OLDSMAR - Since her horses were sidelined for seven racing days in December, Tampa Bay Downs trainer Kathleen O’Connell has been making up for lost time.

    O’Connell sent out four winners on Jan. 2, tying a track record she established in 2003. It is shared by Gerald Bennett (three times), Jamie Ness (twice) and Chad Brown. That performance was instrumental in O’Connell earning the Martin’s Italian Trainer of the Month Award.

    It also kindled hopes for a third consecutive Oldsmar training crown and fifth overall for O’Connell, who first won the title in 1998-99 and captured it again in 2009-10, tying with Ness. O’Connell has nine victories, trailing Juan Carlos Avila (18), Juan Arriagada (13) and Bennett (12).

    More on O’Connell in a moment. With $817,003 funneled into today’s late Pick 5 carryover pool, the potential for a huge payoff seemed likely, and victories in the first two legs by 17-1 and 20-1 shots seemed to assure it. At the end of the card, the winning 4-11-10-6-2 combination paid $21,765 apiece to 35 lucky ticket holders.

\    The Ultimate 6 was also hit, with one bettor correctly selecting the winners of the final six races – the old 8-4-11-10-6-2 combination – to the tune of $33,093.

    Back to O’Connell, one of the track’s most popular trainers due as much to her humility as her winning ways. “Four in a day doesn’t happen too often,” she said Wednesday from Gulfstream Park, where she is overseeing her south Florida string this week. “We felt they were all in good spots and drew good post positions, but you still need to get a good trip to win.
“I’m very happy for everyone in our crew and the owners – it was very hard for them to watch races their horses were supposed to run in.”

    Her record-tying afternoon began when the 5-year-old mare Fullmoonmagic won the first race for owner Joseph Capriglione, with Sonny Leon in the saddle. O’Connell and Leon teamed to win the sixth race with Stonehedge-bred and owned 3-year-old filly Justamomentplease, who was claimed from the race for $16,000 by trainer Ralph N. Baez.

    O’Connell added the eighth race with DiBello Racing homebred 6-year-old mare Princess Britni, ridden by Jose Ferrer, and the ninth on the turf with Katies a Lady, a 7-year-old mare owned by Double D Stable and ridden by Ademar Santos.

    O’Connell’s barn was one of two sidelined last month by a quarantine imposed after a horse was confirmed to have the neurological form of EHV-1 (Equine Herpesvirus Type 1), which is highly contagious. No other horse on the grounds tested positive or displayed any signs of having the virus.

    Tampa Bay Downs established numerous safety measures to keep the virus from spreading, including requiring workers at both barns to wear protective footwear and clothing and adopting a temporary training schedule for the affected barns – after the rest of the track’s horse population had already been out and galloped or breezed.

    “It was a very tough thing to go through, but everyone on our team pulled together and did a great job. It was a total group effort,” O’Connell said. “Horses are creatures of habit who want structure and routine, and we had to break that up and go to a different routine that was hard on everybody, including the horses. I am a firm believer in schooling a horse at the starting gate and we didn’t have gate-schooling for 21 days, so everything needed to be revamped and we did the best that we could.”

    On Sundays during the quarantine, when there was no racing, the track maintenance department dragged the racetrack after horses from other barns had worked to provide O’Connell’s horses a smooth surface. O’Connell cited that as one example of track officials working closely with her to ensure she could keep her horses as race-ready as possible.

    “I thought they did a great job of accommodating our needs wherever possible,” she said. “Everybody worked together and tried to do things in a safe manner while helping us with what we needed to get back into action.”

    That is when O’Connell and her charges are at their best. Since joining the training ranks in 1981, she has sent out 2,606 career winners, briefly holding the No. 1 spot all-time among North American female trainers in 2023 before being passed by Linda Rice. O’Connell’s national profile skyrocketed in 2015 as the trainer of exciting 3-year-old filly Lady Shipman, who finished second by a neck to Mongolian Saturday in the TwinSpires Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint at Keeneland after winning six stakes and setting two course records.

    O’Connell has also trained the likes of 2011 Gr. II Tampa Bay Derby winner Watch Me Go, her lone Kentucky Derby starter; Blazing Sword, a winner of three graded stakes from 1997-2000; 2019 Gr. III Sam F. Davis Stakes winner Well Defined; Stormy Embrace, winner of back-to-back runnings of the Gr. II Princess Rooney Stakes in 2018-19; and Ivanavinalot, who won the Gr. II Bonnie Miss Stakes in 2003 and is the dam of Hall of Fame member Songbird.

    OLDSMAR - After jockey Vernon Bush fractured his back in three places and broke a rib last August when his mount flipped over in the post parade at Belterra Park, some relatives and close friends began planning a retirement party.

    But the 64-year-old Bush, who began riding in 1978 at River Downs in Ohio, asked them to hold off until he got to Tampa Bay Downs and won one more race. “I wanted to go out on top and be able to hold my head high and say I did it my way. There is no better way to go out than on a winner,” Bush said Thursday, still savoring his victory on 18-1 shot Protest in Wednesday’s seventh race, a 7-furlong maiden claiming event.

    Bush had ridden the (now)-6-year-old gelding to a decent fourth-place finish on Dec. 31 for owner Carla March and her husband, trainer William March. “He made a good run and got a little tired, but I knew he had to improve off that race,” Bush said. “When I got to the winner’s circle, Bill March told me ‘I knew you were going to do this.’ ”

    For Bush and the Marches, Protest’s victory brought things full circle. Bush had won numerous races for the couple on their horse Well Connected, including a starter/optional claiming race for them two years ago at Tampa Bay Downs.

    Bush, the brother of Midwest trainer George Bush, retires with 3,288 career victories and total purse earnings of $25,212,469. Best known for his success in New England, he won six riding titles at Suffolk Downs in Boston and four at Rockingham Park in New Hampshire. He rode six winners on a card at both Suffolk and Northampton Fair in Massachusetts.

    Among almost a half-century of racing-related memories, Bush also notes a piece of trivia: He was moved up from third to first in two separate races when the top two finishers were both disqualified.

    “I’ve ridden so many nice horses through my career. I won stakes at Rockingham, Suffolk, all the Ohio tracks and New Jersey. I’ve won races at almost every track on the East Coast and the Atlantic Seaboard from Saratoga to Gulfstream and Hialeah. I’ve been very lucky and had a very good career,” said Bush, whose late father Vernon Bush was also a jockey.

    Bush did not ride from the summer of 2018 until March of 2022 due to a broken femur, a broken ankle and two hip surgeries, including a hip replacement. He worked at Belterra Park as a jockeys’ room supervisor and entry-taker in 2019 and 2020 before his love for racing inspired him to return to the saddle.

    Bush rode 47 winners after his comeback. He was honored three years ago with the Randy Romero Pure Courage Award, given to a jockey who has overcome serious injuries and/or adversity. Romero, a member of the sport’s Hall of Fame who died in 2019, incurred an abundance of racing-related injuries, requiring more than 20 surgeries.

    “I’m honored just to have my name next to his on something, and I hope it gives other people inspiration that they can overcome things in their life and go forward. Anything can be achieved when you put your mind to it,” Bush said.

    Bush created another lifetime memory last August, shortly before he was injured. He had found a saddle used at least 40 years earlier by jockey Al Herrera, the father of Bush’s close friend Marilee. Bush cleaned and polished the saddle and used it to ride 5-year-old mare Whiskey Diamond – owned and trained by George Bush, his brother – to an 18-length victory in a claiming race at Belterra Park.

    Bush plans to continue to exercise horses in the mornings (he was on four Wednesday). He hopes to continue working in the industry, possibly as a racing-office employee, and may try to become accredited as a steward.

    Wherever he winds up, Bush will be forgiven for occasionally reflecting on the thrills, the big wins, the occasional setbacks and the friendships he has made throughout his career.

    “It’s that time for me. I have to step away. I know I can still ride a race and not interfere with a horse, but I’d rather go out on top than ride a lot of races not knowing if I would win again. I can say that I enjoyed every moment of my career and I’m happy the way it ended,” he said.

    OLDSMAR - One of the track’s most popular promotions, the “Live It Up Challenge” handicapping contest, begins Saturday, running through the March 7 Festival Day 46 card highlighted by the Gr. III ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby and the Gr. II Hillsborough Stakes on the turf.

    Players may register for the contest free of charge at www.liveitupchallenge.com any time before 9:30 a.m. on Saturday.

    All wagers are mythical, with players required to make selections each racing day in any two of the three randomly selected “Challenge Races.” A player’s bankroll is based on the payoffs for their selections based on a $2 win, place and show wager.

    Participants start the contest with one free lifeline. If a player’s selections in both of a day’s “Challenge Races” do not hit the board, they lose a lifeline. Players may purchase up to eight additional lifelines for $5 each upon signup; up to eight more for $10 each on Jan. 31; and up to four more for $25 each on Feb. 14.

    Once a player loses all their lifelines, they are eliminated. Players can only lose a maximum of one lifeline per day.

    The player with the largest bankroll will be declared the Grand Prize winner and will receive two seats in the High Rollers Contest in February of 2027 at Tampa Bay Downs, a $2,000 value. The second, third and fourth-place finishers will receive one High Rollers Contest seat apiece in February of 2027 at the Oldsmar oval, a $1,000 value.

    A bonus prize of $500 will go to the player who selects the most winners during the contest. The recipient of the “Most Winners” bonus may have been eliminated and does not have to remain active by the close of the contest period.

    If all players are eliminated before the conclusion of the contest, the four players with the highest bankrolls will win the prizes.

   To register and for a complete set of contest rules, visit www.liveitupchallenge.com on the Internet.

    MORRISTON - Pleasant Acres Stallions has announced the arrival of MR FISK’s first foal, a healthy filly out of NY-bred Brass Cat, a daughter of Gr. I-winning millionaire BLUEGRASS CAT.  
 
    “Our beautiful Brass Cat has blessed us with another big, athletic baby,” said breeder Martine Britell. “Paired with MR FISK’s amazing bloodlines and triple-digit speed, we are excited for this filly’s future!”
 
    “A stallion’s first foal is always a milestone, and this filly is exactly the kind of start you hope for,” said Christine Jones, Director of Stallion Services at Pleasant Acres Stallions. “MR FISK has the race record, the physical and the pedigree depth we believe Florida breeders deserve. He was a multiple graded stakes winner with triple-digit Beyer ability, and he brings the rare opportunity to access ARROGATE’s line along with a deep successful European female family. This first foal is a great start, and we can’t wait to see what his first crop delivers for Florida breeders.”
 
    MR FISK (Arrogate / Plein Air (IRE), by Manduro (GER)) delivers proven graded stakes class and consistency to the Pleasant Acres Stallions roster. Trained by Bob Baffert, he broke his maiden at Santa Anita, then returned to place second in the Affirmed Stakes at 1-1/16 miles on dirt. He went on to win the Shared Belief Stakes and the Gr. III Native Diver Stakes at Del Mar, and at four captured the Gr. III Californian Stakes and G. II Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes at Santa Anita, earning a triple-digit Beyer. MR FISK hit the board in seven of 11 starts, finishing in the money 64% of the time while facing deep, high-quality fields.
 
    On pedigree, MR FISK offers a rare continuation of ARROGATE’s line, as the four-time Gr. I winner stood for only three breeding seasons. The ARROGATE résumé includes victories in the Travers Stakes, Breeders’ Cup Classic, Pegasus World Cup, and Dubai World Cup, with earnings of $17.4 million.

    MR FISK’s dam, PLEIN AIR (IRE), is a two-time black-type winner on two continents and is by world champion MANDURO (GER), a multiple Gr. I winner who was ranked the IFHA’s top horse in the world for 2007 and later secured by Sheikh Mohammad for a reported $25 million in breeding rights. MANDURO is by MONSUN – four-time champion German sire who is considered the most successful stallion in the history of Germany. The female family is stacked with black type through multiple generations, reflecting the kind of speed, soundness, stamina, and durability that has repeatedly produced stakes performers in Europe and around the world.

    OLDSMAR - Sunday racing is set for its 2025-26 season debut today with a nine-race card beginning at 12:32 p.m. Course conditions permitting, there are three turf races on tap – the fifth, seventh and ninth – all at a distance of 1 mile.

    Sunday racing was first conducted at Tampa Bay Downs on Dec. 7, 1986. It arrived a little more than a year after the Florida State Supreme Court had overturned a lower court ruling that would have allowed Sunday racing, upsetting fans eager for more entertainment options on the weekend.

    The Supreme Court justices had ruled that a Sunday ban on gambling on horse racing was constitutional because it limited the opportunity for “mischief” and encouraged people to spend their leisure time in “more healthy recreational pursuits” and had a legitimate purpose: protecting the public “health, safety, morals or general welfare.”

    Many in the crowd of 5,893 those 39 seasons ago viewed things differently, and Sunday racing has remained an Oldsmar oval staple, introducing a new fan demographic appreciative of the grandeur and thrills of Thoroughbred racing.

    Tampa Bay Downs will race each Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday through the duration of the meet except for Easter Sunday, April 5, when the track will be closed. Beginning Sunday, Jan. 25, the track will hold a series of “Mouse’s Kids & Family Days” on various Sundays in the Backyard Picnic Area, with pony rides, bounce houses, games and special activities, a food truck and visits from the track mascot, Mouse the Miniature Horse.
Sounds like a lot of fun – the good, old-fashioned family kind that draws entertainment lovers from all walks of life.

    Juan Carlos Avila saddled three winners Saturday, extending his lead in the trainer race to 16-11 from Juan Arriagada. Avila won the third race with Midnight Onyx, a 6-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Establo Heluce and ridden by Samy Camacho. Avila added the fourth race with Homer Jones, a 5-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by Nigale Racing Group and ridden by Cipriano Gil.

    With rain falling, Avila’s 4-year-old Florida-bred colt Gianluca Be Lucky played “catch-me-if-you-can,” going gate-to-wire in the ninth race under jockey Daniel Centeno. The speedster is owned by Julian De Mora, Jr.

    Camacho scored again in the fifth race on the turf aboard heavy favorite French Mistress, a 4-year-old filly owned by Martine Head and trained by Miguel Clement. That conditioner has been red-hot at the Oldsmar oval, with five victories and a second from his last seven Tampa Bay Downs starters – closer to perfect than it might appear, considering his entrants Willpowered and Duty finished 1-2 in Friday’s seventh race.

Crump remembered for chasing her dream.

    The Tampa Bay Downs community and racing fans across the country were saddened to learn of the passing Thursday of jockey Diane Crump, who made history in 1969 at Hialeah Park by becoming the first woman to ride in a parimutuel race and again the following year as the first woman to ride in the Kentucky Derby. She was 77.

