History

1988 - Ronnie Allen, Jr., becomes the first jockey in track history to surpass 100 victories in a meeting, winning his third title in four seasons with 102 winners. In one of the most memorable renewals of the Tampa Bay Derby, Cefis, under jockey Eddie Maple, rallies from 25 lengths off the pace to win for legendary trainer Woodford Cefis "Woody" Stephens. Cefis rallies from 25 lengths off the pace to win for legendary trainer Woodford Cefis “Woody” Stephens. Queen Alexandra wins her second consecutive running of the Wayward Lass Stakes. Storm Predictions, owned by Three G Stables and trained by Luis Olivares, uses a victory in the Challenger Stakes as a 2-year- old at the outset of the meeting to build a foundation for his Tampa Bay Derby triumph.

1989 - Inter-track wagering debuts in Florida, and Tampa Bay Downs remains open year-round as a simulcast facility. Track owner Stella F. Thayer is installed as the first woman president of the Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce in the group’s 103-year history. The winner of the Florida Oaks, She’s Scrumptious, pays $169.20 to win. Gene, a 5-year-old Florida-bred purchased the previous year by horseman Gary Patrick for $150, wins two starter allowance races at the start of the 1988-1989 meeting to give him 16 victories for 1988, earning the Horsemen’s Benevolent and Protective Association Claiming Horse of the Year Award. Adored by Oldsmar fans, he is nicknamed “ Gene the Racing Machine” and wins his first two starts in 1989. The Sports Gallery opens and the Clubhouse Turn Restaurant is enlarged and renovated. Minors are officially allowed anywhere on track grounds except in the Sports Gallery and wagering lines.

1990 - The $1-million Tampa Premier Bonus is instituted to reward the connections of any horse winning the Challenger Stakes for 2-year-olds, the Tampa Bay Derby, the Tampa Premier Stakes (on closing day, April 8) and the Kentucky Derby. Jockey Ken Blackstun marries assistant publicity director Juli Youngren in a winner’s-circle ceremony on March 10; Blackstun wins that day’s sixth race on Easter Hawk. Former Oakland Raiders and Buffalo Bills head coach John Rauch, who coached Oakland in its Super Bowl II loss against Green Bay, is employed as a security guard. Ricardo Lopez wins the second of his three consecutive jockey titles.

1991 - A new inner rail is installed, and a new Grandstand dining area called the Silks Bistro opens, decorated with prominent silks from all eras of the track’s history. A tornado tears through the back side, ripping the roofs off barns and uprooting an oak tree. The overnight disaster causes the following day’s races to be canceled.

1992 - To the north of the Grandstand, the Picnic Area opens to give families a chance to enjoy the Florida sunshine and a day at the races. A Z-Alpha display board is added to the infield to keep the patrons better informed. Tampa sends its live racing signal to Birmingham, Ala.,the track’s first out-of-state site. More than $2.7 million is bet at Birmingham on Tampa Bay Downs races. Jockey Willie Martinez rides 123 winners, establishing a single-season track record.

1993 - John E. Grady is named Vice President and General Manager. Jockey William Henry rides 123 winners to tie the meet record. John Reading captures his second consecutive training title.

1994 - A $2,600 Alberta-bred yearling, Prix De Crouton, which had won previously at Northlands Park and Stampede Park, wins the Tampa Bay Derby for owners Lorne and Kathleen Berg.

1995 - The Tampa Bay Derby and the Florida Oaks are run on the same day for the first time in the history of the track. Don Rice wins the first of his eight training titles.

History

1996 - The track’s first 70 years are observed in gala style, and the Florida Oaks gains Grade III status. A record 360 simulcast outlets take Tampa Bay Downs’ signal, and 540 take the Tampa Bay Derby card. The Florida Legislature approves full-card simulcasting, giving pari-mutuel facilities the option of hosting signals from out-of-state tracks. Tampa Bay Downs takes over concession areas in the plant, providing more flexibility and lower prices to patrons. A new barn is constructed to house 50 horses.Thundering Storm wins both the Tampa Bay Derby and the Sam F. Davis Stakes.

1997 - The plant remains open seven days a week to host simulcast signals for the first time. Six purse increases of 5% result in a major bonanza for horsemen and establish the highest average purse distribution in the track’s history. The Challenger Stakes returns to the schedule as a 7-furlong race for 3-year-olds. Attendance is up 4.3% over the previous season and the on-track handle jumps an additional 15.74%, while out-of-state wagering increases 22%. Ground is broken for the turf course on May 14, and the grass is planted Sept. 9. Road improvements allow greater access with the Linebaugh Extension to the north. Widening and repairs also improve Race Track Road, Hillsborough Avenue and Tampa Road. William Henry wins the jockeys’ title for the fourth time in five seasons. Jerry Bailey wins the Tampa Bay Derby aboard Zede for owner Allen Paulson and trainer Bill Mott.

