BY BROCK SHERIDAN

Mad House, a winner of four straight last year including the Grade 2 Gallant Bob at Parx Racing, made a head-turning return in his 2026 debut with a nearly four-length score in an upper tier, $100,000 optional claiming at Tampa Bay Downs Saturday. In taking the winner’s share of the $51,900 test, Florida-bred Mad House clocked six furlongs in 1:08.85, just .18 of a second off the 14-year-old track record set by Florida-bred It’s Me Mom in the 2012 Hilton Garden Inn Sprint.

Ridden from the outside post six by Sonny Leon, Mad House was a length ahead of fellow Florida-bred Chrome Ghost in second through a half mile in :44.42 on the fast track. He began to increase his margin around the turn to lead by two lengths in the stretch before crossing the wire three-and-three-quarters lengths ahead of Dreaming of Kona, who nosed out Chrome Ghost for second. Chrome Ghose was followed in order by Florida-breds Khozeiress, El Principito and Neshume.

Mad House paid $3.40 to win as the 3-5 favorite.

Trained by David Van Winkle, Mad House has now won five of 11 career starts with a second and a third while banking $318,015 for owner James Thares, founder and CEO of Primrose Properties based in Aberdeen, South Dakota. Thares purchased Mad House for $47,000 out of the Wavertree Stables consignment at the 2024 Ocala Breeders’ Sales Spring Sale of 2-year-olds in training and horses of racing age.

Mad House is by Vekoma out of Stifled Heiress, by Munnings and was bred in Florida by Dr. Jean White, Wavertree Farm and Steven Venosa’s SGV Thoroughbreds.

The chestnut gelding did not break his maiden until his sixth start, but the light came on suddenly with an 11 ½-length victory in a five-and-a-half-furlong maiden special weight at Canterbury Park in June of last year. He would win his next two at Canterbury by a combined 10 ¾ lengths before taking the Gallant Bob by two-and-three-quarter lengths on September 20. Van Winkle and Thares then took him to last year’s Cygames Breeder’s Cup Sprint (G1) at Del Mar, but he finished last of 14.

Return to the March 6 issue of Wire to Wire