    While most of the reports of her career focused on those two groundbreaking feats, Crump was a highly visible presence at the outset of her career at the track then known as Florida Downs. Her father, Walter Crump, owned a marina in Oldsmar, and horse-crazy Diane got a job at Lake Magdalene Farm in Tampa while attending Chamberlain High School.

    Crump set her sights on a career as a jockey despite facing widespread resistance in an era when many male jockeys believed women had no place on the racetrack, an opinion shared by a large segment of the betting population. Among a group that included fellow pioneers such as Kathy Kusner, Penny Ann Early, Barbara Jo Rubin, Patti Barton, Mary Bacon and Robyn Smith, Crump became the first to compete in a race, finishing 10th on Bridle ’n Bit at Hialeah Park on Feb. 7, 1969.

    On March 1, 1969 at Florida Downs, Crump was first across the finish line on Bridle ’n Bit, entering the winner’s circle for what appeared to be her first career triumph (Barbara Jo Rubin had won a race at Charles Town the previous week to become the first female jockey to score a victory). But Crump’s win was reversed by the Florida State Racing Commission because of a rule that prohibited a horse claimed at Hialeah from running elsewhere before the conclusion of the south Florida track’s meeting.

    The 20-year-old Crump would have to wait almost three more weeks before earning her first official victory on Tou Ritzi – but at Gulfstream Park, not Florida Downs. A year later, Crump rode a horse named Fathom in the Kentucky Derby, finishing 15th in the race won by Tampa Bay Downs jockey Mike Manganello on Dust Commander.

    Crump rode 228 winners from 1976 onward, according to Equibase statistics, and also saddled 14 winners as a trainer. She rode her final race at Tampa Bay Downs in 1998, a few weeks before turning 50, finishing second on the aptly-named Glory Days, a 3-year-old filly she also trained.
Crump – who attended the inaugural “Jockeys and Jeans” fundraiser on March 29, 2014 at Tampa Bay Downs to raise money for the Permanently Disabled Jockeys Fund – always handled the intense glare from the media and public with grace and composure.

    “I never felt like a pioneer or trailblazer,” she told writer Liane Crossley in 2019. “I just wanted to live my dream and I most certainly did.”And, in the process, helped make it possible for countless other young women athletes to pursue theirs.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Graded stakes-winners from the barns of trainers by Mark Casse, Graham Motion, Roger Attfield, Miguel Clement, Chad Brown, and Kevin Attard are part of a group of 19 fillies and mares invited to participate in the fifth running of the $500,000 Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf Invitational (G2) Jan. 24 at Gulfstream Park.

    The $500,000 event, at 1 1/16-mile on the turf, is part of the 10th anniversary of Pegasus World Cup Day that will offer 10 stakes worth $5.55 million in purses. The 1 1/8-mile Pegasus World Cup Invitational (G1), the richest dirt race in the U.S. for older horses outside of the Breeders’ Cup Classic (G1), and the Pegasus World Cup Turf Invitational (G1), a 1 1/8-mile stakes for 4-year-olds on the turf, are among seven graded stakes on the program.

          The four previous winners of the Pegasus World Cup Filly & Mare Turf continued to excel, with three of the four winning Grade 1 races. Inaugural winner Regal Glory won the Jenny Wiley (G1) and Matriarch (G1), 2023 winner Queen Goddess was Grade 1 stakes placed, 2024 winner Didia won the New York Stakes (G1), while last year’s winner Be Your Best won the Gamely (G1).

          And One More Time is one of three Casse-trained invitees. The daughter of Omaha Beach won last year’s Natalma (G1) at Woodbine before returning from a year off and winning an allowance optional claimer at Woodbine in September and finishing second at Gulfstream Dec. 13 in the Tropical Park Oaks.

          Also invited from the Casse barn is Candy Quest and Classic Q.

          Classic Q was third in the Mrs. Revere (G2) at Churchill Downs in November and second in the Lake George (G3) at Saratoga and Valley View (G2) at Keeneland earlier in the year. Candy Quest won the Colleen (G3) at Woodbine in July and was second in the Dueling Grounds Oaks (G2) at Kentucky Downs in September and fifth in the Queen Elizabeth II (G1) in October at Keeneland.

          Breath Away earned her way into the Pegasus Filly & Mare by winning the ‘Win & In’ Dance Smartly (G2) at Woodbine Oct. 4. The mare has since finished second in the Goldikova (G3) and fourth in the Matriarch (G1), both contested at Del Mar.  Clement trains for Qatar Racing.

          Ready for Shirl, third in the Dance Smartly, has also earned an invitation. The Attfield-trained mare won the Canadian (G2) in July before finishing third in the E.P. Taylor (G1), both at Woodbine.

          Caitlinhergrtness, trained by Attard, had a successful campaign in 2025 winning the Ontario Matron (G2) and My Charmer at Turfway Park. The daughter of Omaha Beach was fifth in the E.P. Taylor (G1) and second in the Dance Smartly (G2) and Bessarabian (G3).

          Destino d’Oro, who defeated And One More Time in the Tropical Park Oaks, has been invited. Trained by Brad Cox, Destino d’Oro won the Pucker Up (G3) at Ellis Park over the summer.

          Crevalle d’Oro enters the race off a victory in the Suwannee River here Dec. 20. The Jose D’Angelo trained daughter of Constitution was fourth in the Goldikova in November.

          Gulfstream’s leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. could saddle two in Movin’ On Up and In Our Time. Movin’ On Up finished second Dec. 20 in the Suwannee River while finishing third earlier in the year in the Churchill Distaff Turf Mile (G2) and Mint Julep (G3), both at Churchill Downs. In Our Time, a daughter of Not This Time who comes off a pair of second place finishes in the Franklin (G2) at Keeneland and Matriarch. She finished third in last year’s Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf.

          Trainer Chad Brown, who won the inaugural Pegasus Filly & Mare Turf with Regal Glory, has two invitees in Whiskey Decision and Oversubscribed. Whiskey Decision won the Eatontown Stakes (G3) at Monmouth in June and most recently the Athenia at Aqueduct. Oversubscribed was second in November in the Pebbles (G3) at Aqueduct and second over the summer in the Lake George at Saratoga.

          Heredia, a daughter of Dark Angel trained by Graham Motion, won the Yellow Ribbon (G2) at Del Mar over the summer before finishing sixth in the First Lady (G1) at Keeneland and fifth in the Matriarch at Del Mar. Motion’s Warming, winner of the Autumn Miss (G3), also earned an invitation.

          Medoro, trained by Peter Eurton, would arrive from California where she finished second in the John Mabee (G2), third in the Goldikova and sixth in the Matriarch.

          Awesome Czech comes from the barn of trainer Horacio De Paz. Awesome Czech won the Yaddo at Saratoga and Ticonderoga at Aqueduct.

Other fillies and mares invited include Ramsey Pond, third in the Tropical Park Oaks, Cardinal winner Proctor Street, and Noble Damsel winner Aussie Girl.

    Michael Pegram, Karl Watson and Paul Weitman’s Usha (Tiz the Law- Animal Appeal, by Leroidesanimaux) uncorked a powerful performance under jockey Juan Hernandez to prevail in her Gr. 1 debut in the $300,000 La Brea Stakes on opening day at Santa Anita Park, leading the slate of stakes-winning OBS graduates for the week.

    Usha raced in mid-pack down the backstretch, split horses near the quarter pole and then drew off in the stretch to romp by 5 ¼ lengths for trainer Bob Baffert, becoming the first Gr. 1 winner for her sire, Tiz the Law.

    “Usha showed up today,” Baffert said. “She came back here and that worked well. We expected this when I shipped her to Kentucky, and didn't win a race, but today she showed up.”

    Usha was purchased by her owners for $600,000 at the 2024 OBS April Sale from the On Point Training & Sales consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.

    The opening day card at Santa Anita also saw Nysos (Nyquist – Zetta Z, by Bernardini) edge stablemate and fellow Gr. 1 winner Nevada Beach by a head in the Gr. II, $200,000 Laffit Pincay Jr. Stakes going 1 1/16 miles on dirt. Both are trained by Baffert.

    The victory added to a banner year for Nysos, who prevailed in last month’s Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile at Del Mar and now has won seven of eight career starts with $1,238,500 in earnings. He was purchased for $550,000 out of the Best A Luck Farm consignment by Donato Lanni, agent for owner Baoma Corp, at the 2023 OBS April Sale after breezing in :9 4/5. Also listed on the owner’s line for Nysos as lessee’s are Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith, and Michael B. Tabor.

    Also on the Santa Anita card, Kretz Racing’s veteran gelding Cabo Spirit (Pioneerof the Nile-Fancy Day (IRE), by Shamardal) earned the sixth stakes win of his career when rolling to a front-running victory in the Gr. III, $100,000 San Gabriel Stakes.

    Trained by George Papaprodromou, Cabo Spirit has earned five wins at the graded level and improved his career bankroll to $1,356,836. Cabo Spirit was consigned to the 2021 OBS April Sale by Eddie Woods, Agent, and purchased for $575,000 by Gayle Van Leer, Agent, after breezing in :20 4/5.

    At Aqueduct, Tristar Farm’s Doc Sullivan (Solomini-Queen Frostine, by Giant’s Causeway) earned a determined win over fellow OBS grad Quick to Accuse in the $125,000 Alex M. Robb Stakes for New York-breds.

    Trained by John Ortiz, the 4-year-old son of Solomini won the rubber match with multiple stakes-winner and fellow OBS grad Bank Frenzy, who finished third. Doc Sullivan has now won 3-of-5 matchups between him and Bank Frenzy, including last out in the seven-furlong NYSSS Thunder Rumble.

    Doc Sullivan was a $59,000 purchase by Glen Lostritto from the consignment of Omar Ramirez Bloodstock at the 2023 OBS June Sale after breezing in :21 1/5.

    At Oaklawn Park, West Point Thoroughbreds’ Counting Stars (Honor A.P.- Paynterbynumbers, by Paynter) wheeled back on short rest to score an eye-catching victory in the $150,000 Year’s End Stakes.

    Trained by dual Hall of Fame trainer Mark Casse, Counting Stars was running back in 13 days after earning a four-length win in the $135,000 Astral Spa Stakes at six furlongs. She was purchased by her owners at the 2025 OBS April Sale for $150,000 from the Wildheart Thoroughbreds consignment after breezing in :10 flat.

    OLDSMAR - The majority of bettors who came to Tampa Bay Downs yesterday to focus on the mandatory Ultimate 6 jackpot payout saw their hopes evaporate in the fourth race (the first race of the wager) when Noble Annie, the second-longest shot in the 10-horse field at 34-1, defeated 11-5 favorite Mistrial Wind by a nose in the 1-mile turf event.

    Those dreams out of the way, it is hoped investors got over their disappointment quickly enough to enjoy the latest in a series of picture-postcard afternoons that have postponed any signs of winter’s chill until at least next week.

    Others who used Noble Annie might not have paid as much attention to the weather. Things settled down for Ultimate 6 bettors sticking more closely to the form, with two of the remaining five races won by a betting favorite – Elusive d’Oro, who won the fifth race at odds of 9-5, and Real Savvy, who won the ninth at even-money – and two others by the second choice.

    Ultimately, 14 “survivors” selected the 2-1-1-5-4-4 combination on their tickets, earning $14,026 apiece.

    A pair of longshot winners made the early Pick-5 wager highly profitable for four bettors, including one on-track, who correctly nailed the 6/2/2/2/1, 7 combination to collect $27,564 each. The key longshots on the ticket were 5-year-old gelding St. Louie Louie, who paid $52 to win in the second race, and the aforementioned 2-year-old filly Noble Annie, who returned $71.20 for her victory in the fourth.

    Noble Annie was the only horse claimed from the race, with trainer Carlos Narvaez paying $16,000 for the juvenile lass for new owner Ladycaroly Stable.
In the featured seventh race, a 1-mile conditional allowance/optional claiming race on the turf, Britain’s Kitten, a 7-2 shot, overcame some bumping at the start to secure good position on the inside, then responded to jockey Israel Rodriguez’s urgings to post a head victory from betting favorite Tok Tok in a time of 1:35.24 for the distance.

    It was the first start in more than two years for Britain’s Kitten, a 6-year-old gelding who is owned by Bella Mia Stables and trained by Kevin Rice. The conditioner also won today’s third race with Kuku, a 3-year-old filly competing under his Rice Racing banner and ridden by Rosario Montanez.

    Leading jockey Samuel Marin won the final two races on Litigant and Real Savvy, surviving a claim of foul by Samy Camacho aboard runner-up Persisten in the finale.
Around the oval. The Oldsmar oval’s highly anticipated Calendar Giveaway Day is Friday. The gates will open at 11 a.m. The 2026 calendars, which celebrate the 100th anniversary season of Tampa Bay Downs, are free of charge (with paid admission) to the first 5,000 fans through the turnstiles.

    Friday’s nine-race card begins at 12:35 p.m. The first race is a $56,500, 6 ½-furlong allowance/optional claiming event, with trainer Gerald Bennett’s 5-year-old Florida-bred gelding Chrome Ghost the 6-5 morning-line favorite. Samy Camacho has the riding assignment.
Saturday’s program features the opening legs of the popular Tampa Turf Test starter handicap series, with both the fifth race for fillies and mares 3-years-old-and-upward and the seventh race for males 3-and-up being contested at a distance of 1 mile on the grass course. Full fields of 10 are expected for both races.

    The feature Saturday is the ninth, a $55,000, mile-and-a-sixteenth maiden special weight event on the turf for 2-year-old fillies. With two entries apiece from trainers Chad Brown and H. Graham Motion, the race should be a corker. Post time for Saturday’s first race is 12:35 p.m.

    As previously reported, Sunday racing at Tampa Bay Downs will begin on Jan. 4. Starting next week, there will be racing on a Wednesday-Friday-Saturday-Sunday schedule, with Thursday cards on Feb. 5 and Feb. 12 added to make up for the originally scheduled Sunday programs on Dec. 21 and Dec. 28.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Robert Cotran’s Rezasrolex collected his eighth straight victory Friday at Gulfstream Park with a front-running performance in Race 5, a five-furlong optional claiming allowance on turf.

    The 4-year-old son of multiple Gr. II winner Bucchero entered the race off seven consecutive victories over Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta surface.

    “Today was the turf test. He’s by Bucchero. He’s a stallion I love. I knew he’d turf. He’d run one time [on turf] at Belterra with a 40 Beyer. It’s apples and oranges,” trainer Joe Orseno said. “The horse is doing great. He’s keeping himself together. I stop when it’s time to stop on him. I’ve given him time off before. He’ s doing great.”

