Perseverance Pays Off As Jockey Antonio Gallardo Celebrates 2,000th Winner At Tampa

Antonio Gallardo didn't throw in the towel after getting passed in deep stretch aboard 5-year-old mare Do What It Takes in today's fourth race at Tampa Bay Downs.

The jockey's perseverance paid off in career victory No. 2,000, as Do What It Takes rallied on the inside to post a nose victory from Exceed the Goal in the 7-furlong claiming race for older fillies and mares.

The 33-year-old Gallardo, who has won five riding championships at Tampa Bay Downs, received enthusiastic applause from spectators after his No. 5 was posted on the tote board.

“I love it,” Gallardo said, moments after being joined by his wife Polliana and their two children for photographs in the winner's circle. “(Exceed the Goal) blew past us, but I could see her ears were back and she was stopping. I said to myself 'I think I can get it,' and thank God my horse gave me a little bit more and got to the wire first.”

Do What It Takes is owned by Carole Star Stables and trained by Jose H. Delgado.

It was the 45th victory of the meeting for Gallardo, who trails only Samy Camacho in the 2020-2021 Oldsmar standings.

Gallardo, a product of Jerez de la Frontera in Cadiz, Spain, has won 837 races at Tampa Bay Downs. Only Daniel Centeno and Mike Manganello, with six apiece, have won more meeting titles here.

“Tampa is home for me. It's given me so much, and you feel great doing something like this at home,” Gallardo said. “I have to thank my family, all my agents, the trainers and owners and the fans who have supported me. This is something I never thought of doing when I first came to the United States.

“I just have to keep going.”

Gallardo also touched base with his parents in Spain, Paqui and Antonio, through FaceTime on Polliana's phone in the winner's circle. Children Carlos, 12, and Christa, who turns 7 next week, gave Dad a poster sign of congratulations they made at home.

Gallardo, who is the track's single-season record holder with 147 winners, set during the 2014-2015 meeting, has also won four riding championships at Presque Isle Downs in Erie, Pa. The jockey has won nine graded stakes, topped by his victory in the Grade I United Nations Stakes on the grass at Monmouth Park in 2018 on Funtastic, owned by Three Chimneys Farm and trained by Chad Brown. Gallardo won back-to-back editions of the Grade II Presque Isle Downs Masters Stakes on Hotshot Anna in 2018 and 2019.

Gallardo's career in the United States started slowly, with only seven winners from 175 mounts in 2009. By 2014, he was in full flight, riding 268 winners. He finished second in North America with 320 winners in 2015 and was second in 2016 with 332.

Gallardo has won five races on a single card at Tampa Bay Downs a record six times. Only Richard DePass, with seven in 1980, and Edwin Gonzalez, with six in 2017, have won more races on a single Oldsmar card.

Gallardo is one of 11 active Oldsmar jockeys with 2,000 or more victories. The others are Scott Spieth, 4,880; Jose Ferrer, 4,533; Ronnie Allen, Jr., 3,819; Daniel Centeno, 3,016; Roberto Alvarado, Jr., 2,750; Jesus Castanon, 2,610; Ricardo Feliciano, 2,288; Dean Butler, 2,287; Mike Allen, 2,099; and Huber Villa-Gomez, 2,083

The post Perseverance Pays Off As Jockey Antonio Gallardo Celebrates 2,000th Winner At Tampa appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Free Past Performances Available For Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5

Races from Aqueduct Racetrack, Oaklawn Park and Tampa Bay Downs will comprise the Cross Country Pick 5 on Saturday as part of the wager hosted by the New York Racing Association, Inc.

Live coverage will be available with America's Day at the Races on FOX Sports. Free Equibase past performances for the Cross Country Pick 5 sequence are now available for download at https://www.nyra.com/belmont/racing/cross-country-wagers.

Aqueduct will commence the sequence with a six-furlong allowance optional claiming sprint in Race 8 at 3:54 p.m. Eastern. Golani Brigade, the 2-1 morning-line favorite for trainer Chad Brown, will make his 5-year-old debut while South Africa, at 5-2, has finished first or second in his last four starts for trainer Michelle Nevin.

Oaklawn will kick off the stakes action with the $200,000 Martha Washington, a 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Oaks qualifier for 3-year-old fillies going one mile in Race 5 at 4:06 p.m. Coach, listed at 7-5, is 3-0-1 in four starts for trainer Brad Cox, including a win in the Rags to Riches in October at Churchill Downs and a strong third in the Grade 2 Golden Rod in November at the same track. Joy's Rocket, listed at 5-2 for Hall of Fame trainer Steve Asmussen, has won her last two starts, capturing both the Songbird and the Letellier Memorial. Novel Squall, Will's Secret and Sylvia Q will all be looking for their first respective stakes wins.

