Allison De Luca

Wagering on Saturday's Festival Day 42 card at Tampa Bay Downs shattered the previous single-day track record by more than $5.5 million. The total handle of $20,778,222 was a 36% increase from last season's Festival Day/Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby program. The on-track crowd of 5,381 wagered $751,667. The $3,686,488 wagered on the Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby is also an all-time Tampa Bay Downs record. "We are gratified by the tremendous support from our Tampa Bay area fans, our horsemen and bettors across the country," said Peter Berube, the...

Tampa Bay Downs will increase purses 6% for the second time this meet, effective Friday. All overnight races will now be worth an additional $1,000. The first increase, which took effect Feb. 10, also raised purse money by $1,000 a race. The increases come in the wake of the four overnight purse increases at the track's 2020-2021 meet. "Several factors have contributed to our ability to raise purse money again for our horsemen," said Peter Berube, the track's vice president and general manager. "First and foremost is the quality product...

Colonial Downs, in conjunction with the Virginia Racing Commission, announced Monday a comprehensive set of elevated safety and horse welfare procedures and protocols for its upcoming 15-day meeting, running from Aug. 8 through Sept. 7. The protocols will encompass Pre-Race Examinations, Medication, Test Barn Procedures and Race Time Inspections, among many initiatives to be executed for the meet by the Colonial Downs racing department and the VRC. "We are proud of our program of safety protocols and procedures which have been developed for the current meeting," said Allison De Luca,...