    Rezasrolex ($4.60), a Florida-bred gelding who was claimed for $18,000 by his current connections out of his Gulfstream debut in December of 2023, went right to the front under Edgard Zayas and held off a late drive from favored Poseidon’s Law by a neck in the non-winners-of-one optional claiming allowance.

    “We’re going to have to figure out his next step. Now he’s a two-other-than. There’s some stakes coming up,” Orseno said. “He’s just a neat horse and we’re keeping him happy.” Since being claimed out of a winning Gulfstream debut for trainer Bill Morey in his third career race, Rezasrolex has won 10 of 13 for Cotran and Orseno.

    OLDSMAR - A pair of familiar names are off to quick starts in the training ranks this season.

    Tom Proctor, who trains for Ocala's Glen Hill Farm, sent out his fourth winner from seven starters in Wednesday’s sixth race on the turf as 4-5 favorite Wrigleyville posted a front-running, 3 ¼-length victory over Expecting a Winner. Wrigleyville, a 4-year-old daughter of Into Mischief out of Glen Hill’s multiple-Gr. I winner Marketing Mix, toured the 1-mile distance in 1:37.58. She was ridden by leading jockey Samuel Marin.

    Proctor, the son of the late training great Willard Proctor, has saddled more than 1,400 winners. He is perhaps best known as the conditioner of Glen Hills' One Dreamer, upset winner of the 1994 Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Churchill Downs.

    J. David Braddy, a two-time leading trainer at Tampa Bay Downs in 1983-84 and 1986-87 (tied with Norm Wismer), is 4-for-6 with one second after Rancho Vista’s runner-up effort to Unicycle in Wednesday’s seventh race, a 7-furlong claiming event. Rancho Vista was claimed from the outing, as was Braddy’s two-time winner Long Gone Sally on Dec. 12. Each of Braddy’s winners was owned by Joel W. Sainer. Braddy is closing in on 1,100 career victories.

    Marin and Ademar Santos each rode two winners on the card. In addition to his victory on Wrigleyville, Marin captured the eighth race aboard Blaze of Color, a 4-year-old Florida-bred gelding owned by JC Racing Stable and trained by Jose M. Castro.

    Santos won the fourth and fifth races back-to-back. He scored in the fourth on Pando, a 5-year-old gelding owned by Happy Tenth Stable and trained by Tony Wilson. Pando was claimed from the victory for $5,000 by owner-trainer Ron G. Potts.

    Santos won the fifth with Battle Warrior, a 3-year-old gelding owned by Mellon Patch Inc., and trained by Michael Campbell.

    OLDSMAR - Tampa Bay Downs has imposed a quarantine on Barns 25 and 26 after a horse was confirmed to have the neurological form of EHV-1 (Equine Herpesvirus Type 1), a contagious virus that causes Equine Herpes Myeloencephalopathy, a neurological disease.

    The horse was sent to the University of Florida on Monday.

    No other horse on the grounds has tested positive or shown signs of having the virus. Tampa Bay Downs is taking numerous precautions for the immediate future, including not allowing any horses from the two barns to compete through Dec. 27.

    Workers at both barns must log in and out and wear protective footwear and clothing while they are working. All horses on the grounds must have their temperatures taken twice daily, and temperature logs are required to be kept for each horse. Beginning on Friday, a 24-hour health certificate will be required for any horse entering the barn area.

    The track is also adopting a temporary training schedule to help ensure each horse’s health and safety. The main track will open at 5:30 a.m., with a break for maintenance from 8-8:30. The track will then close at 9:15 and reopen immediately afterward for horses in Barns 25 and 26, closing at 10:30 a.m.

    “Our main concern, as always, is the health and safety of our horse population,” said Vice President and General Manager Peter Berube. “All necessary precautions are being undertaken to prevent the spread of the virus.”

    Tampa Bay Downs has also announced there will be no live racing on Dec. 21 or Dec. 28, with the first Sunday of the meet now scheduled for Jan. 4. The track has added live racing on Thursday, Feb. 5 and Thursday, Feb. 1.

    OLDSMAR - Samy Camacho was a forgotten man for the first three weeks of the Tampa Bay Downs meet – which makes perfect sense, since he has been riding at Gulfstream Park.

    Returning to the racetrack where he has enjoyed much of his success, Camacho rode one winner from seven mounts Wednesday with two seconds in a belated beginning to his Oldsmar oval campaign after serving the remainder of a suspension that had carried over from the 2024-25 season.

    His victory came in the fifth race, a mile-and-40-yard maiden claiming event that was taken off the turf, aboard 2-year-old Florida-bred filly Parlaypauline, owned by Julian De Mora Jr., and trained by Juan Carlos Avila. (Parlaypauline was claimed from the victory for $32,000 by trainer Jose A. Gallegos for new owner Amaty Racing Stables).

    “It’s very exciting to be back. This is the place I race, and I’m truly happy to be back here riding,” said Camacho, a five-time Tampa Bay Downs champion. “I’ll go home with my family and be happy tonight, and I’ll go back to work in the morning with my agent (Mike Moran) and a smile.”

    Camacho, a 37-year-old product of Caracas, Venezuela, has ridden 1,550 winners in North America. He rode a couple of winners at Gulfstream Park while his suspension played out.
Moran is also the agent for Samuel Marin, who ended Camacho’s streak of four consecutive titles last season. Marin is off to a fast start with 15 winners and there are numerous jockeys currently between him and Camacho, who plans to stay laser-focused in an effort to gradually close the gap.
“I’m working very hard to do my best and win races,” Camacho said. “I’m going to try to win the title again, but I know it will be tough. The competition is going to be good all season, but I believe a lot in myself and I have a lot of business moving forward.
“I just pray to God to stay healthy.”

    Parlaypauline’s victory was one of two for the owner-trainer combination of De Mora and Avila, who also won the seventh race with Chacarera, ridden by apprentice Noel Herman.

Around the oval - Cipriano Gil rode two winners Wednesday. He captured the fourth race aboard Peace Cloud, a 2-year-old gelding owned by Patricia Pavlish and trained by Tim Hamm. Peace Cloud was claimed from the race for $8,000 by trainer Gregg Sacco for new owner Elliot Mavorah.
Gil added the ninth and final race with Icelander, a 4-year-old colt owned by Ladycaroly Stable and trained by Carlos Narvaez.

    OLDSMAR - Two-year-olds of both sexes will vie for the spotlight Saturday as Tampa Bay Downs launches its 2025-26 stakes schedule with the 40th running of the $125,000 Inaugural Stakes for males and the 48th edition of the $125,000 Sandpiper Stakes for fillies.

    All but one of Saturday’s 10 races are for 2-year-olds, who like all Thoroughbreds will become a year older on Jan. 1 for record-keeping purposes. Both the Inaugural and the Sandpiper will be run at the sprint distance of 6 furlongs. Post time for the first race is 12:30 p.m. The Inaugural is the second race and the Sandpiper is the ninth race

    The Inaugural has drawn a field of seven. Much interest surrounds Solitude Dude, whose lone career start on Nov. 1 in a maiden special weight race at Gulfstream Park resulted in a 9 ½-length victory in a time of 1:16.40 for 6 ½ furlongs. The Kentucky-bred colt is owned by Chris Fountoukis and trained by Saffie A. Joseph, Jr.

    Edgard Zayas, who was the leading jockey at Gulfstream’s recently concluded fall meet, has been named to ride Solitude Dude, who breaks from the outside No. 7 post.

    Handicappers are expected to take a close look at Joseph’s other Inaugural entry, Langvad, who broke his maiden in his second career start on Nov. 8 at Gulfstream in a 7-furlong maiden special weight and will start from the No. 2 post. Leading Tampa Bay Downs jockey Samuel Marin has been named to ride the Florida-bred colt for Joseph and owners Steven Friedfertig and Shining Stables.

    Thunder Chuck, who breaks from the No. 3 post, is another Inaugural entry expected to merit serious consideration among bettors. Six-time Tampa Bay Downs riding champion Daniel Centeno will be aboard the gelding for owner Lea Farms and trainer Jorge Delgado. The son of outstanding sire Good Magic finished second in his most recent start, the Juvenile Sprint Stakes on Nov. 22 at Gulfstream.

    Super Kick is another with solid credentials, including a maiden victory on Sept. 18 at Churchill Downs in 1:10.39 for 6 furlongs. Jesus Castanon will be aboard from the No. 4 post for owner Calumet Farm and trainer Eoin Harty.

    The Sandpiper has attracted 10 fillies, including two from the barn of Joseph. His duo includes My Miss Mo, who broke her maiden on Nov. 9 at Gulfstream by 12 lengths in 1:24.39 for 7 furlongs. Zayas will ride the Florida-bred daughter of Uncle Mo, who will break from the No. 5 post. She is owned by Averill Racing, Mathis Stable and Tristan De Meric.

    Joseph’s other entrant is the maiden filly Tahlequah, who will start from the No. 3 post under Micah Husbands.

    Sneaky Good, who drew the No. 10 post position and will be ridden by Antonio Gallardo, has run only once, but it was a performance that turned some heads. She broke her maiden on Oct. 5 at Keeneland, winning a 6-furlong sprint by 4 ¾ lengths. Sneaky Good is owned by NK Racing and LNJ Foxwoods and trained by Brad Cox.

    Summer Winner, who drew the No. 2 post position, was a perfect 3-for-3 at Canterbury Park during the summer, including a victory on Sept. 6 in the Northern Lights Debutante Stakes. Bred and owned by Peter D. Mattson and Tim Padilla, and trained by Padilla, Summer Winner will be ridden by Alonso Quinonez.

    Four-time leading Tampa Bay Downs trainer Kathleen O’Connell, who won back-to-back runnings of the Sandpiper Stakes with Lindsey Lane and Shananie’s Beat in 1993 and 1994, has entered Gerrards Cross, who will start from the No. 7 post under Sonny Leon.

    Bred in Florida by her owner, James M. Chicklo, Gerrards Cross is 2-for-2 and won the Colleen Stakes on the turf at Monmouth Park on July 27 in her last start.

    The No. 4 filly is Techstar, a maiden trained by Orlando Rose and owned by Von A Stables who has two seconds and a third to her credit and could be the pacesetter

Around the oval: Leading Oldsmar jockey Samuel Marin scored his 400th career victory in yesterday's sixth race aboard Poiema, a 6-year-old Florida-bred mare by Florida's second-leading sire, Neolithic, owned by JC Racing Stable and trained by Jose M. Castro. Poiema defeated the betting favorite, U Lite Up My Life, by 6 ½ lengths.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Gulfstream Park’s mandatory payout of the 20-cent Rainbow 6 had 98 winning tickets, each worth $13,268.

    There was $1,393,379 of new money bet into the Rainbow 6, and a carryover of $184,136. The winning sequence was:

Race 6: Prevent ($8.40)

Race 7: Itsallcomintogetha $5.40

Race 8: Diamonds N Thrills

Race 9: Biz Biz Buzz $8

Race 10: Strategic Risk $14.60

Race 11: Bulldoze $12.20

Prevent Wins Sabal Palm:

    Approximately 30 minutes after going gate-to-wire to win the $300,000 My Dear Girl with Mythical, jockey Emisael Jaramillo ran it right back aboard Prevent in the $100,000 Sabal Palm.

    Breaking on top in the seven-horse field, Jaramillo guided BC Racing LLC’s Prevent past fractions of :24.95, :48.62 and 1:11.79 before covering the mile and 70-yard Tapeta course in 1:38.92 to prevail over favorite Private Thoughts by a half length. Brawn was third.

    A son of Neolithic who BC Racing’s Brian Cohen bought at the 2022 OBS Winter Mixed Sale for $15,000, Prevent has earned more than $400,000 while winning six of 13 races across Tapeta. The second and third-place finishers are also by Pleasant Acres Stallions' Neolithic.

    “He tries so hard and he’s getting the lead no matter what, he’s so competitive,” Cohen said. “If he can get his lead he will be super tough. If someone wants to contest, he’s not going to give up the lead. And when he gets his setup on Tapeta he’s super, super tough.”

    HALLANDALE BEACH - It didn’t come the way her connections intended, but in the end it didn’t matter.

    Arindel’s Gr. III-winning homebred, Mythical, making her two-turn debut, shook off early pace pressure from Love Like Lucy and had enough left to withstand a late run by 30-1 longshot Dare Greatly for a popular 2 ½-length victory in Saturday’s $300,000 My Dear Girl at Gulfstream Park.

    The My Dear Girl for fillies and $300,000 In Reality, each going 1 1/16 miles, concluded the 44th edition of the $1.2 million Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds by accredited Florida stallions.

    It was the fifth win from six starts and fourth in a stakes for 1-9 favorite Mythical ($2.20), who bounced back from her first career loss to register a resounding victory in the second leg of the series, the Oct. 18 Susan’s Girl, her first time facing state-breds when she was able to rate early before closing with aplomb.

    The My Dear Girl unfolded differently, with Mythical breaking sharply and going straight to the lead pressed by Love Like Lucy through a quarter-mile in :22.81 seconds while under a snug hold from regular rider Emisael Jaramillo.

    “I didn’t want to be in front. I think her best race was the previous race when she was relaxed and closed. That’s kind of what I wanted to see today,” winning trainer Jorge Delgado said. “She had too much pressure from the beginning and she was getting a little tired, but she was the best horse.

    “I think if she got through a little bit easier in the first quarter, she would have closed a little stronger. But that’s part of racing,” he added. “I knew she was the class of the race and I knew she was the best filly in the race. Something would have to happen really bad for her to lose.”

    Jaramillo was able to slow things down and go a half-mile in a still snappy 46.58 seconds, as Love Like Lucy began to wilt from the effort. Meanwhile, Dare Greatly was revving up on the far outside under Rajiv Maragh to get into contention midway around the far turn.

    “I think she was so keen at the start, 22 and change, he was trying to settle her and it looks like he did,” Arindel’s Brian Cohen said. “They almost got 24 that second quarter. I don’t think that’s what she wants to do, but she was the class and was able to do it today.”

    Mythical remained firmly in control once straightened for home and the outcome was never in doubt, completing the distance in 1:45.39 over a fast main track. Dare Greatly was 15 ¼ lengths ahead of Win Bet Only, followed by Love Like Lucy, Bayou Brigid and Lady Chance.

    Jaramillo has been up for all of Mythical’s starts, including her 4 ½-furlong graduation April 17 at Gulfstream, a win over boys in the 5 ½-furlong Tremont and fillies in the 6 ½-furlong Adirondack (G3) at Saratoga, and Susan’s Girl. Her five wins have come by 26 combined lengths.

