TAMPA BAY DOWNS RACECOURSE

The Tampa Bay Downs racecourse is situated in the State of Florida at Tampa, and was the brainchild of Harvey Mayers and Matt Winn. It first opened its doors to racing in 1926. It currently holds regular meetings from December to May.

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By 1946 the track was renamed Sunshine Park and enjoyed a period of refurbishment and new facilities, including a photo finish and starting gates. In 1965 it was, once again, renamed this time as Florida Downs, but by 1980 had reverted to Tampa Downs. When Stella Thayer took over the ownership in 1986 it once again became known as Tampa Bay Downs.
The photos below are from a visit to the course on 31st Dember 2017.
Its principal races are the Group 3 Florida Oaks, the Tampa Bay Derby, the Hillsborough Stakes and the Breeders Cup Stakes.

The Tampa Bay Derby, run over 8 1/2 furlongs, was first contested in 1981 when the David Ashcroft ridden Paristo was successful.

Trainer Todd Pletcher has made the Tampa Bay Derby his own in recent years, winning it 4 times since 2013, with recent results shown below.
2013 Derby won by Verrazano trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez
2014 Derby won by Ring Weekend trained by H Graham Motion and ridden by Daniel Centeno
2015 Derby won by Carpe Diem trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by John Velazquez
2016 Derby won by Destin trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Javier Castellano
2017 Derby won by Tapwrit trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Jose Ortiz
If you have badges, racecards, pictures of the racecourse or further details about the course, including your memories, then email johnwslusar@gmail.com