1998 - A record is set for an all-time, single-day total handle on Jan. 16 when $3,155,905 is wagered on the Tampa Bay Downs signal on-track, in-state and out-of-state. Tasso’s Magic Roo sweeps the Pepsi Challenge Series and becomes only the second filly to do so since the series began in 1988. Will Farish’s Parade Ground wins the 18th running of the Tampa Bay Derby, and Helen Alexander’s Pantufla captures the Grade III Florida Oaks. The unveiling of the turf course on May 2, Kentucky Derby Day, draws a crowd of 8,669, the second largest in the track’s history at the time. Ship Liner, owned by Phillip Williams, wins the inaugural running of the Tampa Bay Turf Handicap and Artz Racing Stable’s Mercedes Song prevails over fillies and mares in the Tampa Bay Distaff Turf Handicap. Records are established during the 1997-1998 season for total handle, purses and simulcast outlets.

1999 - The conclusion of the 1998-99 racing meet once again sees gains over the previous season as Tampa Bay Downs enjoys the most successful season in the 73-year history of the track. The 91-day meet produced a rise in the average daily attendance and daily on-track handle, this during the third year of full-card simulcasting. Simulcasting revenue also leaped to an all-time high with an increase of 46%. Purses were additionally bolstered to record levels during the same period, luring top quality horses and stables to compete. Track owner Stella F. Thayer is the first woman to be elected head of the Thoroughbred Racing Associations in the organization’s 57-year history.

2000 - The Clubhouse is totally remodeled, with fan comfort as the highest priority. Clubhouse renovations include new central airconditioning, a newly refurbished elevator, paint, plush carpeting and luxury seating. The lower floor of the Clubhouse showcases a “Sports Book” atmosphere, with 100 individual carrels complete with private TV monitors. A state-of-the-art sound system is installed throughout the entire Clubhouse and Grandstand areas. Once again, new handle records were set and purses achieve all-time levels. Secret Status, a 3-year-old filly owned by William S. Farish and partners, uses a Florida Oaks victory as a stepping stone to winning the Kentucky Oaks. A crowd of 6,381 attends March 4 to watch a National Steeplechase Association race, won by Red Classic and jockey Sean Clancy.

History

2001 - Tampa Bay Downs celebrates its 75th Anniversary season on Feb 18, 2001, a day that highlights a meeting of record-breaking purse levels and an increase in average intra-state wagering on Tampa Bay Downs for the seventh consecutive year.

Peter Berube is named Vice President and General Manager on June 10, 2001. A new single day co-mingled handle record is achieved on Tampa Bay Derby Day, March 18, 2001 with $3,877,477 wagered on the Tampa signal.

2002 - The Tampa Bay Derby regains Grade III status. Various maintenance projects continue throughout the year, including a new Grandstand roof, repaved backstretch roads, and a remodeling of the General Office. Handle on live races from all sources averages almost $2.1-million a day. The track posts record-breaking purses for the eighth consecutive year. Live racing is canceled on Opening Day due to street and parking-lot flooding caused by county drainage issues.

2003 - Tampa Bay Downs launches a state-of-the-art, first-of-its-kind Golf Practice and Wagering Facility. The 22 acres of fully lit property include 270 yards of open range, plus putting and shortgame areas. The Downs Golf Clubhouse features a fully stocked Pro Shop, Snack Bar and wagering terminals, complete with TV monitors to catch all the action. The racing season concludes with purses at their highest level ($128,620 a day) and a new record for average all-sources live handle ($2,550,096). Tampa Bay Downs once again posts a new single-day co-mingled record of $3,880,693, and Florida Cup Day debuts, offering six $75,000 stakes races on the one-day card.

2004 - Tampa Bay Downs enjoys an incredibly successful meet with track records set in 10 statistical categories, including double-digit increases in total live all-source handle (24% increase) and total attendance (11%). The track distributes a record $12,622,650 in purses ($135,727 per day), which leads to fields that average 9.4 starters per race, an all-time high for the Oldsmar oval. Horsemen also halter a record $2,418,250 worth of horses at the claims box. Track improvements include a permanent tent over the popular picnic area, a new seven-furlong chute, and the opening of The Silks Poker Room, the track’s card room, which is an immediate hit with local poker enthusiasts.

