What's Ahead: GP West/Calder, Tampa Bay Downs, Gulfstream

HRFLA Staff Report

Here are previews of stories we are covering this week at HorseRacingFLA.

*Calder Closing, for Good: There are three racing days left in the Gulfstream Park West meet, held in Miami Gardens, Fla., at the track long known as Calder Race Course.

Those days are this Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. First post is 12:35 p.m. each day.

Calder and its parent Churchill Downs Inc, are not renewing the lease under which Gulfstream Park for the past seven years has held an October-November meet at Calder.

GP West is not open to spectators. 

Gulfstream Park's north tent area is open forf simulcast wagering on GP West and many other tracks. Tampa Bay Downs, Hialeah Park and Isle at Pompano Park are among Florida pari-mutuels  open for that wagering,

Most major Advance Deposit Wagering services carry GP West. That list includes 1/ST BET, TwinSpires.com, TVG and DRF Bets.  

*Tampa Bay Downs Opens: This Wednesday, Tampa Bay Downs will open for its five-month long 2020-2021 meet.

First post is 12:25 p.m. for Wednesday's nine-race card.

For the fifth straight season, HorseRacingFLA https://www.horseracingfla.com/ and Internet station RadioStPete https://radiostpete.com/ are teaming for coverage on each Tampa Bay Downs race day.

Radio St. Pete will carry track announcer Richard Grunder's live call of the feature race. Bob Bauer, HRFLA handicapper and associate editor will have pre-race and post-race analysis.

Each race day on RadioStPete's morning and noon news shows, Bauer will provide his selections for the feature race and have other Tampa Bay Downs news.  Those segments will air at approximately 8:15 a.m. and 12:15 p.m.

Tampa Bay will allow spectators, with COVID-19 restrictions.  Most other U.S. thoroughbred tracks remain closed to spectators.

Tampa Bay will begin its meet with live racing on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays. It will add Sundays on Dec. 20.

*Gulfstream Getting Ready: Gulfstream Park will open its five-months long championship meet on Wednesday Dec. 2.

Gulfstream will have racing on Wednesdays through Sundays.

Gulfstream will begin the meet not allowing spectators, and thus will not have on-track betting.