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History<br />
2007 - Prior to the commencement of the 2006-2007 season, a<br />
Daktronics <strong>16</strong>:9 ratio jumbo video board is installed in the<br />
infield, providing patrons with a state-of-the-art flat-screen<br />
monitor on which to view the live racing action. In front of a then<br />
record-high, single-day crowd of 10,593, Street Sense<br />
wins the Grade III, $300,000 Tampa Bay Derby by a nose in track<br />
and stakes-record time of 1:43.11 for 1 1/<strong>16</strong> miles. Festival<br />
Day also marks the track’s largest co-mingled handle of<br />
$10,9<strong>16</strong>,634 wagered. Tampa Bay Downs welcomes its largest<br />
crowd to date on May 5, 2007 when 11,014 fans cheer on Street<br />
Sense as he crosses the wire in front in the 133rd Kentucky<br />
Derby, becoming the first Tampa Bay Derby participant to win the<br />
Run for the Roses. Allison De Luca takes the reins as Racing<br />
Secretary, and the meeting ends with Tampa Bay Downs<br />
boasting record increases in total live-sources handle, purses<br />
paid, number of turf races offered, and total amount of horses<br />
claimed. Trainer Jamie Ness captures the first of his record nine<br />
consecutive Tampa Bay Downs titles.<br />
2008 - Tampa Bay Downs’ 82nd season is highlighted by records set<br />
in both attendance and out-of-state wagering handle. On Festival<br />
Day,March 15, 2008, a record 12,746 fans arrive at the<br />
Oldsmar oval to witness Big Truck capture the Grade III Tampa<br />
Bay Derby. Tampa Bay Downs has three Eclipse award winners<br />
compete during the 2007-2008 meeting. Rosemary Homeister,Jr.,<br />
who won the Outstanding Apprentice award in 1992, is a regular<br />
fixture in the jockeys’ room at the Oldsmar oval, finishing the<br />
season as the second- leading ridr overall. Dreaming of Anna,<br />
who was the Champion Juvenile Filly of 2006, wins the Grade III<br />
EndeavourBreeders’ Cup and the Grade III Hillsborough Stakes<br />
on the grass. War Pass, who was the 2007 Two-Year-Old<br />
Champion,competes in the Grade III Tampa Bay Derby.<br />
Jockey Daniel Centeno establishes a track record by riding 144<br />
winners. Before the 2007-2008 race meeting began, Tampa Bay<br />
Downs underwent several renovations, including the installation of the<br />
Grandstand elevator and the introduction of the all-new Silks Poker<br />
Room, located on the third floor of the Grandstand. The Party Suite,<br />
adjacent to the Silks Poker Room, was also updated with new flatscreen<br />
TVs installed. The Legends Bar, which includes a museumquality<br />
exhibition of famed Thoroughbred Seabiscuit, became the newest<br />
feature on the second floor of the Grandstand. Horsemen enjoyed<br />
improvements to the Paddock area, with all-new stalls in the saddling<br />
barn ensuring the safety and comfort of horses and their connections.<br />
Other facility upgrades at the Oldsmar oval include a refurbished Racing<br />
Office on the backstretch, as well as a renovated track kitchen.<br />
2009 -Tampa Bay Downs sees horses graduated from its stakes<br />
program make up one-fourth of the Kentucky Derby Presented by<br />
Yum! Brands field, with Grade III Tampa Bay Derby winner Musket Man<br />
placing third in the Run for the Roses. Musket Man also finishes third<br />
in the Preakness. Prior to the opening of the 2009-2010 race meeting,<br />
Tampa Bay Downs renovates all tack rooms in the barn area and forms<br />
an alliance with Thoroughbred Retirement of Tampa, Inc., (TROT), a<br />
non-profit organization dedicated to re-homing and transitioning the<br />
Oldsmar oval’s equine athletes to new careers after their racing days are<br />
over.<br />
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