the end of November until the beginning of May, with a few other select dates throughout the year. The track's annual showcase is early March’s Festival Day, the centerpiece of which is the Grade 2, $400,000 Tampa Bay Derby for 3-year-olds at a mile and a sixteenth. Also on the card are the Grade 2, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes for older fillies and mares at a mile and an eighth on the turf; the Grade 3, $200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies at a mile and a sixteenth on the turf, the $100,000 Challenger Stakes; and the $75,000 Columbia Stakes, making the day worth in excess of $1 million in purses. The track also hosts the Grade 3 Endeavor and Grade 3 Tampa Bay Stakes in early February, as well as several other stakes races for Florida-breds. Both dirt and turf racing can be found at Tampa, and though purses have plummeted in recent years, the quality of racing remains respectable.

History:  The only thoroughbred racetrack on the west coast of Florida, Tampa Bay Downs is known as one of America's oldest and most well-maintained racetracks. The track first opened its doors in 1926 as Tampa Downs, under the direction of Harvey Myers and Col. Matt Winn, and has since had a long and colorful history. In 1946 the track was renamed Sunshine Park, and entered the modern era with the installation of an electric starting gate, photo finish, and electric tote board. The track changed names again in 1965, this time to Florida Downs and Turf Club, before finally landing on its present name in 1980. The current owners, Stella Thayer and her brother Howell Ferguson, purchased the track in 1986. Tampa has a perfectly manicured grass course that was installed in 1998 and is considered to be one of the best turf courses in the country. In 2007, Street Sense won the Tampa Bay Derby at the track before going on to win the Kentucky Derby for Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger.

Facilities:  Racing at Tampa is conducted over a one-mile dirt main track and a seven-furlong turf course. The track also has the Downs Golf Practice Facility, where patrons can work on their golf game as they bet the races, and the Silks Poker Room. Both are open seven days a week. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner options are available throughout the facility, and there is even a picnic area from which to enjoy the races.