    “We had two plans,” Jaramillo said. “The first was if another filly took the lead, we would run from behind her. But she had a very good jump, so I went with Plan B which was to take the lead from the beginning. It was a bit difficult because she was going so fast into the first turn. I was trying to slow her down a bit, but she has such speed. That was a tough part of the race.”

    Mythical will be pointed to make her 2026 debut in the $150,000 Forward Gal (G3) sprinting seven furlongs Jan. 31. It is the first stakes for 3-year-old fillies on the dirt at the Championship Meet, followed by the $200,000 Davona Dale (G2) going one mile Feb. 28 and the $250,000 Gulfstream Park Oaks (G2) at 1 1/16 miles March 28.

    “I’m going to talk to Brian and to his dad and see what the best direction is with the filly and go from there,” Delgado said. “I do believe she can go two turns. She’s a filly that’s still learning. Like any horse when they have the good trip, they run better. I don’t think she had the best trip.

    “When they have pressure from the beginning, not too many horses can run 22 and 46 and finish,” he added. “Two years ago, Bentornato, who was a special horse, he ran two turns here and he got beat. These things can happen when you have 2-year-olds going for the first time two turns. I’m just grateful that she passed the wire first and came back healthy.”

    HALLANDALE BEACH - As good as Arindel homebred Mythical has been through her first season of racing – three stakes wins, one over the boys, one in a Gr. III and the best Beyer Speed Figure of any 2-year-old filly in 2025 – her connections are even more excited about what is still in front of her.

    Mythical will take another step toward reaching that potential when she tries two turns for the first time while looking to keep her perfect local record intact in Saturday’s $300,000 My Dear Girl at Gulfstream Park.

    The My Dear Girl for fillies, and the $300,000 In Reality, each going 1 1/16 miles, co-headline an 11-race program that concludes the 44th edition of the $1.2 million Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds by accredited Florida stallions.

    Trained by Jorge Delgado, Mythical indicated her ability early on and translated that into her April 17 unveiling at Gulfstream, where she romped by 8 ½ lengths in front-running fashion sprinting 4 ½ furlongs in :51.37 seconds.

    “Amazingly, she’s been one of those horses that from the first time you saw her she showed you how good she is,” Delgado said. “She’s been showing signs of getting better, which is very exciting. She’s been good so far, but it looks like she can get really good.”

    Mythical spent the summer with Delgado’s northern string at Monmouth Park and raced three times at Saratoga, beating males by 3 ½ lengths in the 5 ½-furlong Tremont on Belmont Stakes weekend and earning a 93 Beyer. Back against fillies for the 6 ½-furlong, Gr. III Adirondack four weeks later, she cruised by 3 ¼ lengths, leading again from gate to wire.

    Stretched out to seven furlongs for the Gr. I Spinaway, Mythical dueled for the lead but faded to be fifth behind two-time Gr. 1 winner Tommy Jo. Delgado brought her back to Gulfstream for the FSS Susan’s Girl, also at seven-eighths, which marked her first time facing fellow state-breds.

    “She had a little bit of class relief last time,” Delgado said. “She had a very busy summer in Saratoga. She won against the boys, then she won the graded-stakes and then she ran in the Grade 1. She needed some time to come back and do less.”

    Under regular rider Emisael Jaramillo, up for each of her races, Mythical showed a new dimension by settling off the pace early before taking command after a half-mile and powering home a 12 ¾-length winner as the 2-5 favorite.

    “She was ready for the race, and she loves this track,” Delgado said. “She’s been doing better and better every day. We’re excited to see how she does around two turns and what we can do with her from there.”

    Mythical has breezed three times since the Susan’s Girl, most recently going four furlongs in :49.46 seconds Nov. 22. Jaramillo returns to ride from Post 3 at topweight of 122 pounds, two to four pounds more than her rivals.

    “We have confidence that she’ll be fine,” Delgado said of the two-turn test. “Every gallop and every race she’s been showing that she should have no problem doing that, but it’s not until the races when you really find out.”

    While not looking past the My Dear Girl, Arindel and Delgado would like to see Mythical show enough to keep her on track to what they hope is a start in the Kentucky Oaks next spring. During Gulfstream’s 2025-2026 Championship Meet, the Jan. 31, Gr. III Forward Gal, Feb. 28, Gr. II Davona Dale and March 28, Gr. II Gulfstream Park Oaks all award points toward the Kentucky Oaks.

    “Hopefully we can go to the Oaks. I think that’s a goal we have in the back of our minds,” Delgado said. “We want to find a race where we can get some points here, but we are focusing on this race first.”

    Delgado said Mythical has a special nickname around the barn, one inspired by the filly that won the 2024 Oaks – one of her seven career Gr. 1 victories – en route to Horse of the Year honors.

    “We are calling her the little Thorpedo Anna,” Delgado said. “We’ll see. She’s a very talented horse but she also has a very good mind and I think that’s what matters in the end.”

    MyRacehorse, Thoroughbred Acquisition Group and Miller Racing’s Love Like Lucy is the only horse in the field to have run in the previous two legs of the FSS filly series, finishing third to multiple stakes-winner and English Group 2-placed Lennilu in the six-furlong Desert Vixe and a distant second behind Mythical in the Susan’s Girl. Love Like Lucy’s debut victory came over a pair of next-out winners – twice stakes-placed Vita Mia and William Law Jr. homebred Lady Chance, runner-up in the Juvenile Fillies Sprint and who returns in the My Dear Girl.

    Bayou Brigid, owned by Sea Warrior Stables and trainer Heather Smullen, is entered to make her dirt debut after four races on turf and one on Gulfstream’s all-weather Tapeta course. She is the only horse with two-turn experience – graduating on Aug. 8 going a mile and 70 yards on the synthetic, finishing sixth in the 1 1/16-mile P. G. Johnson on Aug. 27 at Saratoga and running third in the one-mile Our Dear Peggy on Oct. 25 at Gulfstream.

    Completing the field are Mary Lightner-owned and trained Dare Greatly, fourth in the Susan’s Girl, and Robert Cotran’s maiden Win Bet Only.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - On the cusp of his annual sojourn to Gulfstream Park for its prestigious Championship Meet and approaching a 30th year of riding professionally in the United States, Hall of Fame jockey Javier Castellano has no shortage of sources for inspiration.

    There’s the looming milestone of 6,000 career wins, now less than 100 away; the never-ending search for a promising newly turned 3-year-old and the prestige of competing with the best collection of riders assembled at a winter race meet.

    Then, there’s family. Brady, his only son and the youngest of Castellano’s three children with wife, Abby, is starting to recognize dad’s cool job and how much he has accomplished in the game. And for the first time, the Venezuela native has partnered since early this month with his brother-in-law, Kevin Meyocks, to work as his agent.

    “It’s exciting, because Kevin always tried to help me in the winter in South Florida the last two or three years,” Castellano said. “My son, he’s 13 and getting to the age where he’s starting to pay attention. He’ll say, ‘Daddy, what horses are you riding?’ He wants to see me at the high level, and it motivates me more when your children and your family look up to you and they’re excited when you win races.

    “I still have that fire, that motivation to win races, especially at Gulfstream. It’s the Championship Meet with all the best jockeys. All the top riders in the country end up in South Florida. It’s the best feeling in the world when you’re competing with them. Where better to be in the wintertime than South Florida and Gulfstream Park? All jockeys dream of wanting to compete there at that level,” he added. “I just turned 48 and I’m not ready to retire. The biggest advantage of our sport is as long as you can do it, you can continue. I’m very fortunate to be in great condition. I feel good and I’ve been training good to be ready for the races.”

    Castellano will be on hand Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27, for the opening of the 2025-2026 Championship Meet, his earliest arrival since being in the midst of five consecutive leading rider titles from 2011-2012 to 2015-2016. Irad Ortiz Jr., who broke Castellano’s single-season record with 140 wins in 2020-2021, surpassed his overall record by leading the jockey standings for a sixth time last winter and will be favored to add a seventh.

    The opening day program has Castellano named in five of eight races for five different trainers including Brad Cox-trained debut winner Amberglen in the $100,000 Wait a While for 2-year-old fillies scheduled at 7 ½ furlongs on the turf.

    “We decided to go the first weekend and start from the beginning,” Castellano said. “The last few years I stayed in New York and then [went] later on, spend Christmas with my family. But the kids are getting older, they are having activities at school and we decided I might as well go early and start getting momentum, start getting business and looking for the right horses.”

    The year-round partnership has seen Castellano off to a strong start with Meyocks, who also has the jockey’s book in New York. Their first weekend together they won the Nov. 8 Hill Prince (G3) for Sackatoga Stable and trainer Barclay Tagg with Tiz Dashing, Castellano’s seventh graded-stakes triumph this year. The following weekend, he won the Key Cents on George Weaver-trained She’s Country and was third in the Notebook aboard Funny Factor.

    Meyocks also represents Emisael Jaramillo at Gulfstream. The opportunity to add Castellano came about when the agent’s other local rider, Cipriano Gil, relocated to Tampa Bay Downs for the winter. In late summer Meyocks picked up the book for Kentucky-based Francisco Arietta, who is returning to make his title defense at Oaklawn Park.

    “Everything has started falling in the right direction, and who better than Kevin. He lives in Florida and he knows a lot of people and he’s a great guy. Not just because he’s my brother-in-law; everybody likes Kevin. He likes joking around with people. He’s got a big sense of humor,” Castellano said. “I know how he works. He has a lot of connections, he knows a lot of people and we’re looking forward to it.”

    Castellano averaged 114 wins during his time atop the Championship Meet standings with a then-record high of 132 in 2013-2014. Except for his first winter of 2004 and 2020-2021, when injuries and the coronavirus pandemic limited him to just 66 starts, Castellano has topped $1 million in purse earnings. Last winter, he had 25 wins and a meet bankroll of $1.35 million.

    Fellow Hall of Famer Jerry Bailey (2000-03) and Castellano (2013-16) are the only jockeys to win the Eclipse Award as champion jockey four consecutive years. A total of 21 riders have won 6,000 or more races; Castellano sits at 5,910 and counting. His career earnings of more than $413 million are second only to another active Hall of Famer, soon-to-be 54-year-old John Velazquez, who also calls the Championship Meet his winter home.

    “I love my job,” Castellano said. “It seems to me every stage in your life is a challenge. When you are in the beginning of your career, you work hard because you’ve got to make your name to get to that high level of competition. You want to be there. Then when you’re at the high level, you have to work double because you want to maintain your place. You have to be demanding and work hard.

    “I’m past the first stage and I’m past the second stage. I won four Eclipse Awards, almost five. I won the Kentucky Derby, two Preakness, the Belmont Stakes, 12 Breeders’ Cup races and seven Travers, which is unbelievable. I’m still competing at the high level and the high competition with the best jockeys in the country” he added. “I feel like it’s not ending. No way. I think I have five years ahead. That’s my goal. I feel great. I’m looking forward to the opportunities. I’m still hungry.”

    Winner of the 2006 and 2017 Preakness (G1), Castellano completed his personal Triple Crown in 2023 with wins in the Kentucky Derby (G1) and Belmont (G1) respectively aboard Mage and Arcangelo, two horses he rode during the winter that helped reestablish Castellano after some lean years. Mage was fourth with Castellano in the Fountain of Youth (G2), two starts prior to the Derby, and he was aboard Arcangelo for four straight wins starting with his Gulfstream graduation and continuing with the Peter Pan (G3) and Travers (G1).

    “A couple years ago I can’t believe I won the Kentucky Derby and the Belmont Stakes. Those two horses I found in South Florida at Gulfstream Park,” Castellano said. “I rode Mage over there and then Arcangelo, I broke his maiden. I ended up winning two Triple Crown races the same year. It’s amazing.”

    Gulfstream’s series of stakes for 3-year-olds starts with the Mucho Macho Man Jan. 3 and continues with the Holy Bull (G3) Jan. 31 and Fountain of Youth Feb. 28 leading up to the Florida Derby (G1) March 28. The Florida Derby has produced 47 starters that have gone on to win a remarkable 63 Triple Crown races – 26 in the Kentucky Derby, 19 in the Preakness and 18 in the Belmont.

    “I look forward to riding the young horses of the new generation. That’s what keeps you excited and motivated, looking for the nice 3-year-olds in January,” he added. “The Holy Bull, the Fountain of Youth, the Florida Derby – that’s more motivation [for] me to continue and have success at the high level."

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Peachtree Stable homebred Spirit Doll, dominant in her grass debut last month, is among seven last-out winners and one of three entries from four-time defending Championship Meet leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. in the $100,000 Wait a While on Thursday’s opening day program at Gulfstream Park.

    The eight-race Thanksgiving Day holiday program has a special post time of 11:15 a.m.

    For 2-year-old fillies on Gulfstream’s newly refreshed turf course, the 7 ½-furlong Wait a While going two turns is the first of 68 stakes, 27 graded, worth $15.2 million in purses during an 84-day Championship Meet that runs through March 29.

    Spirit Doll, by Tiz the Law, graduated in debut sprinting six furlongs Aug. 7 at Saratoga, where she next endured a troubled trip finishing sixth in the seven-furlong Spinaway (G1). Joseph brought her back to Florida, stretched her out to a mile and put her on the turf for the Oct. 25 Our Dear Peggy, where she came from off the pace to win by 6 ¼ widening lengths.

    “I ran her back quick in the Spinaway but I actually thought she was going to be competitive in that and she didn’t run. I think it was just too quick after the first race,” Joseph said. “She was very impressive the other day and I feel she goes in there, in my opinion, a deserving favorite.

    Spirit Doll drew Post 7 with jockey Edgard Zayas at topweight of 122 pounds and is rated the 5-2 second choice on the morning line.

    “She has grass pedigree from the dam [Pakhet] and the Tiz the Laws have run on the grass,” Joseph said. “You’re just kind of hoping she takes to the grass but you never envision that kind of performance, especially the way she quickened. I thought it was very, very impressive so the future is very bright for her.”

    Averill Racing’s R Slew of Cash (12-1) already owns a win at the course and distance, graduating by 1 ¼ lengths on the same card as Spirit Doll’s stakes victory. She pressed the early pace in her one-mile unveiling before fading to eighth Sept. 4 at Kentucky Downs.

    "I thought at Kentucky Downs she ran a good race. She looked like she was going to run good and she got tired,” Joseph said. “Last time she tracked and she quickened nicely. It’s the right race for her. I think the distance is ideal, but she’ll have to show she’s good enough. She’s going to need to improve to be competitive but I think she is eligible to improve.” Micah Husbands, up for the maiden win, rides back from Post 3.

