Tampabay downs media guide 16-0273-JK2

History
2015 - As part of its ongoing capital improvements initiative, Tampa Bay
Downs unveils a bright, redesigned circular driveway entrance in
front of the Grandstand. Featuring tree-lined pathways, garden
landscaping, enhanced lighting, benches and automatic sliding
doors, it signals a friendly “welcome back” to all when the 89th
anniversary meeting resumes Nov. 29. The racing action is fast
and furious from the outset, as jockey Antonio Gallardo rides five
winners on the first stakes Saturday of the season and 2-year-old
Catalina Red sets a stakes record of 1:09.32 in the six-furlong
Inaugural Stakes. Gallardo’s success is a recurrent theme
throughout: The native of Cadiz, Spain rides five winners again
on Dec. 31 and finishes the meeting with 147 to set a new track
record and win his second consecutive title. Gallardo is joined at
the top by trainer Jamie Ness, who captures an unprecedented
ninth consecutive Oldsmar crown with 46 victories. The Nesstrained
6-year-old gelding Brother Pat becomes the first horse
to sweep all four legs of the Tampa Turf Test starter handicap
series, never trailing at a single point of call in any of his
victories. Trainer Todd Pletcher wins the Tampa Bay Derby for
the third time, capturing the Grade II, $350,000 showcase with
Carpe Diem. The colt is owned in partnership by Stonestreet
Stables, which also owns Ocean Knight, winner of the Grade
III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes. The 35th renewal of the
Tampa Bay Derby headlines a March 7 Festival Day program
that includes the Grade III, $200,000 Florida Oaks, the Grade
III, $150,000 Hillsborough Stakes and the $60,000 Challenger
Stakes, making it the richest day in track history. A crowd of
10,379, the 10th largest in track history,watches Carpe Diem
and fellow Tampa Bay Derby participant Danzig Moon compete
in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands via simulcast
on May 2.The outstanding stakes program at Tampa Bay Downs
produces several record-breaking performances. Trainer Chad
Stewart’s Catalina Red sets a stakes and track record in winning
the Dec. 27 Pasco Stakes for 2-year-olds, speeding home seven
furlongs in 1:21.40 under jockey Daniel Centeno.
That same day, 2-year-old filly Irish Jasper sets a stakes mark
of 1:22.41 in the Gasparilla Stakes for trainer Derek Ryan. Bold
Thunder establishes a course and stakes record of 54.63 in the
five-furlong Turf Dash, the fifth victory in the race for Centeno.
Evidently, a 4-year-old filly trained by Roy Lerman, sets a stakes
mark in the Florida Cup Pleasant Acres Stallions Distaff Turf
of 1:40.93 for a mile-and-a-sixteenth. The 4-year-old gelding
Special Envoy sets a mile-and-an-eighth turf course record
of 1:46.55 on March 18. On March 28, trainer Gerald Bennett
saddles career winner No. 3,500, the 3-year-old filly Once More
for Love. New York native Andrew Demsky is named host for the
track’s “Paddock Preview” show, taking over from Vice President
of Marketing & Publicity Margo Flynn, who continues in her
executive role while shifting her focus to other responsibilities.
On Dec. 15, seven members of the Tampa Bay Downs jockey
colony travel to All Children’s Hospital in St. Petersburg to
visit children with potentially life-limiting diseases. The group
includes Ronnie Allen, Jr.; Dean Butler; Janelle Campbell; Daniel
Centeno; Keiber Coa; Antonio Gallardo; and Pablo Morales.
Tampa Bay Downs purchases the Tampa Greyhound Track in
January. Major League Baseball fans — specifically, New York
Yankees rooters — cash in when horses named Mecke Mantle
and Yogi Berra both win on the Dec. 21 card. The Downs Golf
Practice Facility is recognized by the Golf Range Association of
America as one of the nation’s top-50 ranges. Joseph Ricciardi
of New Port Richey, Fla., wins a top prize of $500,000 playing the
JACKPOT scratch-off game on the first floor of the grandstand.
The Vietnam War veteran is a regular in The Silks Poker Room.
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