Gains in handle and attendance . . .
OLDSMAR - The curtain came down on the 100th anniversary season of Tampa Bay Downs on Sunday and the centennial celebration was an overall success with gains in handle and on-track attendance, as well as purses paid to the horsemen and horsewomen who supported the stakes and overnight programs throughout the 90-day meet.
The track is known for its fan-friendly atmosphere and amenities plus outstanding customer service and racing enthusiasts responded accordingly. Daily attendance for the live meet in 2025-2026 increased by double digits to 10.6%. While on-track wagering figures remained flat in comparison to the previous year, total handle from all sources made slight gains by about 1%. The horsemen and horsewomen were the beneficiaries of higher purses, which were increased by 3.10% for this meet.
“I am very pleased with the meet, especially when you look at the year to date national handle being down 4.69% and Tampa being up 1%,” said Peter Berube, the vice president and general manager of the track.
This season Florida-bred horses competed for an additional $1 million in purse money during the meet and the increase brought the total of additional purse money available for registered Sunshine State horses to more than $2 million. The money was allocated to all overnight races, with as much as an extra $21,000 (plus $2,000 in Florida Owner Awards) available for Florida-breds in maiden special weight and allowance races.
Track mainstays owner-trainer Juan Arriagada, trainers Kathleen O’Connell and Juan Carlos Avila, and jockey Samuel Marin were standouts in their respective categories. Cesar Gonzalez made his mark as the leading apprentice rider with 21 visits to the winner’s circle.
Arriagada claimed his fourth straight leading owner title with 25 wins, and in the trainers division he finished with 38 victories, two behind Avila and O’Connell, who tied atop the leaderboard with 40 wins each. For O’Connell, this was her fifth title overall and third in a row.
During his outstanding meet Marin was the runaway leader in the rider’s category as he recorded multiple six-win days and smashed the record for most wins in a single season that had stood for more than a decade with 154 victories. The previous record for most wins by a jockey in one meet was 147, set by Tony Gallardo in 2014-2015. Marin, who took the title last year with 116 scores, finished his season with more than double the number of wins than his closest competitors, Sonny Leon and Samy Camacho, who tied for second place with 77 victories each.
Marin, a 25-year-old Venezuelan native who began his career just four years ago in 2022, is moving his tack to Delaware Park and will be joined in the jockey colony by Gonzalez this summer.
The 4-year-old filly Long Gone Sally, who was bred in Florida by Oakleaf Farm, owned by Tom Abrahamson, and trained by Lynn Rarick, won more races than any other horse as she took six of her eight starts.
As has become the annual tradition, many of the top horsemen in North America sent their charges to Tampa Bay Downs to compete for Kentucky Derby and Kentucky Oaks qualifying points and to prepare them for additional prestigious graded stakes races on the national calendar.
Five-time Eclipse Award-winning trainer Chad Brown was rewarded when Always A Runner made her debut with a dazzling 6 ½ lengths win in a maiden special weight in early February and then she won the Gazelle (G3) before taking the Kentucky Oaks (G1) last Friday. Always a Runner provided her trainer with his first victory in America’s top affair for 3-year-old fillies.
The Brown-trained Emerging Market also proved he was an emerging talent on the Sam Davis (Listed) Day undercard when he graduated from the maiden ranks at first asking. The next time out the colt handled the class hike to win the Louisiana Derby (G2) before competing in the Kentucky Derby (10th).
Brown, who has a penchant for sending his top horses to Tampa Bay Downs and a history of doing extremely well with them, said the main track and turf course here are maintained in prime condition. “I really like both surfaces there,” he said.
Hall of Famer Todd Pletcher also took the route to the Kentucky Derby G1) through Tampa Bay Downs with Sam Davis winner Renegade, who was the runner-up in the Run for the Roses after a troubled trip. The Whit Beckman-trained Ocelli, sixth in the Sam Davis, finished third in the Kentucky Derby as a longshot and he was joined in the starting gate by Tampa Bay Derby (G3) runner-up Further Ado and Albus, who broke his maiden here on February 27. The Puma, winner of the Tampa Bay Derby, was a late Kentucky Derby scratch.
The track was well represented on the Kentucky Oaks-Derby undercards as well and those horses also performed admirably.
The Pletcher-trained Disruptor, winner of the 2026 Challenger, was the runner-up in the Churchill Downs (G1); Portfolio Duration took second in the Longines Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G2) after all three of her previous starts were here for Brown; and dual Hall of Famer Mark Casse saddled Turf Dash Stakes winner My Boy Prince and Columbia Stakes winner Alpyland to fourth place runs in the Twin Spires Turf Sprint (G2) and the American Turf (G1), respectively.
Whiskey Decision and Proctor Street, the runner-up and third place finisher, respectively, in the Hillsborough (G2) here on February 7, competed in Modesty (G3) at 1 1/8 miles on the grass on the Oaks Day undercard. In the Modesty Proctor Street was third and Whisky Decision, trained by Brown, ran fourth.
Another of the many highlights during the meet was Florida Cup Day on March 29 when the track hosted the 23rd edition of the event to showcase horses bred in the Sunshine State. Six stakes restricted to state-breds presented opportunities for horses in different divisions and each carried a purse of $110,00. Horsemen fully supported the Florida Cup, nominating a total of 114 Florida-breds.
Building upon the success of the centennial season, live racing returns on November 25, 2026 for the 101st season at Tampa Bay Downs, which first opened its doors on February 18, 1926, with another full calendar of promotions and competitive racing.