Gerald Bennett | Horse Racing Free Tips

Tampa Bay Downs: Leading Trainer Gerald Bennett Saddles Three Winners

Off to a fast start at the 2020-21 Tampa Bay Downs meet in Oldsmar, Fla., leading trainer Gerald Bennett sent out three winners on Saturday's program. He's won with 11 of his first 33 starters.

Bennett won the first race with Lady Breanna, a 5-year-old Florida-bred mare bred and owned by J J Brevan Stable and ridden by Daniel Centeno. He added the eighth race on the turf with D'craziness, a 7-year-old Florida-bred horse owned by Averill Racing and ridden by Samy Camacho.

Bennett's third victory came in the 10th and final race with Ticket to Alaska, a 2-year-old gelding owned by William MacKinnon and ridden by Camacho.

Alvarado and Gallardo joined Camacho in winning two races. Alvarado won the second race aboard the 6-year-old mare Stated for owner-trainer Bruno Tessore. Gallardo captured the ninth race, the Lambholm South Race of the Week on the turf, on Crown and Sugar, a 5-year-old Florida-bred mare owned by Reitman Stables and trained by Darien Rodriguez.

Thoroughbred racing continues Wednesday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:42 p.m. Sunday racing at Tampa Bay Downs begins Dec. 20 as the track moves to a four-days-a-week schedule for the duration of the meeting. The track will be closed Christmas Day, Dec. 25, but will stage a full card on Thursday, Dec. 24.

With the exception of Christmas and Easter Sunday, April 4, 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.

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With Sights Set On Riding Title, Camacho Kicks Off Tampa Bay Meet With Opening-Day Triple

Gerald Bennett says there are several riders capable of winning the 2020-2021 riding title at Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla. But the perennial leading trainer thinks most of the track's jockeys will spend a fair amount of time chasing Samy Camacho.

“He's psyched up to get leading rider, and he knows this track because he's been riding on it long enough. He's going to be tough,” Bennett said.

The 32-year-old Camacho, who won the 2018-2019 championship, got off to an excellent start on Wednesday's opening day card, riding three winners with a second and a third.

Today's card marked the first time Tampa Bay Downs has conducted racing in front of spectators since March 15.

Camacho displayed determination, strength and patience in Wednesday's performance. In the first race, an $8,000 claiming affair at a distance of a mile and 40 yards, he re-rallied 4-year-old gelding Campaign Spy for a nose victory from 3-5 favorite Jack B Winkle. Campaign Spy is owned by Rodney M. Miller and trained by Jon Arnett, who was making his first career start at Tampa Bay Downs.

Camacho added the third race on the turf aboard 2-year-old Florida-bred gelding Handsome Effort, waiting until the last possible moment in the one-mile, $16,000 claiming contest to urge the winner past Top Bomb by a head. Handsome Effort is owned by Foley Bloodstock and trained by Thomas D. Foley.

Another Camacho victory came in the fourth, a $5,000 claiming sprint, aboard 5-year-old Florida-bred gelding Perfetto for trainer Bennett and owner William MacKinnon.

Bennett said Camacho has learned the importance of not rushing horses approaching the stretch at Tampa Bay Downs, where experienced riders have been known to take advantage of an over-eager jockey by “floating” a charging horse and rider farther out to the middle of the track, blunting their rally.

“I started him out when he first came here (during the 2015-2016 meeting), and I told him you can't override a horse coming around the turn because they'll start spinning their wheels,” Bennett said. “That part (of the race) from the 3/8-mile pole to the quarter-mile pole, is where you hold your horse together, then move with them later.

“He's getting this track down pat now, he's competitive and you can see he's having fun when he rides. Mike (Moran), his agent, was a good rider, and he'll take Samy aside at the end of the day to talk about what happened.”

The meeting is just getting started, but Camacho has already served notice he's laser-focused on staying at the top. “I think my confidence comes from experience,” Camacho said, “but I'm still learning a lot. I trust myself and I think I have a chance to win every race I ride.”

Of course, Camacho's self-belief received a major boost when he won the Grade 2, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on King Guillermo in March.

“It feels great to win three races on opening day. I brought my family here today, and to have them here is a fantastic feeling,” he said. “I have to give all the thanks to my horses, the owners and the trainers, and my agent, who is working hard for me to be successful.”

Around the oval. Bennett won two races, also scoring in the second with 2-year-old Florida-bred filly R Averie Lynn. She is owned by Averill Racing and ATM Racing and was ridden by Tampa Bay Downs newcomer Roberto Alvarado, Jr.

