Sunday, December 21, 2025
He's won 8 in a row . . .

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Robert Cotran’s Rezasrolex collected his eighth straight victory Friday at Gulfstream Park with a front-running performance in Race 5, a five-furlong optional claiming allowance on turf.

    The 4-year-old son of multiple Gr. II winner Bucchero entered the race off seven consecutive victories over Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta surface.

    “Today was the turf test. He’s by Bucchero. He’s a stallion I love. I knew he’d turf. He’d run one time [on turf] at Belterra with a 40 Beyer. It’s apples and oranges,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “The horse is doing great. He’s keeping himself together. I stop when it’s time to stop on him. I’ve given him time off before. He’ s doing great.”

    Rezasrolex ($4.60), a Florida-bred gelding who was claimed for $18,000 by his current connections out of his Gulfstream debut in December of 2023, went right to the front under Edgard Zayas and held off a late drive from favored Poseidon’s Law by a neck in the non-winners-of-one optional claiming allowance.

    “We’re going to have to figure out his next step. Now he’s a two-other-than. There’s some stakes coming up,” Orseno said. “He’s just a neat horse and we’re keeping him happy.” Since being claimed out of a winning Gulfstream debut for trainer Bill Morey in his third career race, Rezasrolex has won 10 of 13 for Cotran and Orseno.

Sunday, December 21, 2025
Money to come from FBIF funds . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Gulfstream Park announced Friday it will increase purses of maiden special weight, allowance, and open stakes races using money from the Florida-Bred Incentive Fund (FBIF) beginning Jan. 1.

    Gulfstream has increased the FBIF from $5,000 to $10,000 for all maiden special weight and allowance races, increased maiden optional claimers from $43,000 to $50,000, and added $25,000 to all open stakes purses of $150,000 or less.

    Stephen Screnci, President, 1/ST Racing, said additional FBIF money will be used in the months ahead.

    “The FBIF funds have allowed Gulfstream Park to continue offering Florida-bred restricted races through the Championship Meet. For the last Championship Meet we paid out approximately $1.3 million.” Screnci said.  

        
Thursday, December 18, 2025
Both veterans have saddled 4 winners . . .

    OLDSMAR - A pair of familiar names are off to quick starts in the training ranks this season.

    Tom Proctor, who trains for Ocala's Glen Hill Farm, sent out his fourth winner from seven starters in Wednesday’s sixth race on the turf as 4-5 favorite Wrigleyville posted a front-running, 3 ¼-length victory over Expecting a Winner. Wrigleyville, a 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief out of Glen Hill’s multiple-Gr. I winner Marketing Mix, toured the 1-mile distance in 1:37.58. She was ridden by leading jockey Samuel Marin.

    Proctor, the son of the late training great Willard Proctor, has saddled more than 1,400 winners. He is perhaps best known as the conditioner of Glen Hills' One Dreamer, upset winner of the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs.

    J. David Braddy, a two-time leading trainer at Tampa Bay Downs in 1983-84 and 1986-87 (tied with Norm Wismer), is 4-for-6 with one second after Rancho Vista’s runner-up effort to Unicycle in Wednesday’s seventh race, a 7-furlong claiming event. Rancho Vista was claimed from the outing, as was Braddy’s two-time winner Long Gone Sally on Dec. 12. Each of Braddy’s winners was owned by Joel W. Sainer. Braddy is closing in on 1,100 career victories.

    Marin and Ademar Santos each rode two winners on the card. In addition to his victory on Wrigleyville, Marin captured the eighth race aboard Blaze of Color, a 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by JC Racing Stable and trained by Jose M. Castro.

    Santos won the fourth and fifth races back-to-back. He scored in the fourth on Pando, a 5-year-old gelding owned by Happy Tenth Stable and trained by Tony Wilson. Pando was claimed from the victory for $5,000 by owner-trainer Ron G. Potts.

    Santos won the fifth with Battle Warrior, a 3-year-old gelding owned by Mellon Patch Inc., and trained by Michael Campbell.