2005 - Bucking national trends that have seen tracks across the nation experience declines in either handle, attendance, or both, Tampa Bay Downs concludes its 79th season by establishing 10 records in handle, attendance and purses. Increases include an all-time high attendance of 10,246 on Festival Day, which features Sun King winning the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby. Before the season starts, the track continues its expansion of and improvements to the track’s highly popular picnic area; adds a new luxury suite called the Trackside Garden Suite; and adds daily Texas Hold ‘Em tournaments in the Silks Poker Room. Horsemen benefit from a handsome new winner’s circle, a new outside rail, and a new receiving barn.

2006 - Explosive growth in on-track wagering, total handle and purse payouts, along with record-high attendance, highlight the track’s 80th year of Thoroughbred racing. As they did in 2004-2005, bettors on-track and nationwide continue to embrace Tampa Bay Downs’ full fields and improved racing quality on turf and dirt. Tampa Bay Downs receives the Large Business of the Year Award for 2006 from the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Chamber of Commerce on May 10, 2006. The award is based on community involvement and support, and pays tribute to the tremendous growth the facility has recently undergone. Local racing fans, treated to an average of 9.57 horses per race, send the on-track handle up nearly 7 percent to $30,192,981, the highest since 1991; and the daily average on-track handle of $321,202 is the highest since 1994.

History

2007 - Prior to the commencement of the 2006-2007 season, a Daktronics 16:9 ratio jumbo video board is installed in the infield, providing patrons with a state-of-the-art flat-screen monitor on which to view the live racing action. In front of a then record-high, single-day crowd of 10,593, Street Sense wins the Grade III, $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby by a nose in track and stakes-record time of 1:43.11 for 1 1/16 miles. Festival Day also marks the track’s largest co-mingled handle of $10,916,634 wagered. Tampa Bay Downs welcomes its largest crowd to date on May 5, 2007 when 11,014 fans cheer on Street Sense as he crosses the wire in front in the 133rd Kentucky Derby, becoming the first Tampa Bay Derby participant to win the Run for the Roses. Allison De Luca takes the reins as Racing Secretary, and the meeting ends with Tampa Bay Downs boasting record increases in total live-sources handle, purses paid, number of turf races offered, and total amount of horses claimed. Trainer Jamie Ness captures the first of his record nine consecutive Tampa Bay Downs titles.

2008 - Tampa Bay Downs’ 82nd season is highlighted by records set in both attendance and out-of-state wagering handle. On Festival Day,March 15, 2008, a record 12,746 fans arrive at the Oldsmar oval to witness Big Truck capture the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby. Tampa Bay Downs has three Eclipse award winners compete during the 2007-2008 meeting. Rosemary Homeister,Jr., who won the Outstanding Apprentice award in 1992, is a regular fixture in the jockeys’ room at the Oldsmar oval, finishing the season as the second- leading rider overall. Dreaming of Anna, who was the Champion Juvenile Filly of 2006, wins the Grade III

Endeavour Breeders’ Cup and the Grade III Hillsborough Stakes on the grass. War Pass, who was the 2007 Two-Year-Old Champion,competes in the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby.

Jockey Daniel Centeno establishes a track record by riding 144 winners. Before the 2007-2008 race meeting began, Tampa Bay Downs underwent several renovations, including the installation of the Grandstand elevator and the introduction of the all-new Silks Poker Room, located on the third floor of the Grandstand. The Party Suite, adjacent to the Silks Poker Room, was also updated with new flat-screen TVs installed. The Legends Bar, which includes a museum-quality exhibition of famed Thoroughbred Seabiscuit, became the newest feature on the second floor of the Grandstand. Horsemen enjoyed improvements to the Paddock area, with all-new stalls in the saddling barn ensuring the safety and comfort of horses and their connections. Other facility upgrades at the Oldsmar oval include a refurbished Racing Office on the backstretch, as well as a renovated track kitchen.

2009 - Graduates from the Tampa Bay Downs stakes program occupy five of the 19 stalls in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands field, with Grade III Tampa Bay Derby winner Musket Man placing third in the Run for the Roses. Musket Man also finishes third in the Preakness. Prior to the opening of the 2009-2010 race meeting, Tampa Bay Downs renovates all tack rooms in the barn area and forms an alliance with Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa, Inc., (TROT), a nonprofit organization dedicated to re-homing and transitioning the Oldsmar oval’s equine athletes to new careers after their racing days are over.

