BY STEVE KOCH

Florida-bred thoroughbreds are making their presence felt at Tampa Bay Downs, posting impressive gains through the first 18 dates of the track’s 100th anniversary meet.

The headline number: earnings per racing day surged 11 percent, from roughly $85,000 to more than $94,000—representing 40 percent of total daily purses and early evidence that the track’s new 25% purse share for Florida-breds is drawing quality Florida-bred runners to Oldsmar. The incentive structure is funded by the Florida Owners Awards program and the new Tampa Bay Downs/HBPA/Florida Fund, backed by $1.5 million in state support.

The gains are especially notable given one fewer racing date compared to the November-December period a year ago, and the absence of two $100,000 Florida Sire Stakes that had been early-December fixtures: the Marion County and the City of Ocala.

Participation is up as well. While overall starters remain essentially flat, Florida-bred runners jumped 9 percent, capturing a growing share of the action on the Tampa Bay circuit.

Return to the January 7 issue of Wire to Wire