   

Tuesday, December 16, 2025
Dates will be moved to Thursdays . . .

    OLDSMAR - Tampa Bay Downs has tweaked its 2025-26 racing calendar, while maintaining a 90-day schedule.

    Sunday racing, originally scheduled to begin Dec. 21, will get underway Jan. 4. The “lost” dates (Dec. 21 and 28) will be made up on Thursday, Feb. 5 and Thursday, Feb. 12.

    Tampa Bay Downs currently races on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. With the exception of Christmas, Dec. 25, when the track will be closed in its entirety, Tampa Bay Downs is open every day for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and golf fun and instruction at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.

    Friday, Dec. 26 is Calendar Day, with the first 5,000 patrons through the gates receiving the 2026 edition free of charge (with paid admission). The theme is the track’s centennial celebration, and a sneak peek reveals the calendar is an artistic triumph, with pictures from the track’s beginning years blending into more recent yet similar photographs. Gates will open at 11 a.m.

    Racing continues Wednesday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:20 p.m.



Monday, December 15, 2025
Favorite finishes fifth . . .
    HALLANDALE BEACH - Coming off a heart-breaking loss in the Showing Up Stakes after opening a lead in the stretch last time out, Kevin Doyle’s Layabout held on to late to eke out a narrow victory in Saturday’s $125,000 Tropical Park Derby at Gulfstream Park.

    The 50th running of the Tropical Park Derby, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-olds, co-headlined Saturday’s 11-race program with the $125,000 Tropical Park Oaks, a 1 1/16-mile turf stakes for 3-year-old fillies won by Destino d’Oro ($9.60).

    Ridden by Junior Alvarado for the first time, Layabout ($7.40) was the beneficiary of a perfectly judged trip to prevail by a nose and collect his second stakes victory and fourth career triumph in nine starts.

    Roar of the Beast was sent to the lead after an alert start to show the way around the first turn and into the backstretch, pressed by Tank with Simulate and Layabout a few lengths farther back. Roar of the Beast and Tank continued to lead the pack into the far turn after completing the first half mile in 47.70 seconds but began to show signs of weakening entering the turn into the homestretch. As Tank took over approaching the stretch, Layabout loomed as the most serious threat with Church and State making a brief run to his outside.

    Tank turned for home with the lead but had no answer for Layabout’s stretch drive. Layabout opened up in mid-stretch but had to hold off the fresh challenge of Tiz Dashing to eke out the victory.

    “I had a great trip. I was sitting where I wanted to. The only thing was a couple guys on the outside – I don’t know who it was – made kind of an early move on the outside, so it made me move a little earlier than I wanted to,” Alvarado said. “I have to say he was much the best today. If I didn’t have to make that move that early, he probably would have won a little easier.”

    After joining trainer Patrick Biancone’s stable after finishing off the board in three starts on dirt during the 2024-2025 Championship Meet, the 3-year-old gelded son of Laoban broke his maiden on Tapeta, won an allowance and the Bear’s Den on turf.  He closed with a rush to finish less than two lengths off the winner while fourth in the $2 million Gun Runner at Kentucky Downs before losing the Showing Up by a half-length.

    “He’s a very good horse. He’s still immature. He was difficult initially, but we found the key and the jockey rode him very well,” Biancone said. “As long as he’s on the outside, he’s good.” Layabout ran 1 1/16 miles in 1:40.73 over a firm turf course.

    “I hope they invite him for the Pegasus,” said Biancone, referring to the $1 million Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1) at Gulfstream Jan. 24. “Our plan was to go to Saudi or Dubai after. Step 1 was this race. Step 2 is the Pegasus and if everything goes well we’ll see.”

    Tiz Dashing, who was coming off a win in the Hill Prince (G3) at Aqueduct, finished a half-length ahead of Tank, who held gamely for third. Chapman’s Peak, the 3-2 favorite, finished fifth.