It looked for all the world as if pair of longshot winners had helped to create a huge late Pick-5 carryover pool going into Friday’s action.
Instead, 9-5 second choice Midway Vow staged a dramatic rally in the ninth and final on the turf under jockey Cipriano Gil for a victory that enabled one bettor to take home the whole Pick-5 shebang of $98,367.
Earlier victories by 46-1 shot Curlin Gunner in the sixth race and 17-1 shot Keigs in the seventh had raised everyone’s hopes (well, almost everyone) of a carryover, but the 5-year-old mare Midway Vow proved best in sterling fashion, showing that sometimes a pot of gold does rest at the end of a rainbow for somebody.
You might recognize His story. Did anyone notice how quiet it was at Tampa Bay Downs today?
Sure, a lot of fans were cheering wildly as their choices competed for victory. And on a free-admission Wednesday, visitors shared the steal of the month – a free Grandstand pass for the 2026-27 meet, the final big promotion of the Oldsmar oval’s 100th anniversary celebration.
But on a warm, sunny afternoon the atmosphere seemed a bit subdued, at least to a handful of folks who have been coming here for 50 or more years. Not a bad thing after a wild weekend that was nothing but enjoyable and stimulating and memory-making.
At least one old-timer felt the peaceful vibes today on a gentle breeze that reminded him of Tampa Bay Downs history, and his dad’s story.
When his dad’s own father died at 64 of a massive heart attack, Dad vowed to never take a kid to the track again. Which bothered the teenager, who had grown to love the speed and majesty and color, the sights and sounds and smells, and all the variables that make handicapping horse races such a pleasurable and challenging experience.
Nine months later, after a move from Connecticut to St. Petersburg, Dad lifted the embargo. He discovered Florida Downs and hoped the teenager would rediscover the magic of a day at the races with him.
The drive from the Skyway Bridge area 53 years ago took longer than it does now, and it was always 50-50 whether they’d make it in time for the daily double, which way back then was the only exotic wager. Sometimes they’d win, more often they’d lose.
They tried connecting on the drive home, but it was rocky. Their relationship had been fractured by Grandpa’s unexpected death, his own persistent acne, Dad’s unemployment.
They’d go again the next weekend, and the weekend after that and keep trying.
When Dad died in 2022, it was as good as it had ever been.
Maybe it’s just that the old racetrack seems quieter now, when the wind rustles. There were days they went and never spoke. Just the two of them.
He’s left to wish and wonder why things turned out that way, and what he could and should have done to make it better then, more like a team.
It was pretty cool, you know, that his dad would share such an important part of himself. The racetrack was a place you could focus on anything under the sun – the paddock scene, a photo finish, the pretty stranger in the New York Mets cap – and feel more alive.
Sometimes when a gentle wind blows, he remembers who taught him to see things that way.
Around the oval. Israel Rodriguez rode two winners today. He scored in the second race on Castagna, a 5-year-old mare owned by A.O.M. Racing Stables LLC and trained by Alejandro Olais Mendieta. Rodriguez added the third race aboard Megan’s Honor, a 9-year-old gelding owned by Charles W. Ritter and Scott Becker and trained by Becker.
Thoroughbred racing continues Friday with a nine-race card beginning at 12:35 p.m. Tampa Bay Downs is open every day except Easter, Apri 5, for simulcast wagering, no-limits action and tournament play in The Silks Poker Room and professional instruction and pleasure at The Downs Golf Practice Facility.