    C2 Racing Stable, BAG Racing Stables, Barry Fowler, Charles Deters and Mark Taylor’s Day to Day (12-1) is winless in three tries since joining Joseph over the summer with one grass start, beaten 5 ½ lengths when eighth in the 1 1/16-mile Miss Grillo (G2) Oct. 4 at Aqueduct. Fourth in the Spinaway, she has Edwin Gonzlaez named to ride from Post 8.

    “Her grass race wasn’t that bad in the Miss Grillo. She broke well and then kind of lost position and ended up out wide and kind of ran even,” Joseph said. “We’re going to decide closer to the race if we’re going to run.”

    The 2-1 program favorite for the Wait a While is Woodslane Farm homebred Sister Troienne (Post 5), the Brian Lynch trainee that joins Spirit Doll and French import Special Wood as two-time winners in the field. Sister Troienne, by Munnings, has won back-to-back starts since being moved to the turf by eight combined lengths, the latter around two turns, and will have the services of regular Kentucky-based rider dual Derby-winning jockey Mario Gutierrez.

    Brody Racing’s Devilish Grin (20-1) is another horse with stakes experience, having run third in the Aug. 27 P.G. Johnson at Saratoga third time out before graduating in an Oct. 4 maiden optional claimer at Aqueduct, both going 1 1/16 miles. JSM Equine’s Haute Diva (10-1) has three seconds from five starts with a lone win coming at one mile Sept. 27 on the Gulfstream turf.

    Both Amberglen and Slippers step up to stakes company off impressive debut victories. Stonestreet Stables’ Irish-bred Amberglen (Post 1, 8-1) overcame somewhat of a slow start to rally for a three-quarter-length triumph Oct. 23 going one mile on the Keeneland turf for trainer Brad Cox. Following the race she was sent to South Florida where she shows three breezes at Payson Park.

    DJ Stable’s Slippers (Post 4, 9-2) fetched $225,000 as a yearling last fall and didn’t launch her career for more than a year, rallying for a popular three-length maiden special weight triumph sprinting five furlongs Oct. 18 on the Gulfstream turf.

    “She had always shown talent,” DJ’s Jon Green said. “She was a little slower developing than the rest of the group. Thankfully, the way [Hall of Fame trainer] Mark Casse has his farm set up, they can go in tranches so she didn’t have to get rushed or get ahead of where she was mentally. But once she put it together at the farm, it took her the matter of a month or two before she really started showing it on the racetrack.

    “So, going into that first race we were pretty confident,” he added. “Mark is a two-time Hall of Famer. He doesn’t do too much to get a horse ready first time out because as he likes to say, he’s training a horse for its career not its maiden win. Whenever we win first time out it is kind of a pleasant surprise, but we were pretty confident that she had talent going into that first race.”

    Slippers has breezed twice over the all-weather Tapeta course since her race, and will have Miguel Vasquez back in the irons.

    “We’re going against winners and winners that have run two turns, so it’s a little different scenario than her first asking,” Green said, “but she’s also had that first experience, she’s a little more mature, and we don’t have to ship her anywhere. For all intents and purposes the majority of the field is in the same boat as we are … a-other-than allowance types running for black-type on opening day.”

    Casse also entered Lighthouse Racing’s Backgammon (Post 9, 30-1), a front-running maiden winner going one mile Oct. 18 at Keeneland in her fifth start. Completing the field are Special Wood (Post 10, 20-1), making her North American debut after winning two of three starts in her native France; and the also-eligible Girvana (Post 11, 30-1).

      HALLANDALE BEACH - Gulfstream Park’s fall Sunshine Meet will lower the curtain this weekend with Edgard Zayas looking to reclaim his spot atop the jockey standings and trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. chasing a remarkable 14th consecutive track title.

    Closing weekend kicks off today with a nine-race program starting at 12:20 p.m. Eleven races are on tap for Saturday, including the $75,000 Juvenile Sprint for 2-year-olds on the main track and the $70,000 Chasie Artie overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up on Tapeta, with 11 more on Sunday.

    Joseph holds a 30-26 lead over Jose D’Angelo in the race for leading trainer with entries in 12 races over the weekend to D’Angelo’s 13. Joseph, a 38-year-old native of Barbados, has won 13 straight meet titles at Gulfstream including last four Championship Meets, the country’s premier winter racing destination that gets under way Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27.

    Zayas tops the rider standings with 40 wins, closely chased by Miguel Vasquez (38) and Emisael Jaramillo (34). Zayas is named in 26 races on the weekend including the entire Saturday program, while Vasquez is named in 22 and Jaramillo in 20.

    A finalist for the 2013 Eclipse Award as champion apprentice, Zayas, 32, has been a year-round force in South Florida since his arrival from Puerto Rico. He owns nine riding titles at Gulfstream including the Sunshine Meet in 2021 and 2023 as well as the 2024 and 2025 Royal Palm Meet.

    Joseph has both Strategic Reserve and Hammond entered in the Juvenile Sprint, with Zayas named on the latter. Vasquez is set to ride Thunder Chuck for trainer Jorge Delgado with Jaramillo on Camigol for Antonio Sano.

    Neither leading trainer entered a horse in the Chasie Artie. Zayas will ride And Uwish for trainer Joe Orseno, Vasquez is named on Full Disclosure for Mohamed Jehaludi, and Jaramillo has the call on Roar Ready for Victor Barboza Jr.

    Jockey Rajiv Maragh enters closing weekend with 1,997 career victories. He is named in three races Saturday and five races Sunday.

    Jose Castro’s JC Racing Stable leads the Sunshine Meet owner standings with eight wins, two more than Michael Yates’ Shadybrook Farm. Castro has entries in four races over the weekend, while Yates has none. Bruno Schickedanz, Arindel, D. J. Stable and In Front Racing Stables have four wins apiece.

Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $150,000

    The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is estimated at $150,000 when the Sunshine Meet resumes today with a nine-race program to kick off closing weekend. First race post time is 12:20 p.m.

    The multi-race wager has gone unsolved for six racing days following multiple mandatory payouts of $7,316 on Nov. 2.

 

      

 

          

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Winless in seven starts this year that included three tries on turf and a trip to the Middle East, Michael and Jules Iavarone’s Steal Sunshine swept past fellow multiple stakes winner Lure Him In in mid-stretch and edged clear by a length in the $70,000 Finallymadeit overnight handicap at Gulfstream Park.

    Ridden by Edgard Zayas for trainer Bobby Dibona, 6-year-old Steal Sunshine ($4.40) completed 1 1/16 miles over a fast main track in 1:44.59 for his fourth career stakes win and eighth overall, pushing his purse earnings over $800,000 in 32 starts.

    “It’s great to get him back in the winner’s circle,” Dibona said. “I got a chance to prepare him for this like I have since day one. I know my horse, and he was ready today.”

    Steal Sunshine ran sixth in the $3 million Pegasus World Cup (G1) and second in defense of his 2024 victory in the Gulfstream Park Mile (G2) to open this year before finishing fourth in the Godolphin Mile (G2) at Meydan Racecourse. After more than two months away he returned in mid-June to be second behind Beach Gold in an optional claimer on the Gulfstream turf, then was back home after an unsuccessful trip to Kentucky Downs for the Mint Millions (G3).

    “We got faked out a little bit because he ran big on the turf coming back from Dubai. The horse that beat me a neck went on to win a Grade 2. He probably was better that day, so we thought we found a new home,” Dibona said. “We went to Kentucky and that’s a tough place. Things came a little unwound.”

    Steal Sunshine got shuffled back breaking from Post 4 and Zayas shifted to the rail on the first turn, tracking in fifth as 21-1 longshot Swashbuckle and Lure Him In battled up front through a quarter-mile in 23.50 seconds and a half in 47.17. Zayas tipped outside to launch their rally midway around the far turn and Steal Sunshine responded, moving up on even terms with Lure Him In at the head of the lane before surging past.

    Lure Him In held second, a length on front of Lightning Tones, followed by Awesome Train, Swashbuckle, Single Dot Yaht and Virginia City.

     “I got bumped out of there. I wanted to be a little closer,” Zayas said. “I kind of used him a little on the first turn and not leave him too much to do.  He got in a perfect spot. The longer distance is good for him. He loves the two turns.”

    Florida homebred Finallymadeit won 16 of 47 starts and more than $1 million in purse earnings from 2006-09. Among his victories were 12 stakes including the 2008 Fred Hooper Handicap (G3) and 2009 Memorial Day Handicap (G3) and Skip Away (G3).

Friday’s Rainbow 6 Jackpot Pool Estimated at $150,000

    The 20-cent Rainbow 6 jackpot pool is expected to grow to an estimated $150,000 when racing resumes Friday. The multi-race wager went unsolved Sunday the sixth racing day following a mandatory payout.

    Notes: Jockey Joe Bravo doubled Sunday aboard Justin Smiles ($9.60) in Race 2 and Racing Driver ($8.60) in Race 7 … Jockey Rajiv Maragh picked up career win No. 1,997 with Flying Liam ($4.80) in Race 4 … Trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. strengthened his hold on first place in the Sunshine Meet standings with Drama ($2.60) in Race 3 and Mystical Belle ($6.40) in Race 8, giving him a 30-26 advantage over Jose D’Angelo with three racing days remaining … Mystical Belle pushed Edgard Zayas past Miguel Vasquez in the jockey standings, 39-38. Zayas made it a two-win cushion with Steal Sunshine in the $70,000 Finallymadeit overnight handicap.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Magic Cap Stables, Paul Braverman, Timothy Pinch, Castle Gate Farm, Kuehne Racing and John Reinhardt’s Tessellate, stakes-placed in each of her last two starts, will get another chance to break through when she returns as a leading contender in Saturday’s $75,000 Juvenile Fillies Sprint at Gulfstream Park.

    The Juvenile Fillies Sprint, going 6 ½ furlongs on the main track, is the headliner on an 11-race program that begins at 12:20 p.m.

    Bred in Florida by Castle Gate Farm and trained by Sunshine Meet leader Saffie Joseph Jr., Tessellate shortens up in distance after running third behind Willow Case in the one-mile Hallandale Beach, a race where she dueled for the lead nearing the stretch and wound up beaten 6 ¼ lengths.

    In her prior start, the $170,000 yearling daughter of multiple Gr. 1 winner McKinzie came from off the pace to be second as the favorite in the six-furlong Sharp Susan, 3 ¼ lengths behind Willow Case in a race contested over a sloppy main track.

    “Last time we stretched her out. We didn’t think she wanted to go that far, but we wanted to give it a try. The cutback should help her a lot,” Joseph said. “This is the logical spot. There wasn’t anything around so we stretched her out going a mile last time just to see what happened, but she wants to be a sprinter.”

    A front-running debut winner against state-breds going five furlongs, Tessellate drew Post 2 of eight and will be ridden by Edgard Zayas. They are rated as the 5-2 second choice on the morning line.

    “She’s fast, but she doesn’t need the lead. She can sit and make a run,” Joseph said. “I think she goes in there with a very good chance.”

    Joseph also entered La Dolce Vita and Mystical Belle. After two unsuccessful tries on the turf, Peachtree Stable homebred La Dolce Vita graduated with a popular 1 ¾-length maiden special weight triumph Oct. 24 sprinting six furlongs on the main track. “She won well last time,” Joseph said. “She’s coming back obviously a little quick, but I think if she runs her race she should be a big factor.”

    La Dolce Vita has been favored in each of her three races, running second in her debut going five furlongs at Gulfstream, beaten four lengths by subsequent Hollywood Beach runner-up The Princess Bro. Fourth in a one-mile maiden spot at Kentucky Downs, she is the Juvenile Fillies 2-1 program favorite from Post 1.

    “She showed promise right away. When she got beat the first time we were a little surprised, but the horse that beat her turned out to be a nice horse,” Joseph said. “She ran big last time in her first time on the dirt. I’m still not convinced that she doesn’t want the grass, but for now we’ll stick to the dirt.”

    Joseph indicated MyRacehorse, P T Racing, Clay Sides and John Reinhardt’s Mystical Belle (Post 5, 3-1), a good-looking maiden winner over the all-weather Tapeta course at Gulfstream, would likely scratch in favor of an optional claiming allowance for 2-year-olds on Sunday. In her two races, Mystical Belle was second behind her stablemate and subsequent Gr. I Frizette runner-up Rileytole and then a 1 ¼-length winner over next-out winner Flowko.

    “She’s run well,” Joseph said. “She ran second first time out to a nice horse that ran second in a Grade 1, and then she won second time and beat a filly that came back to win, also.”

    Oliver Gray’s Dakota’s Little Auror (Post 4, 15-1) is the other horse in the field with stakes experience, having run third in the Sharp Susan and fourth in the Hallandale Beach. She has lost three straight following a maiden triumph against Florida-breds sprinting 4 ½ furlongs.

    Make Your Wish, Lady Chance and Epigram all enter the Juvenile Fillies Sprint off victories. Amanda Hernandez Zorilla’s Make Your Wish (Post 6, 30-1), trained by Ramon Minguet, comes from the same connections that campaigned Willow Case before the filly was sold via digital auction for $340,000.

    After placing in each of her first three races, including a back-to-back runner-up finishes, William Law Jr.’s Florida homebred Lady Chance (Post 7, 20-1) graduated by 2 ½ lengths against state-bred company.

    Epigram (Post 8, 3-1), owned and trained by Jose Castro, will be making her stakes debut off one race, an eye-catching 9 ¾-length open maiden special weight triumph Aug. 15 sprinting five furlongs on Gulfstream’s main track.

    “She’s doing good. She had a good race last time, exactly like we hoped. We hope that she can run the same race. She’s a good horse, very talented,” owner-trainer Jose Castro said. “We hope she can win again. She’s in good condition, she’s training good, she’s working good, she came out of the race good. She’s very, very happy.”

    Castro, who purchased Epigram for $38,000 in April as a 2-year-old in training, said the gap between starts was by design. Her multimillionaire sire, Code of Honor, was a Grade 1 winner whose first of four graded stakes triumphs came in the 2019 Fountain of Youth (G2) at Gulfstream.

    “She is very fast. She has a nice pedigree. When we bought her at the auction, the first time we saw her at the barn we were looking for the good confirmation. That’s the reason we chose her,” Castro said. “She’s still a baby so we have to try to just go little by little with her. We try to get her ready for this moment and right now she’s ready to run again.”

    Completing the field is Sultan Racing’s Nour (Post 3, 10-1), who ran second in an optional claimer at Gulfstream but finished ahead of both Willow Case (third) and Dakota’s Lil Auror (fifth).

    The 3-year-old Florida-bred gelding Mad House left Tampa Bay Downs last spring with an 0-for-4 record, filling his trainer David VanWinkle with uncertainty about what came next.