2010 - The outset of the 2009-2010 race meeting heralds a reduction in takeout for exacta, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High-5 and Pick-6 wagering at the Oldsmar oval. A second Tampa Bay Derby graduate, third-place finisher Super Saver, wins the Grade I Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands. Other national performers competing at the Oldsmar oval in the 2009-2010 season include Grade I winners Dr. Zic and Karelian and dual Eclipse Award winner Gio Ponti, as well as Musket Man, Uptowncharlybrown, Rule, Schoolyard Dreams, Odysseus and Phola, among others. Despite a slumping economy, Tampa Bay Downs concludes the season with its commingled all-sources handle increasing by 1.8%, bucking national trends for wagering across the nation. The season also features the implementation of the track’s social media networks, with Tampa Bay Downs starting profiles on both Facebook and Twitter. Prior to the beginning of the 2009-2010 meeting, Tampa Bay Downs officially affiliates itself with the Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa, Inc., (TROT), a 501(c) (3) organization dedicated to repurposing Tampa Bay Downs Thoroughbreds into show and pleasure horses as their careers on the racetrack end. Additionally, the 2009-2010 season saw the arrival of Mouse, the Tampa Bay Downs mascot. Mouse, a 3-year-old Miniature Horse, was rescued by an affiliate of TROT and rehabilitated by the staff of Tampa Bay Downs and quickly grew in popularity both locally and nationally In July of 2010, Florida state legislation allows for expanded hours and no-limit games in the Silks Poker Room. In the months following the 2009-10 meet, the Tampa Bay Derby receives a purse boost to $350,000 and is awarded Grade II status. Daniel Centeno wins his fourth consecutive riding title with 133 victories, giving him 540 at the track over the past four campaigns.

2011 - The Oldsmar oval’s 85th racing season ends with across-theboard increases. Handle, attendance, claims, and field size all expand; additionally, the Tampa Bay Derby achieves Grade II status for the first time, as well as an expanded purse of $350,000. The Tampa Bay Stakes (formerly the Tampa Bay Breeders’ Cup) is awarded Grade III status, also a first. Local trainers finish 1-2 in the Tampa Bay Derby, as the Kathleen O’Connell-trained Watch Me Go edges Crimson Knight from the barn of Gerald Bennett. Luis Garcia rides the 43-1 shot Watch Me Go to victory. The Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies is run on turf for the first time, with Dynamic Holiday under jockey Ramon Dominguez winning for owner Augustin Stable and trainer H. Graham Motion. Jamie Ness and Bennett tie for the training title with 61 victories apiece. It is the fifth consecutive title for Ness, who tied O’Connell the previous season with 51 victories. On the jockeys’ side, Ronnie Allen Jr. claims his fourth riding title at Tampa Bay Downs — and first since 1987- 88 — with 109 victories, 30 more than runner-up Daniel Centeno. Average daily wagering handle during the 90-day meeting is a record $4,572,074,an increase of 9.2 percent from the previous season. The Tampa Bay Derby card attracts a record all-sources wagering handle of $10,949,948, of which $876,063 is wagered on track. Average daily attendance is 3,195. A $1.5-million capital improvements project which includes the addition of a CREE LED lighting system throughout the Clubhouse and Grandstand and a “Cool Roof” coating system represents an early step in the track’s goal to provide a “net-zero impact” on the environment.

2012 - Spectacular on-track accomplishments highlight a season in which Tampa Bay Downs is again the fourth most popular winter simulcast signal in the country. Eight track records are set - four apiece on the main dirt track and the turf course. It’s Me Mom, a 4-year-old filly owned by area residents Thomas and Jean Bosch, is the equine star of the meeting, winning three of her four starts, including the Minaret Stakes and the Florida Cup Hilton Garden Inn Sprint against males. In the latter, she set a six-furlong track record of 1:08.67. Jamie Ness wins his sixth consecutive training title, saddling a record 79 winners. His horses earn $875,384 and he ties a track record by saddling four winners Jan. 19. Ness trained exclusively for Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc., which captures a third consecutive owners’ title for Richard and Karen Papiese with 79 victories. Leandro Goncalves is the leading jockey with 88 victories, eight more than defending champion Ronnie Allen, Jr. Goncalves rides his 1,000th career winner Dec. 28. The top apprentice jockey is Erik Barbaran, who rides 27 winners. Veteran rider Scott Spieth joins the 4,000-victory club April 6 aboard 4-year-old filly Ula. Owner John C. Oxley’s 3-year-old colt Prospective wins the 32nd running of the Grade II, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby in 1:43.35, the second-fastest renewal to that time. The Tampa Bay Derby draws a season-high crowd of 9,247 and total wagering of $9,183,788. Zagora, a 5-year-old mare owned by Martin Schwartz, wins both of the track’s graded stakes for older fillies and mares on the turf, the Endeavour and the Hillsborough. Zagora sets a then-course record of 1:46.97 in the mile-andan-eighth Hillsborough and goes on to win the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf at Santa Anita. Other Tampa Bay Downs participants to experience Breeders’ Cup glory were Challenger Stakes winner Fort Larned, the Ian Wilkes-trainee who wins the Classic; trainer William Bradley, who captures the Filly and Mare Sprint with Groupie Doll; and past leading jockey Willie Martinez, who wins the Sprint on Trinniberg. A mile-and-a-sixteenth turf record is set by Lentenor, a full brother to 2006 Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro. Tampa Bay Downs introduces Trakus, an electronic system which displays the position and location on the track of each horse during a race and provides handicappers with a wealth of valuable information.

