A century in, Oldsmar’s racetrack still proves you don’t need casinos, gimmicks, or corporate spin to run the right kind of show.
Tampa Bay Downs is turning 100, and in a sport that specializes in eating its own, surviving a century as a racetrack, not a racino, not a slots barn with an identity crisis is no small feat. It’s an accomplishment that deserves more than a token cake, a logo, and a press release. It deserves a tip of the cap from people who actually bet, play, and care.
I’ve always said you learn a lot about a track by who supports it when nobody’s looking. Tampa has never been about glittering nonsense. It’s been about a fair oval, a serious turf course, horsemen who know what they’re doing, and a management team stubborn enough to keep the focus on racing while everyone else chases casino margins and corporate exit strategies.
They got a lot more right than people realize.
From Sunshine Park to Steinbrenner and Thayer: Built, Burned, Rebuilt, Still Here
Racing at the “Top of the Bay” kicked off in 1926 under Tampa Downs, with Matt Winn and company bringing the game west of Tampa long before it was fashionable. Opening day brought out Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Gene Sarazen, and John Ringling, because even a century ago, real players recognized a live spot when they saw one.
The place has worn a few names, Sunshine Park, Florida Downs, back to Tampa Bay Downs and more than a few scars. It shut down, restarted, survived the Depression, got taken over by the U.S. Army during World War II, even watched the grandstand burn in ’68 and came back with a new one in ’69. Fold following a tough meet; Tampa rebuilt and upgraded.
Ownership has mattered. The Ferguson/Thayer stewardship treated Tampa like a racetrack, not a land flip. Stella Thayer’s operation invested in facilities, the signal, the fan experience, the turf course, incremental, smart moves that aged well.
And yes, George Steinbrenner. When “The Boss” bought in around 1980, he gave Tampa Bay Downs juice, no pun intended, visibility, and the Yankee glare. He pushed, promoted, and helped plant the flag that this little Oldsmar oval was playing in a bigger league before exiting in ’86. The Steinbrenner touch didn’t turn Tampa into a theme park; it turned up the volume on what was already there.
Where Real Horses Prove They’re Real Horses
You want to celebrate 100 years? Start with the horses who used Tampa as a proving ground.
The Tampa Bay Derby went from regional prep to national launch pad the minute Street Sense showed up in 2007, hooked Any Given Saturday in one of the great stretch fights you’ll ever see, and parlayed that Oldsmar tightener into a Kentucky Derby win. I have always said it is one of the best “leg em up” dirt tracks in the world.
Since then, the race has produced:
- Street Sense – Tampa Bay Derby winner → Kentucky Derby winner
- Super Saver – third in the Tampa Bay Derby → Kentucky Derby winner
- Tapwrit – Tampa Bay Derby winner → Belmont Stakes winner
Tampa’s configuration, its leg up dirt, its competitive fields, they ask the right questions. Good horses come here to answer them.
On the filly side, the Florida Oaks has sent out Kentucky Oaks winners like Luv Me Luv Me Not and Secret Status, stamping Tampa as a legitimate launch point for top-level fillies as well.
And if you want Breeders’ Cup fingerprints:
- Royal Delta started her 2011 campaign at Tampa before winning back-to-back Breeders’ Cup Ladies’ Classics.
- Drosselmeyer ran at Tampa on the way to a Breeders’ Cup Classic win.
- World Approval took the Tampa Bay turf route before becoming Champion Turf Male and Breeders’ Cup Mile winner.
These aren’t “got lucky once” stories. This is what happens when a track offers a real beneficial surface, a sane schedule, and races that make sense for horsemen who actually intend to go somewhere.
So yes, in this 100th anniversary season, the idea of another Tampa Bay Derby–Kentucky Derby winner isn’t a fantasy storyline—it’s perfectly on brand. Street Sense cracked that door. The next one just has to walk through it.
That Turf Course: The Open Secret
Horsemen talk. Gamblers notice. Tampa’s turf course has quietly become one of the most respected in the country.
When trainers like Christophe Clement, Bill Mott, Shug McGaughey, Graham Motion, Mark Casse, and yes, Chad Brown, ship serious horses over from south Florida, they’re not sightseeing. They’re looking for a fair, consistent, safe surface that moves a horse forward, not backward. Tampa’s 7/8-mile turf with the chute has been exactly that since the late ‘90s, and it’s no coincidence the big outfits keep dipping into Oldsmar when they care how the movie ends.
When Chad sends a first-stringer across Alligator Alley instead of just leading one over in the Gulfstream parade ring, that’s a tell. Horsemen vote with vans.
In an Age of Decoupling, Tampa Looks Like the Grown-Up
Now for the elephant trampling around the other side of the state.
Gulfstream Park has made no secret about how they feel and what they want flirting openly with decoupling, the idea that you keep the gaming and jettison the obligation to run live racing. Legislative pushes have effectively held up a sign saying, “We’d like the option to cash the checks without the horses, thanks,” and Gulfstream has pushed that play.
We’ve seen how that movie ends for other breeds and venues. You decouple, the racing dies, the suits shrug.
Tampa Bay Downs was dragged into that conversation legislatively, but when it counted, they issued a public statement reaffirming their commitment to live Thoroughbred racing and to staying in the game long-term. While others angle for exit strategies, Tampa’s message was simple: we’re a racetrack. That matters.
Because if Gulfstream ever does what so many fear, winds down or guts the product in favor of slots and/or real estate and if Tampa keeps doubling down on real racing, integrity, turf quality, and horseplayer trust, the map changes.
Tampa Bay Downs is suddenly not just “the other Florida track.” It becomes:
- The natural winter home for serious outfits who still want a real circuit.
- A primary prep hub for Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup horses who prefer a fair track over a roulette wheel.
- A flagship winter signal for bettors tired of gimmicky nonsense, and corporate contempt.
Premier winter racing venue in Florida? That’s within reach.
Premier winter racing venue in the United States? Don’t laugh. When other tracks are chasing casino revenue and outsourcing their soul, the outfit that leans into being a racetrack—good surfaces, good staking, good horse population, respect for the people who fund the game—wins by default.
A Century In: Why Tampa Deserves the Roses Too
On this 100th anniversary, Tampa Bay Downs stands as something rare in modern racing: a place that remembers what its job is.
It has history without arrogance. Steinbrenner lore without circus. Champions who used its races as stepping stones. A turf course top barns trust. Management that, so far, has chosen racing over the easy out.
So yes, I’d love nothing more than to see another Tampa Bay Derby graduate drape roses on the first Saturday in May and remind everyone where the foundation was poured. It would be poetic; more importantly, it would be earned.
In an era where too many people are trying to cash out of this game, Tampa Bay Downs is still punching in.
That’s worth celebrating and it’s worth supporting with vans, with entries, and with real wagers from people who know the difference.
Tampa Bay Downs Photo