Tampa Bay will get in on the fun in the third leg as a full field of 3-year-old filly maidens compete at one mile on the turf in Race 8 at 4:10 p.m. The Irish-bred Rastafara will make her first career start for Brown at 3-1 odds, while conditioner Christophe Clement will send out a first-time starter of his own in Tranquillina [4-1].

Brown will send out another contender with Mystic Night in Aqueduct's Race 9, a one-mile maiden special weight, at 4:25 p.m. Mystic Night will be making his third career start and comprise an eight-horse field that includes slight 7-2 favorite Mandatory, who has run second and third in three career starts for trainer John Kimmel.

Oaklawn will host the finale with a six-furlong allowance sprint in Race 6 at 4:38 p.m. Cox has another formidable challenger in The Mary Rose, who will be making her first start for her new conditioner after previously being trained by William VanMeter. The Mary Rose, 3-1, drew post 9 with 4-1 selection Bettyann will also run for the first time for a new trainer, breaking from post 10 for Kenny Smith.

The minimum bet for the multi-track, multi-race wager is 50 cents. Wagering on the Cross Country Pick 5 is also available on ADW platforms and at simulcast facilities across the country. Every week will feature a mandatory payout of the net pool. The Cross Country Pick 5 will continue each Saturday throughout the year. For more information, visit NYRABets.com.

Cross Country Pick 5 – Saturday, Jan. 30:
Leg 1 – Aqueduct, Race 8: (3:54 p.m.)
Leg 2 – Oaklawn, Race 5, Martha Washington: (4:06 p.m.)
Leg 3 – Tampa Bay, Race 8: (4:10 p.m.)
Leg 4 – Aqueduct, Race 9: (4:25 p.m.)
Leg 5 – Oaklawn, Race 6: (4:38 p.m.)

The post Free Past Performances Available For Saturday’s Cross Country Pick 5 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

HBPA, Simulcast Revenue Fuel Purse Increases At Tampa Bay Downs

Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla. will increase purses for all races except stakes by approximately 10-percent beginning on Wednesday, Dec. 16, track Vice President-General Manager Peter Berube announced Wednesday.

The increase will be $1,500 for maiden special weight and allowance races and $1,000 for claiming and starter races.

“Thanks to the efforts of former (Tampa Bay Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association) President Bob Jeffries and the approval of their board, we were able to build a substantial cushion in the purse account before the current meeting,” Berube said.

“Our export (simulcast) business has been strong since racing returned on Nov. 25 and is up 29 percent to date,” Berube said.

“We were projecting a 30-35-percent decrease in on-track wagering on live and simulcast racing to start the meeting and those projections have been correct, but the actions of the Tampa Bay HBPA and the popularity of our signal across the country enable us to feel comfortable raising purses starting next week,” Berube said.

Through the first six cards since the 2020-2021 meeting resumed, Tampa Bay Downs has averaged $3,719,055 in daily interstate wagering. The total wagering handle on Saturday's 10-race card was a Cotillion Festival Day record $6,128,282, of which $5,702,369 was through interstate wagering.

Around the oval: Tampa Bay Downs currently races on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday schedule, with Sundays added to the mix on Dec. 20. Additionally, the track will conduct a Thursday card on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, and be closed Christmas, Dec. 25.

Otherwise, 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.

The post HBPA, Simulcast Revenue Fuel Purse Increases At Tampa Bay Downs appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Tampa Bay Downs Releases COVID-19 Plan; Fans To Return When Racing Resumes Nov. 25

The most frequent question Tampa Bay Downs officials have received the past several weeks is: “Are you guys going to allow fans to come watch the races?”

In the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, customer health and safety are the track's foremost concerns. Tampa Bay Downs, which has allowed on-track simulcast wagering since July 2 and Silks Poker Room play since mid-June, has formulated plans to permit spectators for its 2020-2021 Thoroughbred meeting, beginning with the Opening Day racing card on Nov. 25.

The 90-day meeting proper runs through May 2, followed by the annual Summer Festival of Racing on June 30 and July 1. Tampa Bay Downs will race most Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, adding Sundays starting Dec. 20 and also racing Thursday, Dec. 24.

For the foreseeable future, fans will be required to wear masks both inside and outside the facility, unless they are eating or drinking. Temperatures will be taken of each person entering the building.

Various measures have been established to ensure social distancing, including:

· The creation of more outdoor, private spaces for small groups

· A limited number of benches on the apron of the Grandstand, with increased spacing

· Computer-generated, socially distanced Grandstand seating

· A reduction in box seating, from eight to six seats per box

Those changes, and many others, are designed to provide patrons with a high level of comfort and security when they arrive for an afternoon of Thoroughbred racing during the track's 95th anniversary season.

