There’s still great horse racing action at Florida’s secondary track, Tampa Bay Downs
Gulfstream Park and Tampa Bay Downs continue to offer awesome horse racing action. This blog is about Florida’s secondary track. Check out everything per head bookie agents must know to promote wagering on Tampa Bay Downs!
Nowadays, it’s important that bookies are flexible. In addition to offering wagering on sports, bookies must also offer betting on eSports, the online casino, and yes, horse racing. If the pandemic has proved anything it’s that bettors will bet.
Handle, the amount of money wagered on horse races, have gone up at tracks throughout the nation. Some tracks have had to shut their doors due to Covid-19. That’s not the case for the two Florida tracks, though.
Tampa Bay offers live wagering 4 days every week.
The racetrack in Florida offers live wagering 4 days out of the week. The first racing day is on a Wednesday. Tampa skips Thursday but then runs races on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Check out typical post-times for each day of the week!
Wednesday Post Time – 12:40 pm ET
Friday Post Time – 12:45 pm ET
Saturday Post Time – 12:20 pm ET
Sunday Post Time – 12:25 pm ET
Make sure your players know when the post times are for Tampa Bay race days.
Jockeys and trainers at Tampa Bay Downs
Casual horse racing bettors won’t know the names on this list. But people who have wagered on horse racing for a while, or hardcore horse racing fans, will know many of these names. Trainers and jockeys often switch between Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park.
Because Aqueduct, Santa Anita, and Keeneland aren’t running races right now, some big-name jockeys and trainers may join the Tampa Bay Meet. Before getting to those names, let’s take a look at the top jockeys and trainers at Tampa Bay Downs. We’ve added the win percentage next to each name.
Top 5 jockeys by win percentage
Antonio Gallardo – 23%
Daniel Centeno – 22%
Samy Camacho – 21%
Jesus L Castanon – 20%
Jose Ferrer – 15%
Gallardo, Centeno, Camacho, Castanon, and Ferrer have rode at Tampa Bay Downs for years. Among the 5, Antonio Gallardo gets the most attention. He has for the past couple of years. But all 5 of the jockeys above listed are worth a couple of lengths almost each and every time they ride.
When jockeys pair with winning trainers, the combination can lead to wins and in the money finishes. Check out 7 of the top trainers at the current Tampa Bay Downs meet.
Top Tampa Bay Downs horse trainers.
Larry Rivelli – 43%
Jordan Blair – 27%
John Rigattieri – 26%
Darien Rodriguez – 26%
Rory Barron – 25%
Derek Ryan – 20%
Kathleen O’Connell – 20%
There are a couple of things to note about the Top 7 trainers list. As of Saturday, March 28, Larry Rivelli had saddled 7 runners. That doesn’t mean his win percentage isn’t valid. It means that when Rivelli puts the saddle on a runner, that horse is a contender.
Jordan Blair, John Rigattieri, and Jordan Blair, as of Saturday, had all saddled less than 30 runners at the meet. Again, it doesn’t mean that their horses won’t win. It does mean that they pick and choose where they run their horses. That’s not a bad thing.
If you want to give your players a good trainer tip, though, tell them to consider wagering on Darien Rodriguez horses. Darien is the most consistent trainer at Tampa Bay Downs. Before Sunday’s race card, Rodriguez had a 14-14-6 record from 51 races. Not only has Darien won at a 26% clip with more horses than Blair, Rigattieri, Rivelli, and Barron, but he’s also put his horses into the money, that’s first, second or third, 63% of the time.
Tell your sports bettors to bet on Darien Rodriguez horses. You want them to cash a few tickets. Nothing keeps a bettor’s interest more than winning!
Tampa Bay Downs runs on dirt and turf
Some racetracks, like Oaklawn Park in Arkansas, run exclusively on dirt. Others, like Turfway in Kentucky, run races on an all-weather surface. Tampa Bay runs on both turf and dirt.
Horseplayers know that both the Tampa dirt and Tampa turf “play fast”. By play fast, we mean that speed horses, equines that take the lead or run near the lead, have a better chance of winning than horses that come off the pace.
That doesn’t mean that players shouldn’t wager on horses that come off the pace at Tampa Bay Downs. It means that the race must set up for closers. Most races won’t. This is another tip that you can provide to your players. The more tips you can give them to potentially win, the more likely they are to play races at TB Downs.
PayPerHead bookies can promote wagering on horse racing
If you provide your players with helpful tips about Tampa Bay Downs, they’ll take a look at the races. It’s a great way to get sports bettors interested in betting on the ponies.
Boss Action has added Fonner Park to our list of racetrack offerings. If you haven’t signed up to become a Boss Action per head agent, now is the best time to do so. Sign up today!