    VanWinkle, who began training thoroughbreds in 1989, knew Mad House had potential. The well-bred son of Vekoma out of the Munnings daughter Stifled Heiress finished second in his career debut on Jan. 8 sprinting 6 furlongs to John Hancock, the Brad Cox-trained colt who won the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes in his next start.

    But after that promising debut, Mad House turned in a trio of perplexing performances, including an uninspired fourth on March 30 in the 7-furlong Florida Cup Ocala Breeders’ Sales Sophomore Stakes. As he prepared to take Mad House to Canterbury Park in Minnesota for the late spring and early summer, VanWinkle probably felt like a game-show contestant holding 100 keys, only one of which unlocks the door to an elusive victory and continued success.

    “We had tried to stretch him out in distance at Tampa, and I don’t think that was his cup of tea,” VanWinkle said. “He was always sound and didn’t have any setbacks, but he was a little bit high-strung and it took him time to figure things out. It took him a while to put everything together mentally.”

    If you’re a serious horse racing fan, you already know Mad House has developed into one of the sport’s leading Cinderella stories of 2025. Owned by South Dakota resident James Thares, Mad House has won four races in a row since breaking his maiden on June 29 at Canterbury, including the Gr. II, $400,000 Gallant Bob Stakes on Sept. 20 at Parx Racing in Pennsylvania.

    The front-running victory, in which the 23-1 shot sped six furlongs in 1:08.77, earned Mad House a spot in Saturday's $2 million, six-furlong Cygames BC Sprint at Del Mar.

    Luis Saez will ride Mad House, who drew the No. 13 post in the 14-horse field. The race is the sixth on the card, with a scheduled post time of 1:21 p.m. Pacific Time (4:21 for Tampa Bay Downs simulcast viewers).

    Tampa Bay Downs will simulcast all of the Breeders’ Cup races Friday and Saturday, with Friday’s Del Mar action starting at 11:35 a.m. Pacific Time and Saturday’s races getting underway at 10:05 a.m. Pacific Time.

    Mad House flew to southern California on Thursday from south Florida, where he worked a sharp 4 furlongs last week in 47.10 seconds. VanWinkle arrived on Saturday, jogging the horse about a mile on Sunday and galloping him a mile-and-a-half Monday and Tuesday.

    “He is fit and feeling good. He has adapted well to being out here,” said VanWinkle, who will return to Oldsmar for the upcoming Tampa Bay Downs meet when he descends from the clouds.
The 63-year-old conditioner, who hails from the small Nebraska town of Burchard (population roughly 120), has found preparing his first Breeders’ Cup entry an exhilarating experience. Being surrounded by celebrities from the racing world and beyond has taken some getting used to.

    The Gallant Bob was the first graded-stakes victory of VanWinkle’s career, and all of a sudden he and his horse have graduated to racing’s biggest international stage.

    “I’ve seen a few (A-list racing personalities) since I got here,” VanWinkle said, referring to the top practitioners in his profession. Bill Mott, Todd Pletcher, I saw them at the (post-position) draw. It is quite a good feeling to be here. It is something you never plan on – I didn’t.”

    VanWinkle, who is a three-time leading trainer at Canterbury, will be joined at the event by his wife Pam and daughter Taylor, his assistant.

    After serving notice that sprinting was his thing in his first career victory, an 11 ½-length romp in a 5 ½-furlong race, Mad House won a pair of 6-furlong allowance races at Canterbury in July and August, but his three-race winning streak up north didn’t hold much weight with Gallant Bob bettors.

    VanWinkle admits he wasn’t sure what to expect. “He was stepping up against much tougher competition, and I’d have been happy to have him hit the board,” the trainer said. Despite early pressure from another longshot, eventual third-place finisher Fire Pit, Mad House was able to stay comfortable on the lead under jockey Paco Lopez through taxing opening fractions of :21.58 seconds for the quarter-mile and :43.94 for the half.

    Mad House drew off late to defeat runner-up Gateskeeper, an 83-1 shot, by 2 ¾ lengths.
The quality of the performance, and the winner’s share of $217,500, made the decision to try the Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint relatively easy. “When he won a couple at Canterbury, his heart got built up and we could tell he was liking his job. You could say he is peaking at the right time,” Van Winkle said of Mad House, who was bred by Jean White, Wavertree Farm and SGV Thoroughbreds.

    “He’ll be going up against a lot of older, more seasoned horses, but he has developed well so hopefully that won’t be an issue. Paco said he wasn’t pushing hard on him early (in the Gallant Bob) and that he knew he had horse left late if he needed it, so that was encouraging.”

    In Saez, another of the sport’s most accomplished jockeys, VanWinkle believes the No. 13 post will not be an obstacle to performing his best. “With his running style, he is probably better off out there than down on the inside if something were to happen,” VanWinkle said.

    Mad House’s morning-line odds are 30-1. The prerace favorite at 5-2 in last year’s Cygames Breeders’ Cup Sprint runner-up, 4-year-old Florida-bred Bentornato (last year’s Gallant Bob winner). Bentornato is trained by another Tampa Bay Downs conditioner, Jose Francisco D’Angelo, and will be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr.

    Two Sprint entrants besides Mad House have competed at Tampa Bay Downs. One, 4-year-old colt Patriot Spirit, won the 2023 Inaugural Stakes and was unplaced as a 3-year-old in the Gr. III Sam F. Davis Stakes. Patriot Spirit is trained by Michael Campbell and will be ridden by Javier Castellano.

    The other is trainer Wesley Ward’s 6-year-old gelding Nakatomi, who finished third here in the 2024 Pelican Stakes. He will be ridden by Jose Ortiz.

    Trainer Mark Casse’s 3-year-old filly Nitrogen, the winner of this year’s Gr. III Florida Oaks on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs, and trainer George Weaver’s 5-year-old Florida-bred mare Dorth Vader, the 2022 Sandpiper Stakes winner, will compete in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Distaff. Jose Ortiz will ride Nitrogen and John Velazquez will be aboard Dorth Vader.

    Trainer Chad Brown’s second and third-place finishers in this year’s Gr. III Tampa Bay Derby are also Breeders’ Cup competitors. Chancer McPatrick, the Tampa Bay Derby runner-up, will be ridden by Jose Ortiz in the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile. Brown’s gelding Hill Road, third in the Tampa Bay Derby, competes in the Longines Breeders’ Cup Turf under David Egan.

     OLDSMAR - A visitor to the Tampa Bay Downs barn area this morning needed to spend only a short bit of time with first-day arrivals Alison Arriagada and Alejandro Mendieta to realize both are living the dream.

    Arriagada, an assistant and the exercise rider for husband Juan Arriagada – last year’s second-leading trainer and the track’s three-time defending leading owner – cheerfully oversaw the unloading of 10 horses from Presque Isle Downs in Pennsylvania as the sun tried to peek through the clouds above their barn.

    “I love being here,” said Alison, who remained at their nearby home most of the summer with their daughter while Juan was winning the trainer and owner titles in his first season at Presque Isle Downs. “I’ve been coming here 21 years as a trainer or galloping horses or working for people, and it’s pretty exciting every year to come back. And the horses seem to love it. The backside is wide open and you can take a little more time with them.”

    The track opens for training on Wednesday at 6 a.m. The 2025-26 Tampa Bay Downs meet begins Wednesday, Nov. 19.

    Even on days when Juan doesn’t have a horse competing, the couple gets to enjoy the thrills of Thoroughbred competition vicariously while working on the backstretch. “It’s one of the few racetracks I’ve been at where you can hear fans cheering from your barn,” Alison said. “There is no casino here and there are always people at the racetrack, and that makes it fun to run horses. It’s almost like a small Keeneland, maybe, where you can hear people screaming for the horses.”

    Mendieta hopes it isn’t long before spectators are cheering for his 2-year-old colt My Boy Star, who he spent time grazing outside his barn upon arriving from Belterra Park in Ohio with five other horses following a 16-hour trip. The Florida-bred, a son of the two-time Gr. II winner and fine stallion Bucchero, is the first horse the owner and trainer has ever bred.

    He is out of Mendieta’s 9-year-old broodmare My Sarasota Star, who won seven races and $230,120 in her racing career and resides in Ocala.

    “He (My Boy Star) had some good workouts at Belterra, but I decided to wait to run him so my wife and our daughters could watch him race,” said Mendieta, who trained 14 winners at Belterra. “I’m real excited to see him run for the first time. Plus, he’s a Florida-bred, so he can run for more money.”

    Mendieta, a trainer since 2023, loves spending the late fall and winter months in Oldsmar and is sure his 20 horses do as well. “The weather is beautiful and the horses can relax and come outside their barns and eat good grass,” he said.

    Tampa Bay Downs has released its stakes schedule, which consists of 24 races worth $3,535,000 in purse money. The track’s showcase race has a new sponsor, with the Gr. III, $400,000 ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby for 3-year-old Kentucky Derby prospects highlighting the Festival Day 46 card on Saturday, March 7.

    Esmark is a diversified, privately-held family company with a portfolio of industrial companies with strong roots in the steel industry. Over the years, Esmark has diversified its interests and operations into a number of businesses engaged in the industrial and commodity sectors, focusing on several key industries including steel services, oil and gas exploration, aviation, real estate, business services, technology and sports management.

    The ESMARK Tampa Bay Derby is one of five stakes on the Festival Day 46 card, along with the Gr. II, $225,000 Hillsborough Stakes for older fillies and mares on the turf; the Gr. III, $200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies on the turf; the Gr. III, $125,000 Michelob Ultra Challenger Stakes for older horses; and the $125,000 Columbia Stakes for 3-year-olds on the turf.

    The track’s other graded stakes, both on Jan. 31 on the turf, are the Grade III, $175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes for older horses and the Grade III, $175,000 Endeavour Stakes for older fillies and mares.

    Lambholm South, which had sponsored the Tampa Bay Derby since 2016, has shifted its stakes sponsorship to Sunday, March 29 – Florida Cup Day – and the $110,000 Lambholm South Sophomore Turf for 3-year-olds.

    A new Florida Cup Day sponsor is the AAA Feed & Tack Store, a Tampa Bay Downs fixture on the backside since 1976. Owned and operated by Jerry Porrello and his wife Nancy, the business will sponsor the $110,000 AAA Feed & Tack Turf Classic for older horses.

    The first stakes Saturday of the meet is Dec. 6, featuring the $125,000 Inaugural Stakes for 2-year-olds and the $125,000 Sandpiper Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.

    Officials and staff of Tampa Bay Downs invite Thoroughbred lovers and newcomers alike to share the excitement of the Oldsmar oval’s meet-long centennial celebration, marking the track’s opening on Feb. 18, 1926.

    Lindy Farms’ Ready for Candy (Twirling Candy-Enoree, by More Than Ready) earned her second graded stakes win and improved to 3-for-3 under the care of trainer Philip Antonacci when she prevailed in the Gr. II, $200,000 Sands Point at Aqueduct Racetrack to lead the slate of stakes-winning OBS graduates for the week.

    Ready for Candy was moved to the Antonacci barn after seven starts with trainer Michael DePaulo last year, including three stakes placings at Woodbine Racetrack. The daughter of Twirling Candy came into the Sands Point off a last-out score in the one-mile, Gr. III Winter Memories.

    “She's a little tricky and you have to get along with her - she has her quirks,” Antonacci said. “But when it comes to the races, she's as professional as it comes and it allows the rider to do whatever he needs to do with her which makes her dangerous.”

    Bred in Ontario by Mark Dodson, Ready for Candy was purchased by Game Time Racing for $60,000 at the 2024 OBS April Sale from the consignment of Tom McCrocklin after breezing in :20 4/5.

    At Gulfstream Park, Half Hollow Stables and ProRacing Stable’s Khozalite (Khozan-Starship Crystal, by Congrats) was impressive returning to the dirt for his stakes debut with a four-length victory in the $200,000 Affirmed. Trained by Jose D’Angelo, Khozalite registered his second straight win following a two-length maiden triumph going a two-turn mile on the Gulfstream turf in his second career start.

    The son of Khozan was purchased by his owners for $55,000 at the 2025 OBS April Sale from the consignment of Journeyman Bloodstock Services after breezing in :21 2/5.

    At Aqueduct, Case Chambers, Paradise Farms Corp. and David Staudacher’s graded stakes-placed Out On Bail (Tiz the Law–Judge Lee, by Street Cry (IRE)) returned to the winner’s circle with a nose victory in Sunday’s $150,000 Carle Place.

    Trained by Mike Maker, Out On Bail notched his first win since taking the Skidmore last year at Saratoga Race Course as part of a six-start campaign that saw him hit the board in each outing. Out On Bail was purchased by Chambers for $110,000 out of the Kings Equine consignment at the 2024 OBS March Sale after breezing in :10 1/5.

    At Santa Anita, Himika (Curlin-Motivated Seller, by Into Mischief) returned to sprinting and delivered as the 1-2 favorite to earn her second stakes win in the $85,000 Anoakia Stakes over fellow OBS grad Revera. Trained by Bob Baffert, Himika was purchased for $900,000 by owner Baoma Corp at this year’s OBS April Sale from the de Meric Sales consignment after breezing in :9 4/5. In August at Del Mar, she earned her first stakes win when annexing the Gr. III Sorrento going six furlongs.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - For a horse whose trainer feels could be even better on the grass, Half Hollow Stables and ProRacing Stable’s Khozalite was impressive returning to the dirt for his stakes debut with a popular and professional four-length victory in Saturday’s $200,000 Affirmed at Gulfstream Park.

    The seven-furlong Affirmed was the last of three stakes worth $470,000 in purses on a 12-race program co-headlined by Mythical’s popular romp in the $200,000 Susan’s Girl for fillies, each part of the $1.2 million Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds by accredited Florida stallions.

    Named for Lou and Patrice Wolfson's Florida-bred 1978 Triple Crown winner who was a five-time champion, back-to-back Horse of the Year and 1980 Hall of Fame inductee, the Affirmed is the middle leg of the FSS series, following the $100,000 Dr. Fager. The series concludes with the $300,000 In Reality Nov. 29.

    Ridden by Leonel Reyes for trainer Jose D’Angelo, Khozalite ($9.20) covered a fast main track in 1:23.30 to register his second straight win following a two-length maiden triumph going a two-turn mile on the Gulfstream turf Aug. 30 in his second career start.

    “I think he’s going to be better on turf. The key with him is the distance. The longer he goes, the better it is for him. That’s why I ran him on the grass, because the two turns is what he needs,” D’Angelo said. “Khozalite is the kind of horse that just needs distance. That’s why I take the shot back on the dirt. He was ready today. I’m very happy with him. He had a nice gallop-out. I’m proud of him and his race.”

