By Monique Welch
Tampa Bay Downs has always been a “melting pot” that attracts horses from all over the country, and today will be no different for opening day of the 2016-2017 meet.
The tenth and feature race of the eleven-race card has 14 entries, including four also eligibles.
In addition to Florida, horses entered in that race have been shipped in from tracks and training centers in eight other states and Ontario. Those states are Pennsylvania, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey.
The first post for the day is 12:10 p.m. and The Weather Channel is calling for a beautiful sunny day in Oldsmar, with a high of about 80.
There are plenty of new horses competing, many of which have never run at Tampa Bay Downs before. Their owners and trainers are hoping for strong races that could lead to success in the meet that will end May 7.
The tenth race is five furlongs on turf for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
The purse is $27,500 and there is an optional claiming price of $100,000.
The race is billed as the Lightning City Prep. It is expected that many of the horses in today’s race will be back at Tampa Bay Downs on Dec. 17 for the $100,000 Lightning City Stakes—also at five furlongs on turf for fillies and mares 3-years-old and up.
Post time for today’s tenth race is 4:40 p.m. We will have a preview story early this afternoon on this Web site.
We hope to see you at Tampa Bay Downs. If not, please follow us on our blog as we give you updated news and coverage throughout Opening Day.
