By Ray Paulick
For those racing fans who come to Florida during the winter months and are unhappy with the sterile environment of Calder Race Course or the schizophrenic nature of Gulfstream Park Racing & Casino, I have three words for you: Tampa Bay Downs.

The little racetrack near Tampa that first opened its doors in 1926 is absolute heaven for fans of Thoroughbred racing. If you like good value, sitting outdoors in the Florida sun, or getting a close-up look at the horses, Tampa Bay is the place to go in the Sunshine State. After coming to Florida for the better part of 40 years, I made my first visit to Tampa Bay Downs last weekend, and the only question I had was, “What took so long?”

Though the track offers a card room, a modern simulcast center and other indoor comforts, the main attraction at Tampa Bay Downs is old-fashioned live horse racing. Good-sized fields and competitive takeouts make Tampa an interesting track for horseplayers, too, and the fact that handle for the current winter season is on par with the 2007-08 meeting is a sign that track management, led by GM Peter Berube, is doing something right, especially in the face of a very difficult economy.

I was pleasantly surprised to see a nearly full parking lot and a bustling clubhouse and grandstand when I arrived for the Saturday program, when attendance reached almost 5,000. Free parking and only $3 for clubhouse admission makes Tampa Bay Downs an entertainment bargain for people in the area, and the competitive takeouts (win, place, show 17.5%; daily double 18%; pick 3s, pick 4s, etc, 20%; exactas, 21.5%; trifectas, superfectas, 25.9%) helped the track rank 11^th in the recent survey by the Horseplayers Association of North America.
High takeouts at Tampa were a sore spot among some gamblers in recent years. “We’ve been very aggressive the last four years in reducing and tweaking our takeout,” said Berube.

Berube said the economy presents a very real challenge to the track, which he said relies on retired snowbirds and tourists from the north. As a result, on-track attendance is down about 5% and on-track handle has declined 10% this year. Simulcast figures have helped make up for the on-track wagering shortfalls. “The weekends have been fine, but weekday programs have been very soft on-track,” Berube said. “The weekday customers are the ones who are mostly on fixed income.” Those are the folks who have seen their retirement savings hammered by the collapse in the stock market.

Berube said Tampa essentially has the same market as Gulfstream Park on Florida’s East Coast. “Just like them, we’re selling Florida sunshine and good entertainment value.”

The difference between the two winter tracks, especially since Gulfstream Park was rebuilt and is now as much a casino as it is a racetrack, is as clear as night and day: Gulfstream has few outdoor seats and puts a premium on its indoor dining rooms and slot machines, while Tampa has ample, free outdoor seating, both in the grandstand and on the apron, where picnic tables and benches are popular among the diverse fan base.

With a saddling paddock and walking ring at the top of the stretch, fans on the apron or in the grandstand can easily view the horses, when they are brought over from the stable area or while in the walking ring. It’s one of the most intimate and fan friendly racetracks around.

Since Stella Thayer bought the track in 1986, Tampa Bay Downs has embarked on a steady stream of capital improvements. Berube has been at the track for 15 years, and says that “racing will always take top priority here. That’s a tribute to the ownership. She’s a horsewoman,” he said.

Berube said an average of $1 million per year is invested in capital improvements, which include a turf course installed in 1997, an infield video board bought last year, a totally renovated clubhouse, and a modern simulcast room. The track also offers wireless internet access for its patrons.

Video billboards are sprinkled along freeways in the Tampa area, and Berube said they have been a great marketing tool for the track because of the ability to change the message during the day. “We’ll promote pick six carryovers as they occur, and we’ll even change the message from a racing promotion during the day to the card room at night,” he said.

Tampa Bay Downs was always a well-kept secret, at least for me. It’s not anymore.

Copyright © 2009, The Paulick Report

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