    One of three last-out maiden winners in the field of 11 along with Khozalite and D’Angelo-trained stablemate Micanopy, Wootun broke alertly and went straight to the front, leading through an opening quarter in :22.65 seconds with Khozalite pressing to his outside in second. Strategic Risk, a Gulfstream debut winner in June who was exiting back-to-back graded-stakes efforts at Saratoga, saved ground inside in third with Hawk in the clear in fourth.

    The half-mile went in :45.38 when Wootun began to tire and Khozalite eagerly inherited the top spot rounding the far turn with Strategic Risk poised to strike on the far outside in third. Khozalite began to gain separation once straightened for home and had plenty left to turn back a late run from Squire, a Leinster colt who edged Strategic Risk by three-quarters of a length for second.

    “I knew both my horses were well-prepared. I know they were going to run from the start if everything goes good,” D’Angelo said. “When I saw him third and second and making his move turning for home, I knew he was going to be there.”

    Hawk finished fourth, followed by Trelawny, All to Win, I’m Tuff Enough, He’s My Uncle, Micanopy, Wootun and Dr. Fager runner-up Camigol.

    Reyes has been aboard for each of Khozalite’s races including a dead heat for second in a six-furlong dirt maiden special weight against Florida-breds Aug. 2, and has also been up for D’Angelo in morning works.

    “The trip was perfect. His outside post position was good. I tried to go behind the speed. When I asked him at the quarter pole he responded very well,” Reyes said. “After his last work, I was very confident in him because he felt really, really good and ready for the race.”

    D’Angelo said the plan is for Khozalite to target the 1 1/16-mile In Reality on opening weekend of Gulfstream’s 2025-2026 Championship Meet.

 

            “Yes, 100 percent,” he said. “He ran good two turns on the grass so he should be fine there.”

    HALLANDALE BEACH - The $200,000 Susan’s Girl and the $200,000 Affirmed have attracted full fields for next Saturday’s second leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series at Gulfstream Park.

    The Susan’s Girl, a seven-furlong test for 2-year-old fillies sired by accredited Florida stallions, drew a field of 12 (and an also-eligible), including Finding Strength and Love Like Lucy, who finished second and third, respectively, in the $100,000 Desert Vixen, the six-furlong first leg of the Florida Sire Stakes series. Michael Yates-trained Finding Strength finished a nose behind Lennilu, who will bypass the second FSS leg for a planned start in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint on Oct. 31 at Del Mar.

     Jorge Delgado-trained Mythical will return to Gulfstream after incurring her first loss while finishing fifth in the Aug. 30, Gr. I Spinaway at Saratoga. The Arindel home-bred won her April 17 debut at Gulfstream before beating the boys in the June 5 Tremont and capturing the Aug. 3 Gr. III Adirondack at Saratoga.

    Trainer Kenny McPeek entered Blazing Bridgette, a daughter of Uncle Chuck who finished third in her recent career debut at Aqueduct. Trainer Joe Orseno entered Sister Hustle, a daughter of Uncle Chuck who romped by 12 ¼ lengths in her recent debut at Presque Isle Downs for owner/trainer Randall Russell.

     Antonio Sano-trained Camigol, who finished second behind Fourth and Central in the $100,000 Dr. Fager, the six-furlong first leg of the FSS open division, is prominent among 11 entries for the seven-furlong Affirmed. Camigol finished third in the Aug. 2, Gr. III Saratoga Special after breaking his maiden at Gulfstream Park by 5 ¾ lengths. Fourth and Central was not entered in the Affirmed. Jose Pinchin-trained Trelawny, a son of Uncle Chuck who finished three-quarters of a length behind Camigol in the Dr. Fager, is entered to return in the Affirmed.

    Heather Smullen-trained Wootun and the Jose D’Angelo-trained duo of Micanopy and Khozalite, all recent second-start graduates, and Patrick Biancone-trained Squire, a stakes-placed son of Leinster who will return to dirt after a subpar showing on turf in the Hollywood Beach, have also been entered in the Affirmed.

    The Susan’s Girl is carded as Race 8, while the Affirmed is carded as Race 11 on next Saturday’s 12-race program.

    The $70,000 Mr. Jordan, a mile overnight handicap for 3-year-olds and up that is carded as Race 10, drew a highly competitive field of nine, including Sam Wilensky-trained Lure Him In, Bobby DiBona-trained Steal Sunshine, Joe Orseno-trained Hades, Patrick Biancone-trained Classic of Course and Jose Castro-trained Lightning Tones.

    Despite a less-than-ideal break following a six-plus month layoff, Speedway Stables’ Cavalieri (Nyquist-Stiffed, by Stephen Got Even) was unbothered as she remained unbeaten with a victory in the Gr. II, $200,000 Zenyatta Stakes going 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita Park to lead the slate of stakes-winning OBS grads for the week.

    After hopping at the start and trailing the field, Cavalieri improved to 5-for-5 for trainer Bob Baffert while also earning a fees-paid berth to the $2 million Breeders’ Cup Distaff at Del Mar. It was Cavalieri’s first start since winning the Gr. I Beholder Mile in March at Santa Anita. 

    “She is just so talented, the further the better for her,” Baffert said.

    A 4-year-old daughter of Nyquist, Cavalieri was purchased by Peter Fluor’s Speedway Stables for $900,000 from the Wavertree Stables consignment at the 2023 OBS April Sale after she breezed in :20 2/5.

    At Aqueduct, R. Lee Lewis’s Gun Song (Gun Runner – Nicole H, by Mr. Greeley) overtook Gr. 1 winner Randomized and powered away to a score in the Gr. II, $250,000 Beldame Stakes. By winning the Beldame, part of the Breeders' Cup Dirt Dozen series for the $2 million Breeders' Cup Distaff in November at Del Mar, Gun Song receives a credit of $30,000 toward entry fees for the Distaff. Trained by Mark Hennig, the 4-year-old daughter of Gun Runner enjoyed a tremendous sophomore season that included a win in the Gr. II Black-Eyed Susan at Pimlico Race Course.

    Gun Song was purchased by her owner for $400,000 at the 2023 OBS March Sale out of the de Meric Sales consignment after breezing in :10 1/5.

    Also at Aqueduct, George Mellon’s Patriot Spirit (Constitution- Mistical Plan, by Game Plan) power away late to post a 1 1/2-length score in the Gr. III, $200,000 Vosburgh Stakes, earning himself a fees paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint at Del Mar.

    Trained by Michael Campbell, the 4-year-old Constitution colt was purchased by George Mellon for $235,000 out of the Clary Bloodstock consignment at the 2023 OBS March Sale after breezing in :10 flat. 

    At Santa Anita Park, Innovative (Complexity-Lantiz, by Tizway) roared through the stretch to win Saturday’s Gr. III, $100,000 John C. Harris Stakes on the hillside turf course. Innovative prevailed by a neck over Lee’s Baby Girl with another half-length back to morning line favorite and fellow OBS grad Warming in third.

    Trained by Phil D’Amato, the daughter of Complexity is owned by Little Red Feather Racing and Sterling Stables. She was purchased by Little Red Feather Racing for $230,000 at the 2024 OBS April Sale from the consignment of Longoria Training & Sales after breezing in :9 4/5.

    At Gulfstream Park, rising star Lennilu (Leinster – Lulu’s Pom Pom, by Pomeroy) booked her ticket to Del Mar for the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint by capturing her third stakes victory in the $75,000 Hollywood Beach.

    Owned by Amy Dunne, Cailtin Dunne, Brenda Miley, Jean Wilkinson, Hoffman Family Racing, Tranquility Lake Farms, Maury Hamilton and Christopher Harrington, the daughter of Leinster was making her return to turf after prevailing by a nose in the $100,000 Desert Vixen. Trained by Patrick Biancone, Lennilu was purchased by Glencrest Farm for $23,000 from the Abbie Road Farm consignment at the 2024 OBS Winter Mixed Sale.

    At Remington Park, trainer Danny Pish sent out Essential Time (Essential Quality-Twilight Curfew, by Twirling Candy) to victory in the $150,000 Clever Trevor Stakes.

    Owned by Duffy’s Racing Stable and Heider Racing Stables, Essential Time was bred by D. J. Stable and offered at the 2025 OBS April Sale where he failed to meet his reserve after breezing in :10 1/5 from the consignment of 1880 Bloodstock.

    At Remington Park, Everything’s Cricket Racing’s Sabalenka (Good Samaritan-Darling Daughter, by Maria’s Mon) won the $75,000 Ricks Memorial Stakes as she rallied from sixth place to gain the victory over fellow OBS grad Neom Beach. Trained by Joe Sharp, she won by 2 3/4 lengths in a time of 1:42.12 over the firm course.

    Sabalenka was purchased by Four Quarters at the 2022 OBS April Sale and for $35,000 from the Harris Training Center consignment after breezing in :10 1/5.

    So There She Was (Munnings-Risk Premium, by Take Charge Indy) highlighted the Remington Park card when she put away heavy favorite Lemon Zest to take the $200,000 Remington Park Oaks. The 3-year-old filly pocketed $120,000 for owners Great Friends Stables and Mark Davis of Vista, Calif.

    Trained by Doug O’Neill, she was purchased by Mark Davis for $100,000 at the 2024 OBS March Sale from the Gene Recio consignment after breezing in :10 1/5.

    Another winner on the Oklahoma Derby Day card was Paradise Farms, David Staudacher, Gata Racing Stable and Turman Racing’s Woodstock (Yaupon-Hot Hippie, by Medaglia d’Oro) who captured the $50,000 E. L. Gaylord Memorial. The filly, trained by Michael Maker, was purchased by Maker from this year’s OBS March Sale for $100,000 from the Global Thoroughbreds consignment after breezing in :10 2/5.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Amanda Hernandez’s Willow Case came with a steady drive through the stretch to reel in favored Vita Mia and edge clear by three-quarters of a length to extend her win streak to three races in Friday’s $75,000 Hallandale Beach at Gulfstream Park.

    Named for the city that Gulfstream has called home since it opened in 1939, the Hallandale Beach for 2-year-old fillies going a one-turn mile headlined a nine-race program to kick off September’s final weekend of the Sunshine Meet.

    Ridden by Leonel Reyes for trainer Ramon Minguet, Willow Case ($8) covered a fast main track in 1:38.01 to win her second consecutive stakes following Gulfstream’s six-furlong Sharp Susan Aug. 9.

     “I was very confident because she is a very professional, very focused filly,” Minguet said. “I thought that running a mile it would fit her very well. I think the longer distance is better for her than the short distance.”

    Reyes had Willow Case positioned in fourth as 45-1 longshot Triple Threat led along the rail through a quarter-mile in 24.02 seconds with Sharp Susan runner-up Tessellate between horses in second and Sept. 6 maiden winner Vita Mia cruising three wide in third. Tessellate inherited the lead pressed to her outside by Vita Mia when Triple Threat began to drop back after a half in 47.19.

     “This filly ran beautifully,” Reyes said. “It was the plan to sit behind the speed. I was behind two or three horses and at the eighth pole, I took her out and she finished good.”

    Reyes tipped Willow Case to the far outside approaching the stretch and, after Vita Mia put away Tessellate, the bay daughter of Neolithic continued to gain ground with every stride before moving up on even terms past the sixteenth pole and galloping past the wire.

    “That was the plan, to stalk the pace behind the speed horses. She was running well and I was happy with her position. She closed the way I expected,” Minguet said. “In the last half-furlong I got a little worried, but at the end she responded.”

    Vita Mia was second, followed by Tessellate, Dakota’s Lil Auror, That Police – who stumbled badly out of the starting gate – and Triple Threat.

    Reyes was encouraged with the way Willow Case galloped out in what was her fourth career race and first at a route of ground. “I think she can get more distance – a mile, a mile and an eighth, a mile and a sixteenth,” he said. “That will be OK for her.”

    Willow Case went off a 30-1 longshot when she ran a distant fourth behind subsequent Grade 3 winner Mythical in debut April 17, returning two weeks later to graduate by a neck at 14-1 odds going the same 4 ½-furlong distance. She went unraced until the Sharp Susan, which she won in a 27-1 upset. Friday she was the third choice in a field of six at 3-1.

    “We’ll see how she comes back to the barn. It’s been working for her to give her some time between races, four weeks to six weeks, and she responds to that,” Minguet said. “We’ll see in a few weeks what it looks like.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - Joe Bravo turned 54 during the three months he was sidelined with a broken right pinky finger, giving the journeyman rider with more than 5,700 career victories a brief glimpse into retirement. Suffice it to say, it wasn’t for him. At least not yet.

    “I could retire tomorrow, yes, but if you wake up and you have no purpose, it’s kind of tough,” Bravo said. “For the last quite a few years now, I’ve not tried to ride a lot of races. I want to kind of hold on to my job. By not riding a lot of races, I think I can keep my job going a lot longer.

    “Every day you go out, especially here at Gulfstream Park, you’ve got these maiden special weight races that come out and you never know who’s going to come out of here. I remember going back to a thing like Curlin coming down the stretch in his maiden victory. That horse was coming down the middle of the racetrack. Nobody knew who he was … and it was tomorrow’s superstar. I’m kind of hoping to team up with one of those again.”

    Bravo is named on Fausto Gutierrez-trained 3-year-old colt Rashid in Race 7 Friday at Gulfstream, a claiming event for 3-year-olds and up scheduled for one mile on the turf. They are rated at 4-1 on the morning line, third choice in a field of seven.

    On Saturday, Bravo is named to ride stakes winner Big Data for trainer Michael Lerman in the $70,000 Duke of Mischief overnight handicap and Gutierrez’s Show Off in the $75,000 Ginger Punch Handicap on the undercard of the $200,000 Princess Rooney (G3), a ‘Win and You’re In’ qualifier for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint (G1).

    “I was off three months so it took me like two weeks I was getting on horses. I’m going to take another two weeks here at Gulfstream before I start,” Bravo said. “I only ride one race [Friday]. I want to see how it all goes. I ride two on Saturday, both stakes races. I like that. Stakes are good.

    “It’s all going to be touch and feel,” he added. “To be honest, in the back of my head I’m thinking, ‘I carry a stick.’ I broke my little pinky so when I go to hit, it’s going to be pretty interesting. That’s like the only question, physically, I have. It seems like, ‘it’s just a pinky,’ but that little pinky kept me out all summer.”

    Bravo, whose 5,719th and latest victory came June 6 at Churchill Downs, has not ridden since June 13 at Gulfstream when he was hurt following Special Aviator’s fourth-place finish as the favorite in one-mile optional claiming allowance on the grass. A seemingly minor incident turned into an unplanned summer holiday.

