Endsley Oaks Farm and trainer Gerald Bennett have tentatively secured the leading owner and leading trainer titles, respectively, for the 2021-2022 Tampa Bay Downs meeting.
Despite On-Track Limitations, Tampa Bay Downs Enjoys Strong Betting Season Sponsored by:
Tampa Bay Downs in Oldsmar, Fla.
When Richard Grunder called the 37,587th and final race of his marvelous 37-year Tampa Bay Downs career on May 2, it was as if a giant balloon whished into another dimension, never to be recaptured.
While 21st Century technology permits fans to revisit Grunder s greatest calls, such as the riveting Street Sense-Any Given Saturday duel in the 2007 Tampa Bay Derby, the Fan Appreciation Day card earlier this month was fraught with the reminder that change is inevitable in all avenues of life.
That truism had been reinforced when the 2020- 21 Oldsmar oval meeting resumed back on Nov. 25, slightly more than eight months after the COVID-19 pandemic turned everyone s world upside down. No one was certain how Thoroughbred racing fans would respond to temperature checks, mandatory face coverings and strict social distancing. Attendance was limited to about 3