Tampa Bay Downs has developed a website for fans to reserve seating that provides social distancing. The cost is $5 per seat and must be paid in advance. To purchase seats through the website, go to www.tbdseats.com

The track raced without spectators last season from March 17 through the annual two-day Summer Festival of Racing, generating income and purses for horsemen and horsewomen through account wagering.

Peter Berube, the track's Vice President-General Manager, expressed optimism that a shared sense of responsibility and respect among track employees, horsemen, jockeys and fans will enable spectators to attend all season.

“We understand that many of our patrons would like to see a return to pre-Coronavirus status, while many others are concerned about venturing outside their homes while the pandemic continues to pose a threat,” Berube said.

“We believe it is important to listen to and respect all viewpoints, but our biggest duty is doing everything possible to keep our customers and employees healthy. Without fans at the track, racing loses some of its excitement and charm, and our on-track business suffers.”

Tampa Bay Downs has also implemented rules to protect jockeys. Riders, jockey room staff, starting gate personnel, etc., will undergo rapid COVID testing prior to their arrival, with twice-weekly testing from there on. No newcomers will be allowed without a negative test, and jockeys will be restricted to their designated areas on race days and required to leave the room following their last ride of the day.

Other elements of the track's COVID-19 protocol include increasing the number of hand-sanitizing stations throughout the facility; ongoing cleaning and sterilizing of high-touch surfaces and areas; socially distanced markers on the floors; providing disinfecting wipes next to wagering machines, replay TVs and high-touch machines; and installing Plexiglas partitions between employees and customers at the Customer Service desk, program windows, concession stands and Gift Shop.

Each aspect of the track's COVID-19 protocol is designed to train the spotlight where it belongs: on the horses, jockeys and trainers who have helped make Tampa Bay Downs one of the sport's most popular wagering signals during the winter and early spring.

The stakes schedule, which begins with the Dec. 5 Cotillion Festival Day card, remains virtually the same as last season. The 41st annual Grade II, $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, a showcase for Triple Crown prospects, will be held March 6 as part of an outstanding Festival Day of racing program, featuring four graded races and total stakes purse money of $1-million.

Other major race days include Festival Preview Day on Feb. 6, highlighted by the Grade III, $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes for 3-year-olds; Florida Cup Day on March 28, featuring six $110,000 stakes races for registered Florida-breds; and Kentucky Derby Day on May 1.

Nine of last season's top 10 jockeys have returned for the 2020-2021 meeting. Jockeys Daniel Centeno and Antonio Gallardo, who have a combined 11 Oldsmar riding championships, are approaching major career milestones at the outset of the meeting. Centeno, who has won a record six Tampa Bay Downs titles, has ridden 2,987 North American winners (to go with 847 in his native Venezuela).

Gallardo, a five-time track champion and last year's leading jockey with 122 winners, has 1,955 victories in North America.

Samy Camacho, who won the 2020 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby on King Guillermo, is also expected to contend for the top spot in this year's standings. Other top returning jockeys include Pablo Morales, who rode career winner No. 2,000 here last season; four-time Oldsmar track champion Ronnie Allen, Jr.; two-time champion Jesus Castanon; and veterans Jose Ferrer, Willie Martinez and Scott Spieth.

The Tampa Bay Downs trainers roster also features nine of the top 10 finishers in last season's standings, headed by defending champion Gerald Bennett, who has won the last five Oldsmar training titles and six overall. Bennett, who saddled 61 winners last season, has 3,920 winners in his career, 14th on the all-time list.

Last season's runner-up with 33 winners, Kathleen O'Connell, is a two-time Tampa Bay Downs training champion. Her career total of 2,190 victories is behind only Kim Hammond (2,321) among North American women trainers.

Michael Stidham, last season's third-place trainer with 31 victories, returns, along with Mike Dini and Jose H. Delgado, who tied for fourth. Other conditioners who may lack the numbers to compete for a title, but bear watching, include Arnaud Delacour, H. Graham Motion, Tim Hamm, Eoin Harty and Anthony Granitz.

Joining the backside roster this season are Mike Maker, whose 2,600-plus career training victories include the recent Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf presented by Coolmore America with Fire At Will, plus 12 other graded-stakes victories in 2020; Jon Arnett, who recently sent out career winner No. 2,000 at Prairie Meadows in Iowa; and David Van Winkle, a veteran of more than 30 seasons with almost 1,100 victories.

The post Tampa Bay Downs Releases COVID-19 Plan; Fans To Return When Racing Resumes Nov. 25 appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Verified by MonsterInsights