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Tampa Bay Downs makeover nearly complete

 
Published Nov. 23, 2013

OLDSMAR — You can smell the fresh paint and see the new Riders Up! watering hole being constructed on the first floor of the grandstand.

The facelift at Tampa Bay Downs is almost complete.

The track's 88th season of thoroughbred racing, which has been in hibernation since its July 1 opener, resumes Dec. 4. The 91-day meet ends June 30.

From the backside to the front side, outside to inside, the Downs is improved.

"We've taken away a lot of the clutter and tried to streamline things a little bit," Downs spokeswoman Margo Flynn said.

Track vice president and general manager Peter Berube and his staff have focused on many areas. The main structure is painted green and off-white. Riders Up! is occupying the area formerly held by an ice cream stand. On the backside, a renovated kitchen under new local management is welcomed by horsemen and workers. Roads have been improved and washracks installed.

"There have been a number of environmental incentives that have been implemented to save energy, save water," Flynn said. "We've been going green for the last several years."

Patrons will see other changes, including enhanced racing programs.

"There's more information (in the programs) and our simulcast books will all now include the two-page format," Flynn said. "We have tried to make a concerted effort to get more information to the bettor."

The nugget for area fans will be Festival Preview Day (Feb. 1), when one patron will get an opportunity to pocket $100,000.

With the Grade III $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes eliminated by Churchill Downs as a Kentucky Derby point qualifier, the Downs has linked its 1�th-mile race to the premier event for 3-year-olds. The name of a fan who selects the Sam F. Davis winner will be chosen randomly by the winning jockey. For that individual to claim the $100,000, the horse also would have to win the Grade II $350,000 Tampa Bay Derby on March 8 and the Grade I $2 million Kentucky Derby on May 3 in Louisville, Ky.

DERBY LANE: A Celebration of Life for former racing secretary Jerry Miller will be held from 1-6 p.m. Sunday at American Legion Seminole Post 111, 6918 N Florida Ave., Tampa. Mr. Miller, 44, of Tampa died Oct. 10 of an undisclosed illness.

Don Cuddy, 89, who was called the best trainer of the century by the Greyhound Review, died Monday from undisclosed causes in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The funeral was Thursday. A 2004 inductee to the Greyhound Hall of Fame, Mr. Cuddy trained one season at Derby Lane for Jack Kahn. Mr. Cuddy helped send three dogs to the Hall of Fame, including K's Flak, who raced at St. Petersburg.

Derby Lane will not have live racing on Thanksgiving but will be open for poker and simulcast wagering. On Friday, Derby Lane will feature a matinee-evening doubleheader.