OLDSMAR - After jockey Vernon Bush fractured his back in three places and broke a rib last August when his mount flipped over in the post parade at Belterra Park, some relatives and close friends began planning a retirement party.

    But the 64-year-old Bush, who began riding in 1978 at River Downs in Ohio, asked them to hold off until he got to Tampa Bay Downs and won one more race. “I wanted to go out on top and be able to hold my head high and say I did it my way. There is no better way to go out than on a winner,” Bush said Thursday, still savoring his victory on 18-1 shot Protest in Wednesday’s seventh race, a 7-furlong maiden claiming event.

    Bush had ridden the (now)-6-year-old gelding to a decent fourth-place finish on Dec. 31 for owner Carla March and her husband, trainer William March. “He made a good run and got a little tired, but I knew he had to improve off that race,” Bush said. “When I got to the winner’s circle, Bill March told me ‘I knew you were going to do this.’ ”

    For Bush and the Marches, Protest’s victory brought things full circle. Bush had won numerous races for the couple on their horse Well Connected, including a starter/optional claiming race for them two years ago at Tampa Bay Downs.

    Bush, the brother of Midwest trainer George Bush, retires with 3,288 career victories and total purse earnings of $25,212,469. Best known for his success in New England, he won six riding titles at Suffolk Downs in Boston and four at Rockingham Park in New Hampshire. He rode six winners on a card at both Suffolk and Northampton Fair in Massachusetts.

    Among almost a half-century of racing-related memories, Bush also notes a piece of trivia: He was moved up from third to first in two separate races when the top two finishers were both disqualified.

    “I’ve ridden so many nice horses through my career. I won stakes at Rockingham, Suffolk, all the Ohio tracks and New Jersey. I’ve won races at almost every track on the East Coast and the Atlantic Seaboard from Saratoga to Gulfstream and Hialeah. I’ve been very lucky and had a very good career,” said Bush, whose late father Vernon Bush was also a jockey.

    Bush did not ride from the summer of 2018 until March of 2022 due to a broken femur, a broken ankle and two hip surgeries, including a hip replacement. He worked at Belterra Park as a jockeys’ room supervisor and entry-taker in 2019 and 2020 before his love for racing inspired him to return to the saddle.

    Bush rode 47 winners after his comeback. He was honored three years ago with the Randy Romero Pure Courage Award, given to a jockey who has overcome serious injuries and/or adversity. Romero, a member of the sport’s Hall of Fame who died in 2019, incurred an abundance of racing-related injuries, requiring more than 20 surgeries.

    “I’m honored just to have my name next to his on something, and I hope it gives other people inspiration that they can overcome things in their life and go forward. Anything can be achieved when you put your mind to it,” Bush said.

    Bush created another lifetime memory last August, shortly before he was injured. He had found a saddle used at least 40 years earlier by jockey Al Herrera, the father of Bush’s close friend Marilee. Bush cleaned and polished the saddle and used it to ride 5-year-old mare Whiskey Diamond – owned and trained by George Bush, his brother – to an 18-length victory in a claiming race at Belterra Park.

    Bush plans to continue to exercise horses in the mornings (he was on four Wednesday). He hopes to continue working in the industry, possibly as a racing-office employee, and may try to become accredited as a steward.

    Wherever he winds up, Bush will be forgiven for occasionally reflecting on the thrills, the big wins, the occasional setbacks and the friendships he has made throughout his career.

    “It’s that time for me. I have to step away. I know I can still ride a race and not interfere with a horse, but I’d rather go out on top than ride a lot of races not knowing if I would win again. I can say that I enjoyed every moment of my career and I’m happy the way it ended,” he said.

    OLDSMAR - One of the track’s most popular promotions, the “Live It Up Challenge” handicapping contest, begins Saturday, running through the March 7 Festival Day 46 card highlighted by the Gr. III ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby and the Gr. II Hillsborough Stakes on the turf.

    Players may register for the contest free of charge at www.liveitupchallenge.com any time before 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

    All wagers are mythical, with players required to make selections each racing day in any two of the three randomly selected “Challenge Races.” A player’s bankroll is based on the payoffs for their selections based on a $2 win, place and show wager.

    Participants start the contest with one free lifeline. If a player’s selections in both of a day’s “Challenge Races” do not hit the board, they lose a lifeline. Players may purchase up to eight additional lifelines for $5 each upon signup; up to eight more for $10 each on Jan. 31; and up to four more for $25 each on Feb. 14.

    Once a player loses all their lifelines, they are eliminated. Players can only lose a maximum of one lifeline per day.

    The player with the largest bankroll will be declared the Grand Prize winner and will receive two seats in the High Rollers Contest in February of 2027 at Tampa Bay Downs, a $2,000 value. The second, third and fourth-place finishers will receive one High Rollers Contest seat apiece in February of 2027 at the Oldsmar oval, a $1,000 value.

    A bonus prize of $500 will go to the player who selects the most winners during the contest. The recipient of the “Most Winners” bonus may have been eliminated and does not have to remain active by the close of the contest period.

    If all players are eliminated before the conclusion of the contest, the four players with the highest bankrolls will win the prizes.

   To register and for a complete set of contest rules, visit www.liveitupchallenge.com on the Internet.