Allison De Luca, racing secretary at Tampa Bay Downs, has released the first condition book for the 2022-23 Thoroughbred season, which begins Nov. 23. The stakes program has also been finalized, with it unchanged from last season except for race dates.
Tampa Bay Downs again will conduct 26 stakes races worth a total of $3.46 million in purse money, topped by seven graded stakes. The biggest stakes day of the meet is the March 11 Festival Day program, featuring four graded stakes, including the $400,000 Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby (G2) on the Road to the Kentucky Derby.
The Feb. 11 card, known as Festival Preview Day, includes four stakes races, highlighted by another Kentucky Derby Presented by Woodford Reserve (G1) prep race: the $250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes (G3). Both Derby preps are 1 1/16 miles on dirt.
The stakes action kicks off Dec. 3 with the $100,000 Inaugural Stakes for 2-year-olds and the $100,000 Sandpiper Stakes for 2-year-old fillies.
The first condition book runs from Nov. 23 through Dec. 24.
"We expect to have an outstanding offering of dirt and turf races for all levels of horses, from maidens up to stakes horses," De Luca said. "Our program keeps growing in stature and popularity due to the condition of our racing surfaces and increases in purse money, combined with the outstanding weather."
The stakes schedule can be viewed online.