2013 - Numerous firsts enhance Tampa Bay Downs’ reputation as a major player on the winter-spring Thoroughbred racing scene during its 87th season. For the first time, the top three finishers in the Grade II, $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby — Verrazano, Java’s War and Falling Sky, the Grade III Sam F. Davis Stakes winner — compete in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands (Verrazano also won the Grade I Wood Memorial and Grade I Haskell Invitational and Java’s War captured the Grade I Toyota Blue Grass). Tampa Bay Downs stages three graded stakes on a single card for the first time on Feb. 2 after the then-$150,000 Florida Oaks, a turf race for 3-year-old fillies, was awarded Grade III status by the American Graded Stakes Committee of the Thoroughbred Owners' and Breeders' Association. In addition to the Oaks, the Festival Preview Day program includes the Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes for 3-year-olds and the Grade III, $150,000 Endeavour Stakes on the turf for older fillies and mares. Jockey Daniel Centeno wins his fifth title, riding 90 winners, and Jamie Ness is the first trainer to capture seven consecutive crowns, saddling 46 winners. Twotime Eclipse Award finalist Midwest Thoroughbreds, Inc., also with 46 winners, wins its fourth consecutive owners’ title (Ness trained exclusively for Midwest). The leading apprentice jockey is 20-year-old Ricardo Mejias from Puerto Rico. For the second straight year, Tampa Bay Downs conducts 25 stakes worth $2.6-million in purse money, highlighted by the Tampa Bay Derby on Festival Day, March 9. The 33rd renewal draws a crowd of 10,476, the fifth-largest in track history; total all-sources handle of $10,291,827.76 is the fourth-highest ever. Verrazano’s jockey, Hall of Fame member John Velazquez, rides five winners on the Festival Day card, tying six other jockeys for the third-most in track history. Tampa Bay Downs reached an agreement with TVG, America’s Horseracing Network, to broadcast the meeting, spreading the track’s signal to countless new viewers. In addition to Verrazano’s victory, trainer Todd Pletcher scores two additional graded-stakes triumphs with his 5-year-old mare Old Tune, who wins the Endeavour and the Grade III, $150,000 Hillsborough on the turf, both times under Kentucky Derby-winning jockey Joel Rosario. The rider was also aboard Florida Oaks winner Tapicat for Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott. Combining to win two of the track’s six graded stakes were trainer John Terranova II and jockey Jose Espinoza, who won the Sam F. Davis with Falling Sky and the Grade III, $150,000 Tampa Bay Stakes with Swift Warrior. The 11th annual Florida Cup Day on April 6 attracts many top Florida-breds, with James and Nannette McCullough’s 4-year-old gelding Wild About Chrome remaining unbeaten (5-for-5) in the Hilton Garden Inn/ Hampton Inn & Suites Sprint. In winning the Super Stakes on Feb. 23, Thomas Shank and Stan Young’s 6-year-old gelding Good Lord sets a seven-furlong track record of 1:22.03. Phase Two of the track’s ongoing green initiative continues to gain momentum with the introduction of a state-of-the-art geothermal HVAC system designed to save energy and costs while requiring almost no maintenance. The water and energy-saving system uses the constant below-ground temperature of soil or water to cool homes, commercial buildings and public facilities.On Feb. 16, the track holds the “Walk for Roz” to benefit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure fight against breast cancer in memory of former Tampa Bay Downs Association Veterinarian Rosalyn Randall.