Tampa Bay Downs Lowers Takeout Again

Since 2001, Tampa Bay Downs has been quietly lowering takeout each season or thereabouts (see: HANA 2009 Tampa Report here with Peter Berube interview). This meet they have struck again - takeout has been lowered on several vertical and horizontal wagers.

In 2001 handle per day at Tampa was below $2.0M per day. For the 2009/2010 Meet, Tampa set a per day handle record of almost $4.2M per day, proving that pricing, foresight and customer respect trumps a bad economy any day of the week.

HANA encourages all players to support this track due to their respect for you- their customer.

TAMPA BAY DOWNS WELCOMES ITS 85TH SEASON

12/3/2010

OLDSMAR, Fla. (December 3, 2010) Tampa Bay Downs is pleased to welcome fans and horsemen back for another great year of racing excitement at the Oldsmar oval on December 11’s Opening Day with reduced takeouts and two upgraded stakes races.

The 2010-2011 race meeting will see a decrease in takeout for Pick 3, Pick 4, Super Hi-5 and Pick Six wagering to 18% from last year’s 19% rate. The decrease in takeout has been an ongoing trend at Tampa Bay Downs for the past several years as the Oldsmar oval continues to reward the players that that support the Tampa Bay Downs product. Also new this year is a 50 cent Pick Three wager, which along with 50 cent Pick Fours, 50 cent Trifectas, and 10 cent Superfectas make Tampa Bay Downs a favorite handicapping destination for horseplayers. Tampa Bay Downs will build upon large field sizes, with goals to increase upon last season’s average field size of 8.95 horses per race, once again enhancing the horseplayers’ experience.

Quality has not been forgotten at the Oldsmar oval as a strong lineup of stakes races enhances the 91-day Tampa meet. The stakes program is headlined by the biggest race day of the year on March 12, 2011 with the 31st renewal of Festival Day. The Bay Area’s premiere race day features the Tampa Bay Derby, which was awarded a Grade II status as well as a purse boost to $350,000 for its 2011 edition. The Tampa Bay Derby has become a major stop on the Triple Crown trail, with two of its participants winning the Grade I Kentucky Derby in the last four years. Also on the Festival Day card are the Grade III $150,000 Hillsborough Stakes and the $75,000 Suncoast Stakes for three-year-old fillies. Well over $575,000 is up for grabs, and some of horseracing’s best will battle it out to the wire.

The $150,000 Tampa Bay Stakes, formerly the Tampa Bay Breeders’ Cup, was given a Grade III status for the first time for 2011, following last season’s epic stretch battle between Grade I winner Karelian and dual Eclipse Award champion Gio Ponti.

Racing Secretary Allison DeLuca says of the upgrades to the Tampa Bay Downs stakes program, “We’ve worked hard to make the stakes program here as competitive and exciting as possible, and it is gratifying to see Tampa Bay Downs continue to become a major destination for the country’s finest horses and horsemen. We’re looking forward to another thrilling season.”

To celebrate Opening Day on December 11, Tampa Bay Downs will offer free Grandstand admission to all patrons. Additionally, the traditional Opening Day Breakfast will begin at 8 AM in the Backyard. For $6.95, guests can enjoys a hot breakfast buffet, along with a free program for the afternoon’s races, a free handicapping guide for Tampa Bay Downs’s 85th racing season, a handicapping seminar as well as the chance to interact with trainers and jockeys as horses enjoy their morning workouts trackside. For more information or to make reservations, please call 813.855.4401.

Once again this year, Tampa Bay Downs offers free Grandstand admission and parking. Additionally, this year the Oldsmar oval will offer $2 pint domestic draft beer specials from 11 AM—3 PM every weekday during live racing. New additions to the concessions lineup include a rotisserie chicken stand located on the first floor of the Grandstand, new Grandstand seating and new carpeting around the facility Other old favorites include the Sweet Shop, which features fresh, home-made pies, cakes, cream pies and Danishes as well as specialty coffees and ice cream treats; and Brady’s Backyard BBQ continues to tempt taste buds in the Backyard Picnic Area. Mouse the Mascot, a three-year-old Miniature Horse, will once again make appearances on weekends in the Backyard and Grandstand apron to visit with fans young and young at heart.