In Wednesday's featured eighth race, the Happy Thanksgiving Purse at 6 ½ furlongs on the main dirt track, 6-year-old Florida-bred gelding High Five Cotton staved off a threat from Expensive Style to post a ¾-length victory. The winner's time was 1:16.44, less than a second off the track record.

The victory was the third in a row for High Five Cotton, who improved to 14-for-50 lifetime. Antonio Gallardo rode the winner for owner Bob Apicelli's Carole Star Stables and trainer Jose H. Delgado.

Tampa Bay Downs is closed Thursday for Thanksgiving. Thoroughbred racing continues Friday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:47 p.m. The track currently races on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule, with Sundays added to the mix on Dec. 20. Additionally, Tampa Bay Downs will conduct a Thursday card on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, and be closed Christmas, Dec. 25.

Otherwise, the track 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.

The post With Sights Set On Riding Title, Camacho Kicks Off Tampa Bay Meet With Opening-Day Triple appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

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Tough Competition Projected At Tampa Bay For Upcoming Meet; Races Return Wednesday

The smell of freshly cut grass drifted across the grandstand apron shortly after 9 a.m. today, as track maintenance workers groomed Tampa Bay Downs' renowned turf in preparation for Wednesday's Opening Day program.

Although no one was around to savor the sweet fragrance, that scenario will change in two days when spectators are allowed to view the races in person for the first time since March 15. A nine-race card that includes four races on the pristine grass course begins at 12:25 p.m. The gates open at 11 a.m.

Wednesday's feature race is the Happy Thanksgiving Purse, an allowance/optional claiming event carded as the eighth race. A field of nine colts and geldings will sprint 6 ½ furlongs on the main dirt track. The 3-1 morning-line favorite is 3-year-old colt Hauntedbythemusic, trained by Baltazar Galvan, with Samy Camacho named to ride.

Officially, Wednesday is the second day of the 2020-21 Thoroughbred meeting, which began on July 1, the second day of the track's two-day Summer Festival of Racing. Tampa Bay Downs will race on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule before adding Sundays to the mix on Dec. 20 (the track will race Thursday, Dec. 24 and be closed Christmas, Dec. 25).

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 situation, fans will be required to wear masks both inside and outside the facility, unless they are eating or drinking. Social distancing is encouraged and will be enforced, as necessary.

Gerald Bennett, who has won five consecutive Tampa Bay Downs training titles and six overall, has entered seven horses for Wednesday. He described the vibe on the grounds as upbeat as horsemen, jockeys and backstretch personnel get ready to launch the track's 95^th anniversary season.

“Everyone wants to get running. We have quite a few new outfits here and quite a few new riders, very competitive riders,” Bennett said. “We're eager to get started and see how everything unfolds, but I think we're going to have pretty competitive racing from the first day.

“You have the great weather and you have a dirt track that is the same consistency from day to day, so you don't have to over-train your horses. The turf track is probably as good as any turf track in the country, so you get (trainers such as) Chad Brown, Shug McGaughey, (Todd) Pletcher and (Christophe) Clement shipping horses in to run.”

That doesn't make it any easier to win races, but it draws attention – and wagering dollars – from bettors far and wide.

Camacho, who won the Oldsmar jockeys title in 2018-2019 and captured last season's Grade 2 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on 49-1 shot King Guillermo, expects to be tested by his rivals from the beginning. He can't wait.

“I had a good season at Gulfstream (in south Florida), but I love Tampa and I'm glad to be back with my family and my friends and the fans. I'm excited, and I want to start winning races and having fun,” Camacho said.

While Camacho is fired up to hear the shouts from the crowd as he rides a horse to victory, Bennett says having fans along for the ride gives everyone a boost.

“A lot of fans always talk to me and ask me if my horse has a shot, and I'll talk about the race and tell them which horse I think we have to beat,” Bennett said. “It's good having them back, and Tampa is a great area to race and live. It's a relaxed atmosphere and everybody knows each other in the barn area, so it gets to be like a family.”

A family with its share of intense rivalries.

While Bennett expects to have as many as 50 horses in his stable (including some trained by his wife, Mary Ann Bennett), he expects strong challenges for the top spot from last season's runner-up, Kathleen O'Connell, and third-place finisher Michael Stidham.

Newcomers likely to be heard from include Michael Maker, Jon Arnett and David Van Winkle.