    “Everybody’s asking, ‘What happened? Where’s Joe been all summer long?’ You don’t really hear [about] it because it was pulling up after a race. I was galloping a horse out, and this game is so dangerous,” Bravo said. “It was one of those things where you don’t think you’d get injured. All of a sudden the horse stopped and she decided to go the other direction. I came off and when I went, I tried to brace myself.

    “They ended up having to do surgery. They put a screw in it, so all summer long I’ve been on vacation. It was kind of a nice time to step back from racing, but then I looked outside the racing world and said, ‘What [have] I miss[ed]?’ It seemed like every trip I did it was Saratoga, Del Mar, Monmouth Park. I missed racing. I was born 5-[foot]-2 for a reason. I was born for this stuff. I’m a jockey. What do you do on vacation? I visit racetracks.”

    Though diligent in his recovery, Bravo got a quick reminder of the demands riders face on a daily basis once he returned to the irons to gallop during morning workouts.

    “The first day I got o horses, I was so sore,” he said. “That was the biggest frustration for me. Ever since the surgery on the hand, I had hand physical therapy but then I was lucky enough on the off days – it was like a seven-days-a-week process – of doing personal training, too. So I kept myself halfway in shape like that, but there’s nothing like being back on a horse.

    “You’ve got get your timing back and you’ve got to take baby steps. When the doctor releases you, you can’t just go do it,” Bravo added. “You’ve got to do the gym to get basic [fitness], you’ve got to get the fitness on a horse, but then you’ve got to get your timing down. Turning for home, throwing the cross and getting after them. It’s a baby-step process.”

    The son and grandson of jockeys, Bravo rode his first race March 6, 1988 at Calder Race Course, where his first winner came 11 days later. A 13-time meet leader at Monmouth, mere miles from where he was born in Long Branch, N.J., ‘Jersey Joe’ ranks ninth among active riders in victories and 26th overall. He has earned more than $204 million in purses from 32,035 mounts.

    “Everyone says, ‘Joe, how did you almost win 6,000 races?’ Well, when I was younger I was a little bit more ambitious,” Bravo laughed. “I feel really bad for the younger riders coming up these days, because there’s not as much opportunity just because there’s not as much racing going on. I was blessed when I came up. I was riding day and night. Atlantic City, Philadelphia, Garden State Parkway ran at night, Meadowlands ran at night. Many times I’d ride at Belmont [Park] during the day, go over and ride Meadowlands at night, sleep in Manhattan and go do it again.”

    During his down time this summer, when not working out or rehabbing Bravo did some television analysis during the Haskell (G1) program at Monmouth and also attended the prestigious yearling sales in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

    “Having the summer off, it gave me the chance to think, ‘What am I going to do the day that I can’t ride any races?’ I did dabble in a little bit of commentating and stuff like that, but another kind of passion that I thought about and I would love to try to get into is bloodstock,” Bravo said. “I went to all the sales at Saratoga and everything. Looking at horses and how they develop, it’s kind of what I’ve been doing every day for 30 plus years.

    “When I look at a horse I kind of look at what they could kind of develop into. It’s something I’d like to dabble with,” he added. “If I could kind of mingle that in with commentary and do some bloodstock … I don’t think I could ever walk away from horse racing. Horse racing’s pretty fun. Every day you don’t know what to expect.”

    Winner of the 2019 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) with Blue Prize and third in the 2014 Kentucky Derby (G1) aboard Danza whose first Grade 1 win came on Formal Gold in the former Donn Handicap at Gulfstream, Bravo isn’t thinking about reaching 6,000 wins or any other career milestones.

    “All I can do is worry about trying my best on the next horse I ride,” he said. “Hopefully we have a couple more years left to enjoy this game. You can’t put a number on anything. You never know what’s going to happen. This is a crazy world. Be appreciative of what you’ve got around you at the moment. Everything else is cherry."

    HALLANDALE BEACH - More than 40 years ago, three-time Eclipse Award-winning owner and breeder Dan Lasater had an idea. Lasater sat down with Kenny Noe Jr., president of Calder Race Course, and suggested Calder play host to a three-pronged stakes series for 2-year-olds to promote the growing Florida breeding industry.

    Come Saturday, Lasater’s Florida Sire Stakes Series will celebrate its 44th running when Gulfstream Park plays host to the first leg of what is now the $1.2 million series.

    The 2-year-old series begins with the $100,000 Dr. Fager and Desert Vixen at six furlongs, continues with the $200,000 Affirmed and Susan’s Girl on Oct. 18 at seven furlongs, and concludes on Nov. 29, the opening weekend of the Championship Meet, with the $300,000 In Reality and My Dear Girl at 1 1/16 miles.

    The series has produced champions Holy Bull, Smile, Big Drama, Awesome Feather and Brave Raj along with other Gr. 1 winners Jackson Bend, Three Ringsand Mecke.

    Saturday’s $100,000 Dr. Fager drew a field of eight, including the likely favorite in Squire, co-owned and trained by Patrick Biancone. The gelded son of Leinster broke his maiden at first asking on the dirt going 4 ½ furlongs before finishing second on the turf in the Royal Palm Juvenile Stakes, a ‘Win and In’ for Royal Ascot. The gelding worked a ‘bullet’ three furlongs on Aug. 30 in :35 3/5 from the gate. Jonathan Ocasio is named to ride.

    Trainer Michael Yates, who swept the Sire Stakes last year with St. Elias Stable’s Rated by Merit, will saddle Fourth and Central. The Shadybrook Farm homebred son of Cajun Breeze won his debut at 4 ½ furlongs before finishing a troubled fifth in the Proud Man over a sloppy six-furlong track. Marcos Meneses will ride. Trainer Jose Pinchin will send out Trelawny, fourth in the Proud Man, while trainer Antonio Sano will saddle Camigol, a winner here at 4 ½ furlongs in his second start before finishing third in the Gr. II Saratoga Special. Edwin Gonzalez will ride.

    Emisael Jaramillo will ride All to Win, who won his only race at six furlongs here, while Edgard Zayas has been named on first-time starter Jamalamadingdong for trainer Jose D’Angelo.

    In the $100,000 Desert Vixen for fillies, Biancone has entered Lennilu, winner of the Royal Palm Juvenile Fillies and third in Royal Ascot’s Gr. II Queen Mary. Biancone could also run Lennilu in the $1 million Untapable at Kentucky Downs on Sunday, Sept. 7.

    If Lennilu heads to Kentucky, Yates could have the favorite in Finding Strength, a Khozan filly owned by LNJ Foxwoods and Church Street Stables. The filly finished third in her debut here before winning at 5 ½ furlongs by 4 ¼ lengths. Yates has entered Copper Creole, a daughter of Cajun Breeze who was third in her debut at five furlongs on the turf. Leading trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. has entered Love Like Lucy, a $300,000 daughter of Win Win Win who won her only start at six furlongs. Zayas will ride.

    Saturday’s 11-race program will also include the $70,000 Mambo Meister, a mile turf event for 3-year-olds and up. The 11-horse field includes And Uwish, second in the Warrior’s Pride to Reef Runner, who was disqualified from victory Saturday in Del Mar’s Gr. III Green Flash, and Goes the Clown, who will be seeking his fourth consecutive victory.

    OLDSMAR - Florida-bred horses will compete for an additional $1 million in purse money during the upcoming 2025-26 Tampa Bay Downs meet, the track’s 100th anniversary season.

    The increase brings the total of additional purse money available for registered Sunshine State products to more than $2 million during the 90-day meet. The money will be 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.

    “We’re delighted this money has become available,” said Allison De Luca, the track’s Director of Racing and Racing Secretary. “It’s a significant boost for Florida-breds and should help (increase) entries.”

    The money will be paid to all Florida-bred horses finishing first, second or third in overnight races on a 70-20-10-percent basis. Florida-breds will be running for $55,000-$56,500 in all maiden special weight and allowance races.

    The 2025-26 meet is scheduled to begin Wednesday, Nov. 19 and run through Sunday, May 3. Stall applications are available online at www.tampabaydowns.com and are due by Sept. 15. The first condition book will be available at www.equibase.com on Wednesday.

    Officials and staff of Tampa Bay Downs invite Thoroughbred lovers and newcomers alike to share the excitement of the Oldsmar oval’s meet-long centennial celebration, marking the track’s opening on Feb. 18, 1926.

    Baoma Corp’s Himika (Curlin-Motivated Seller, by Into Mischief), the 1-5 favorite in a field of six fillies at Del Mar, made a successful step up in class when she captured the six-furlong, $150,500, Gr. III Sorrento Stakes by 4 1/4 lengths, becoming one of two OBS grads to earn graded victories over the weekend.

    The bay daughter of Curlin won her second race in as many starts, covering the distance in 1:10.61 for trainer Bob Baffert, who won the race for the ninth time. “She took care of business in the stretch,” jockey Juan Hernandez said.

    She was purchased by her owners for $900,000 at this year’s OBS April Sale from the de Meric Sales consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.

    A day earlier at Del Mar, Pegram, Watson and Weitman’s Desert Gate (Omaha Beach-Theogony, by Curlin) cruised to an 8 ¾ length victory in $150,000, Gr. III Best Pal Stakes over a field of five. Like Himika, the colt was handled by the meet’s leading rider, Juan Hernandez, and gave trainer Bob Baffert his 12th victory in the race. Desert Gate had scored by 2 ¼ lengths in his racing debut in June at Santa Anita. “It’s nice to see these horses develop like this,” Baffert told Del Mar publicity.

    Gate was purchased by his owners for $260,000 at the 2025 OBS March Sale from the Navas Equine consignment after breezing in :9 4/5.

    Other OBS grads who earned stakes wins during the week included Green With MV Stable’s Diciassette (Mitole-Im a Dixie Diva, by Henny Hughes), who accelerated through the lane to go on to a one-length victory in Saturday’s $75,000 Proud Man at Gulfstream Park.

    Trained by Patrick Biancone, Diciassette was making his second career start. Fellow OBS grad Khon Han, who broke last and trailed the field in the early stages, made a dramatic late run to be second, two lengths ahead of another OBS grad in Wine Candy.

    A son of Mitole, Diciassette was purchased for $34,000 by Superfine from the Abbie Road Farm at the 2024 OBS October Yearling Sale.

    At Colonial Downs, JR Ranch and MyRacehorse’s Reputation (Bolt d’Oro-Final Reward, by Arch) captured the $100,000 Tyson Gilpin Stakes by 6 ¾ lengths. Trained by Gustavo Delgado, Reputation bested a field that saw fellow OBS grad G W’s Girl finish third. Reputation was purchased by de Meric Sales for $135,000 from the Kaizen Sales consignment at the 2023 OBS October Yearling Sale.

    At Canterbury Park, Valene Farms’ Carson Bay (Midshipman - Karakorum Fugitive, by Ten Most Wanted) captured the $75,000 Minnesota Oaks, setting all the fractions before drawing away to win by 5 1/2 lengths. Trained by Gary Scherer, Carson Bay was purchased for $70,000 by Murray Valene at the 2024 OBS March Sale from the consignment of Niall Brennan Stables after galloping during the under-tack show.

    At Assiniboia on Aug. 4, Attack (Munnings - Ammannati (Ire), by Galileo (Ire)) earned the win in the $125,750 Manitoba Derby after heavy favorite Take Charge Tom, who crossed the finish line first, was disqualified for interference shortly after leaving the gate, as a result of four different claims of foul, two by jockeys and two by trainers. 

    The son of Munnings is trained by Craig Robert Smith and owned by a partnership that includes Highfield Investment Group, Inc., Dialed In Racing Stable, Bruce Appleyard, Jamie Graham, Lucky Diamonds Racing, Smokin Guns Stable, James and Robert Bauder, and John and Leslie O’Neill. Attack was purchased for $300,000 at the 2024 OBS March Sale by D. J. Stable from the Ocala Stud consignment after breezing in :21 2/5.

    At Hastings, Peter Redekop’s Avana (Vino Rosso-Revealing Moment by After Market) drew clear late for the victory in the $50,000 BC Cup Distaff Handicap for trainer Barbara Heads. She was purchased by Mike Ryan, agent, for $150,000 at the 2023 OBS March Sale from consignor Cary Frommer after breezing in :10 2/5.

    HALLANDALE BEACH - The $200,000, Gr. III Princess Rooney Invitational, a Breeders’ Cup ‘Win and You’re In’ event, will highlight the 2025 Sunshine Meet stakes schedule of 17 races worth $1.625 million in purses at Gulfstream Park.

    The seven-furlong stakes for fillies and mares, which offers the winner a fees-paid berth in the $1 million Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint on Nov. 1 at Del Mar, will be renewed Sept. 20.

    Last year, Saffie Joseph Jr.-trained Soul of an Angel captured the Princess Rooney by 3 ¼ lengths before going on to rally from last to prevail in the seven-furlong Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint by a half-length at Del Mar. Michael McCarthy-trained Ce Ce won the 2021 Princess Rooney before going on to score in the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar. Ce Ce returned to Gulfstream to win the 2022 Princess Rooney, but was unsuccessful in her defence of  her Breeders’ Cup title at Keeneland. Both Soul of an Angel and Ce Ce were honored with the Champion Female Sprinter Eclipse Award after winning the Princess Rooney and Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Sprint.

    The stakes action for the Sunshine Meet (Sept. 5 through Nov. 23) will be kicked off by the first leg of the FTBOA Florida Sire Stakes series for 2-year-olds, Florida-breds. The $100,000 FSS Dr. Fager, a six-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds, and the $100,000 FSS Desert Vixen, a six-furlong dash for juvenile fillies, will be run on Sept. 6.

    FSS action will resume Oct. 18 with the $150,000 FSS Affirmed, a seven-furlong sprint for 2-year-olds, and the $150,000 FSS Susan’s Girl, a seven-furlong stakes for juvenile fillies.

    The $100,000 Gil Campbell Memorial, a mile stakes for Florida-bred 3-year-olds and up, will also be featured on the Oct. 18 program. Campbell, the late president of the Florida Thoroughbred Breeders and Owners Association, owned Stonehedge Farm South in Williston, FL with his wife Marilyn, who is still very much active in breeding and owning Florida-breds.

    Seven stakes are scheduled to be conducted on a turf course that is currently undergoing renovation. The $75,000 Bob Umphrey Sprint, a five-furlong dash for 3-year-olds and up, and the $75,000 Ginger Punch, a mile stakes for fillies and mares, will kick off the turf stakes action on the Princess Rooney Invitational undercard on Sept. 20.