Tampa Bay Downs finishes meet with gain in all-sources handle
The curtain came down on the 100th anniversary season of Tampa Bay Downs on Sunday, and the 90-day meet was an overall success with gains in handle and on-track attendance, as well as purses paid to the horsemen and horsewomen who supported the stakes and overnight programs.
Daily attendance for the live 2025-26 meet increased 10.6%. On-track wagering figures remained flat in comparison to the previous year, but total handle from all sources rose about 1%. The horsemen and horsewomen were the beneficiaries of higher purses, which were increased by 3.10% for this meet.
“I am very pleased with the meet, especially when you look at the year-to-date national handle being down 4.69% and Tampa being up 1%,” said Peter Berube, the vice president and general manager of the track.
Florida-bred horses competed for an additional $1 million in purse money during the meet and the increase brought the total of additional purse money available for registered Florida horses to more than $2 million. The money was 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.
Track mainstays owner-trainer Juan Arriagada, trainers Kathleen O’Connell and Juan Carlos Avila, and jockey Samuel Marin were standouts in their respective categories. Cesar Gonzalez made his mark as the leading apprentice rider with 21 visits to the winner’s circle.
Arriagada claimed his fourth straight leading owner title with 25 wins, and in the trainers division he finished with 38 victories, two behind Avila and O’Connell, who tied atop the leaderboard with 40 wins each. For O’Connell, this was her fifth title overall and third in a row.
During his outstanding meet Marin was the runaway leader in the rider’s category as he recorded multiple six-win days and smashed the record for most wins in a single season, which had stood for more than a decade, with 154 victories. The previous record for most wins by a jockey in one meet was 147, set by Tony Gallardo in 2014-15. Marin, who took the title last year with 116 scores, finished his season with double the number of wins by his closest competitors, Sonny Leon and Samy Camacho, who tied for second place with 77 victories each.
Marin, a 25-year-old Venezuelan native who began his career just four years ago, is moving his tack to Delaware Park and will be joined in the jockey colony by Gonzalez this summer.
The 4-year-old filly Long Gone Sally, who was bred in Florida by Oakleaf Farm, owned by Tom Abrahamson, and trained by Lynn Rarick, won more races than any other horse as she took six of her eight starts.
Live racing returns to Tampa Bay Downs on Nov. 25, 2026 for the 101st season at Tampa Bay Downs, which first opened its doors in 1926.