HorseRacingFLA Staff Report
Tampa Bay Downs has the only thoroughbred racing in Florida this Wednesday afternoon, with ten races and first post of 12:25 p.m.
Across the state, Gulfstream Park in Hallandale Beach is dark today while open for simulcasting from Tampa Bay and its other regular signals.
At HorseRacingFLA we avoid clichés the same way we try to avoid vulnerable underlays.
So, excuse our saying that it looks like a picture-perfect day at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar.
Temperatures will be in the high 70’s, and the Weather Channel forecast is for a zero percent chance of rain. About 3,000 fans will be on-site, and many thousands more will be watching and wagering in frigid northern states—at simulcast locations and on computers at their homes.
Conditions are Fast and Firm. Four of the races are on turf, including the sixth and eighth which could be among the day’s most attractive.
The sixth is one mile for 2-year-old fillies that have started for a claiming price of $32,000 or less or an optional claiming price of $40,000 or less. It is a $40,000 optional claimer with a $21,500 purse.
The eighth is one mile—a $22,500 maiden special weight for 2-year-olds.
Bob Bauer, our associate editor for Tampa Bay, will have coverage and his “Bob’s Bets” handicapping on our blog which can be accessed on the menu bar at the top of the home page of this web site.
Meet Leaders
Wednesday is the fifteenth day of Tampa Bay’s 2017-2018 meet.
Defending champion jockey Daniel Centeno goes into it with a meet-leading 15 wins. Antonio Gallardo and Ronald Allen Jr. each have 13 victories and are tied for second place.
Michael Stidham leads trainers with six wins. Defending champion Gerald Bennett, Kathleen O’Connell and Denis Ward have three wins each and are tied for second place.
