Tampa Bay Downs
Tampa Bay Downs is a thoroughbred racetrack in Oldsmar, Florida, near Tampa — a one-mile dirt oval with an inner turf course, running a winter-into-spring meet. It is the closest major racetrack to Ocala, about 95 miles south, and the track where Mario Lorito runs the bulk of his horses.
- Location
- Oldsmar, Florida — Pinellas County, just outside Tampa on Florida's Gulf coast
- Distance from Ocala
- ~ 95 miles · about 90 minutes south
- Surfaces
- Dirt — One-mile main oval
- Turf — Inner grass course
- Status
- Active racetrack
- Season
- A winter-into-spring meet, running roughly from late November through early May.
Opened in the 1920s, Tampa Bay Downs has long been a working track for Florida-based horsemen: solid purses, a manageable shipping distance for Ocala outfits, and a meet timed for the winter months. Its Tampa Bay Derby has become a legitimate stop on the Kentucky Derby trail, but day to day it's a claiming-and-allowance circuit where placing a horse well pays the bills. Because it's only about an hour and a half from Ocala, many local barns ship in for the day rather than relocating.
Signature Races & Notes
- arrow_rightTampa Bay Derby — a Kentucky Derby points prep that draws nationally known three-year-olds
- arrow_rightSam F. Davis Stakes — the local Derby-trail prep that precedes it
- arrow_rightTampa Bay Oaks and a Derby-day stakes card
Why It Matters from Ocala
The closest big track to Ocala — close enough that horses can ship down, run, and ship home the same day. It's Mario Lorito's home base; he runs predominantly here, where he has run numerous horses with a high in-the-money percentage.