Tampa Bay Downs 2021-22 meet begins Wednesday
When racing returns Wednesday at Tampa Bay Downs, trainer Gerald Bennett will pursue not only his seventh consecutive training title, but also his 4,000th career win.
It likely will not take long: The 77-year-old trainer stands at 3,997 wins and has five entries on opening day.
Bennett told Horse Racing Nation that he "claimed a lot of horses at Delaware but kind of a little higher up. So I'm hoping that I'll be able to run them."
Click here for Tampa Bay Downs entries.
One of those claimers is X Y Speed, a 5-year-old gelding who won the black-type Laurel Dash at Laurel Park on Oct. 2 in his first start for Bennett.
Tampa Bay Downs made repairs and improvements to its grandstand, clubhouse, paddock and barn area during the summer and fall, according to a news release from the track.
The 2021-22 meeting, which officially began on July 1 (the second day of the track’s annual Summer Festival of Racing), will run through Saturday, May 7 (Kentucky Derby Day), plus an additional day of racing on June 30 to kick off the 2022 Summer Festival.
Racing primarily will be conducted on Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays (beginning Dec. 26) during the 91-day meeting, with an additional day of racing on Thursday, Dec. 23. The track will be closed Thanksgiving, Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, April 17.
Samy Comacho was the leading jockey last year, and he has mounts in all nine races on Wednesday's card. Last year's runner-up Antonio Gallardo, who was Tampa Bay Downs' leading jockey in 2019-20, has three mounts on Wednesday, though one is an also-eligible.
Winning Stables Inc., the leading owner last year, has one entry for Wednesday. The stable is owned by Bennett's wife, Mary Bennett.
"So she's the best claim I ever made, I guess," Gerald Bennett said. "She's a workhorse."
The stakes calendar kicks off on Dec. 4 with two $100,000 races for juveniles: the Inaugural Stakes and the Sandpiper for fillies, both at six furlongs.
The first graded stakes will be on Feb. 5, with the Sam F. Davis one of three Grade 3 races on the calendar. It offers 10-4-2-1 Kentucky Derby qualifying points. Also on Feb. 5, the listed Suncoast Stakes offers 10-4-2-1 points toward the Kentucky Oaks.
The Tampa Bay Derby (G2) on March 12 offers 50-20-10-5 points.
Here is the wagering menu for the meet:
8-race card
Race 1 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5, *Pick-5
Race 2 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 3 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5, Ultimate 6
Race 4 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-5, Super High 5
Race 5 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 6 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 7 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Super High 5
Race 8 WPS EX TRI Super, Super High 5
9-race card
Race 1 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5, *Pick-5
Race 2 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 3 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 4 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5, Ultimate 6
Race 5 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-5, Super High 5
Race 6 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 7 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-, Super High 5
Race 8 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Super High 5
Race 9 WPS EX TRI Super, Super High 5
*Early pick 5 / No Carryover Provision
10-race card
Race 1 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3,*Pick 5, Super High 5
Race 2 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 3 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 4 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 5 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5, Ultimate 6
Race 6 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-5, Super High 5
Race 7 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 8 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 9 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Super High 5
Race 10 WPS EX TRI Super, Super High 5
*Early Pick-5 / No Carryover Provision
11-race card
Race 1 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, *Pick 5, Super High 5
Race 2 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 3 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 4 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 5 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 6 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5, Ultimate 6
Race 7 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-5, Super High 5
Race 8 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 9 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 10 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Super High 5
Race 11 WPS EX TRI Super, Super High 5
*Early Pick-5 / No Carryover Provision
12-race card
Race 1 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 2 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, *Pick 5, Super High 5
Race 3 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 4 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 5 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 6 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 7 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5, Ultimate 6
Race 8 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-5, Super High 5
Race 9 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Pick-4, Super High 5
Race 10 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Pick-3, Super High 5
Race 11 WPS DD EX TRI Super, Super High 5
Race 12 WPS EX TRI Super, Super High 5
*Early Pick-5 / No Carryover Provision
Minimum wager: 10-cent superfecta, 50-cent pick 3, 50-cent pick 4, 50-cent pick 5, 50-cent trifecta; 20-cent Ultimate 6; $1 minimum on all other wagers.
Stop Wagering: Wagering must stop at the opening of the starting gate.
Early pick 5: No carryover provision
Ultimate 6: 75% paid out on multiple winning tickets
Ultimate 6: 25% to jackpot
Take-out percentages:
17.0% Win, place, show
15.0% Pick 5
18.0% Daily double
18.0% Pick 3, pick 4, Super High 5
20.5% Exacta
25.9% Trifecta, superfecta
20.0% Ultimate 6