For the second time in four years, the top turf sprinters stabled at Tampa Bay Downs are going to have to wait a little longer to display their speed and talent.
Saturday’s scheduled stakes races – the $100,000 Leinster Turf Dash for horses 4-years-old-and-upward and the $100,000 Leinster Lightning City Stakes for fillies and mares 4-and-upward – have been rescheduled due to the threat of rainy weather.
Both 5-furlong races have been pushed back to Saturday, Feb. 24.
“Most forecasts call for rain and potential thunderstorms to begin Friday night or early Saturday morning and continue throughout much of Saturday, with a 50-percent chance of showers and thunderstorms predicted Sunday,” said Peter Berube, the track’s Vice President & General Manager.
“It’s important to our horsemen to keep both races on the turf course, and to conduct them on slick or soggy grounds would pose a safety risk to the horses and jockeys, as well as degrading the essence of both races,” Berube said. “We appreciate the patience and understanding of horsemen and fans and look forward to staging both races in good weather on a safe and, hopefully, firm turf course.”
In 2021, both races were originally scheduled for Feb. 20, then pushed back a day because of rainy weather. The following day, the turf course was deemed unsuitable for competition, and the races were finally contested on Wednesday, Feb. 24 on firm turf.
“This has been an unusual winter, weather-wise,” Berube said, “and we want to be flexible in an effort to determine the best turf sprint specialists of both sexes.”
