It’s opening day at Tampa Bay Downs, and today we will take a look at their sixth race on the card. We have optional claiming horses going six furlongs on the main track. Also keep an eye to the skies, because showers are in the forecast today.
We will see horses coming in from all over the nation for racing here on the Gulf Coast of Florida. Many stables like to winter down there and escape the cold that we experience here in the northern regions of the country.
2023-24 Season in Review / 2024-25 Thoughts
I admit that Tampa Bay Downs is not one of my favorite tracks to play. Maybe it was just because I knew that I never did well in the past that I was not confident when I would see that Tampa Bay Downs was the track of the day. But things did change in last year’s meet.
I ended up with a very profitable season at Tampa Bay Downs, especially with my QPW articles. In featured wagers last season, I was 6 for 21, a 28.57 percent hit rate. I was aided by two longer shots winning in January, but for the meet I had an ROI of $1.86 for every dollar wagered.
For the volume of races that we had from Tampa last season, I am very happy with last season’s results. I am cautiously optimistic that we can continue to see the results as their season starts this afternoon.
Tampa Bay Downs Race 6 – Optional Claiming
Favored in today’s race is the 4 Takeschargesmiling (5/2 morning line). He comes in from Delaware Park and looks to be a horse that will be on or near the front end here today. He does have a runner up finish here last year at Tampa Bay Downs as a two-year-old.
The 6 Osprey (5/1 ML) closed strongly at Delaware Park last month. He has been consistently closing in his last three races and should continue that streak here at Tampa Bay Downs today.
The 8 American Warrior (6/1 ML) closed well last time out at FanDuel Racing (the track formerly known as Fairmount Park in Illinois). He did have to alter course and was bumped in deep stretch, but it was not as bad as it looked. He looks like the closer in the race here today.
The 7 Life Is Precious (3/1 ML) takes the trip up I-75 from Gulfstream Park to run today. He bumped another horse around at the eighth pole last time out but still was not catching the top two that day. It appears that he has found his preferred type of race in sprinting around one turn.
Joe’s Pick
We will need to see how the track is playing as well as the track condition. This race looks like Takeschargesmiling will go for the lead here. The question is whether or not he will be alone on the lead or he will have company. The three outside horses will be closing here, and I think Osprey will be the one that closes the best and wins this race in the final jumps.
I’ll call this race 6-4-7-8 and my play is $20 to win on the 6. Best of luck everyone and I’ll see you in the winner’s circle!
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