The jockeys race should also be highly charged from the outset, with Camacho joined in the battle by defending champion Antonio Gallardo, a five-time title-holder; six-time winner Daniel Centeno; Pablo Morales; Jose Ferrer; Jesus Castanon; Ronnie Allen, Jr.; and newcomer Roberto Alvarado, Jr.

The 2020-21 stakes schedule kicks off on Dec. 5, Cotillion Festival Day, which features a card of mostly 2-year-old races. Stakes offerings that day include the $100,000 Inaugural Stakes for 2-year-olds and the $100,000 Sandpiper Stakes for 2-year-old fillies. Both races are at a distance of 6 furlongs on the main track. The Inaugural closed Saturday with 25 nominations, while the Sandpiper attracted 24 nominations.

The 41^st annual G2 $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, a showcase for Triple Crown prospects, will be held March 6 as part of a Festival Day program including four graded stakes and total stakes purse money of $1 million.

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Gerald Bennett Wraps Up Both Trainer, Owner Titles At Tampa Bay Downs

If it's June, Gerald Bennett must be at the Ocala Breeders' Sales Spring 2-Year-Olds in Training Sale (moved from April this year due to COVID-19), looking to strengthen his Winning Stables, Inc., roster with future Thoroughbred standouts.

Or he could be driving back from Delaware Park with wife Mary after delivering a shipment of 13 runners from Tampa Bay Downs for the Wilmington, Del., meeting that began Wednesday.

With a few days remaining in the Oldsmar oval's 2019-2020 season, Bennett still can be found at his barn overseeing a few dozen horses, many of which have helped him capture a fifth consecutive Tampa Bay Downs training championship with 60 victories (the current season concludes with racing Wednesday and June 30, with the 2020-2021 meeting beginning July 1).

The 76-year-old conditioner shared his first Oldsmar training title in 2010-2011 with Jamie Ness, the track's all-time record-holder with nine titles, won consecutively from 2006-2015.

What's different this season: Bennett has also wrapped up his first Tampa Bay Downs owners title with 23 victories. Bennett, who sent out 15 winners under his Winning Stables, Inc., banner and eight in various partnerships, is four ahead of both Godolphin, LLC (19 victories) and owner-trainer Juan Arriagada, who won 11 races individually and eight in various partnerships.

“It's great to be able to keep going strong year after year,” said the Springhill, Nova Scotia native, who ranks 14th all-time in North America with 3,903 victories. “You need that fire and desire to do it right because it's a lot of work to stay successful, and right now I still have it.”

Bennett, the father of trainer Dale Bennett, has recruited new owners to the sport virtually from the start of his career, when he competed in Canada. “It's important for the sport to bring in new owners,” he said. “You get those friendships established and win some races, and they bring more of their friends into it. I'm fortunate to have owners who like to run their horses where they can win, and hopefully you can buy more young stock that you can turn into stakes horses.”

Owners who partnered with Winning Stables on victories this season included James Georgeades and Ron Pugliese, Jr., of JPG2 and Mr. Pug, LLC; Harold L. Queen; Arnoriver Racing (Mike Arnone); Martin Goodell; and Mary Thomas and Michael Vitello.

While Bennett maintains an excellent rapport with his owners, it is in the barn area where he seems most at home. His reputation for turning claiming horses into allowance winners and allowance horses into stakes performers has been honed through years of study, dedication to his profession and subscribing to the belief that no detail is too small.

Among his best horses are millionaire Beau Genius, who won the Grade I Philip H. Iselin Handicap and the Grade II Michigan Mile and One-Eighth in 1990; Secret Romeo, a multiple-stakes winner who earned $865,790; Bucky's Prayer, a mare who won the 2007 Lightning City Stakes; Fast Flying Rumor, who set a Tampa Bay Downs Beyer Speed Figure record of 108 (since bettered) while winning the 2016 Turf Dash; and R Angel Katelyn, who won three stakes races during the 2016-2017 meeting.

Bennett's lone stakes victory this season came with 6-year-old Florida-bred mare Lady's Island, who won the Minaret Stakes for owners Matties Racing Stable and Averill Racing on Feb. 15.

Win or lose, Bennett is back at the barn by 5 a.m. the next day to oversee each horse's regimen. “I'll be walking in the shed row when a horse stops in front of me, and the hot walker is amazed because the horse knows me,” he said. “Mary says it's because I feed them peppermints, but they get to know your voice and have confidence in what you're doing.”

In that regard, Bennett's Thoroughbred athletes aren't much different than the owners he trains for and the bettors who support his horses.

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