Over the past couple of months, the only mystery surrounding Samy Camacho's third consecutive Tampa Bay Downs riding title has been his final margin of victory.
Even before runner-up Pablo Morales nearly had his little finger severed in a freak starting-gate accident on March 19, ending his meet, Camacho had too great a lead to be caught. He has extended his margin from Morales to 111-53 with four racing days remaining in the season – Sunday, Wednesday, Friday and next Saturday's closing-day Kentucky Derby Day card.
The title is Camacho's fourth in the last five seasons.
“I'm proud of Samy. He's been riding great all season,” said his agent, former jockey Mike Moran, the leading rider here in 1978 when the track was called Florida Downs. “He's just as focused now as he was at the beginning of the meet, and he's upbeat about everything.”
Indeed, Camacho's easy interactions with fans and his eagerness to discuss the details of a race with trainers, regardless of the outcome, have helped him join an elite group of riders who have dominated the Oldsmar oval scene during the last half-century.
Tampa Bay Downs records before 1980 are sketchy, but Camacho is believed to be the sixth jockey to win three consecutive Tampa Bay Downs crowns, joining Mike Manganello (who won the 1970 Kentucky Derby on Dust Commander); Ricardo Lopez; William Henry; Daniel Centeno; and Antonio Gallardo.
Before continuing this narrative, be advised there will be a Pick 5 carryover pool of $29,211 entering Sunday's card after no bettor correctly selected the 5-5-2-8-7 combination in today's late Pick 5. The winner of the eighth race, 54-1 shot Big Rowdy Dan, guaranteed late Pick 5 bettors will have a huge jackpot to shoot for Sunday in races 4-through-8 (the fourth, sixth and eighth will be switched from the turf to the main track due to wet grounds).
Back to Camacho, the 34-year-old product of Caracas, Venezuela, who was honored in a winner's-circle ceremony after the sixth race. He plans to ride here through next Saturday before moving his tack to Monmouth Park in New Jersey, where he tied for third last summer with 41 winners.
After that, Camacho might face a decision whether to return to Tampa Bay Downs to defend his title or try to break into the ultra-competitive New York riding colony, where the purse structure far exceeds that at Tampa Bay Downs. Camacho flew to New York last Saturday to compete in a $200,000 stakes race at Aqueduct, finishing second on 3-year-old colt Bank Frenzy for trainer Lisa Lewis.
“Right now, I'm planning to go to New Jersey and work harder than I have my whole life,” Camacho said. “I have a couple of barns that are going to give me a chance to start getting more business, and I'm going to try to win the title.”
Regardless of his final position in the Monmouth standings, Camacho says he wants to make a strong enough impression to show he's ready for the jump to “The Big A,” which could open a whole new set of doors in his career.
“I want to make sure if I go to Aqueduct, I'll have people riding me from the beginning. If I don't, I'll probably come back to Tampa,” he said. “But if I go there and do well, my family (wife Kismar and their four children) is going to New York with me. I know it will be hard to move to another state after living in Florida for 8 years, but I have to follow my dreams and my business.”
Moran is confident Camacho will continue to flourish regardless of his decision.
“He can make more money in New York, but this is home. He is the king here, and it's hard to leave when you're No. 1,” Moran said. “But I'm going to do everything I can to help him be leading rider at Monmouth, and if that happens, agents all over the country will be trying to get his book.
“He's so polished right now and his attitude is so good, he'll fall into place anywhere he goes with the right connections,” added Moran, who also represents Jose Ferrer, currently fourth in the Oldsmar standings with 51 winners.
And at that point, Moran will look for another jockey to join Ferrer in his stable next season, secure in the knowledge he assisted Camacho in getting to a special place.
Camacho won two stakes races here this season. He pulled off the biggest shocker of the meet on Feb. 11 in the Suncoast Stakes, riding 38-1 shot Dreaming of Snow to a rousing neck victory from 2022 champion 2-year-old filly Wonder Wheel for leading trainer Gerald Bennett.
A month later, Camacho won the Columbia Stakes on the turf on 3-year-old colt Talk of the Nation for trainer Shug McGaughey.
The post ‘He Is The King Here’: Camacho Secures Third Straight Tampa Bay Riding Title appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
