Longshot of the Day: Race 7 at Tampa Bay Downs

Track: Tampa Bay Downs

Race 7: $16K claimer going 1 1/16 miles on turf for 4+

Post Time: 3:45 PM ET

Horse: #7 Coaches Meeting (6/1 morning line). Use as a win bet at 9/2 or higher.

I often find it interesting to see when a horse gets claimed and moved up in class to be protected but then dropped back down to roughly the same level where they were first claimed, which is the case with Coaches Meeting. The five-year-old son of Twirling Candy won two back against non-winners of two going long on the turf at Tampa Bay Downs for the same tag he is in for today. He was claimed by trainer Richard Sillaman and moved up to a $16,000 handicap race where he was outclassed. The good news is that race has already produced three next-out winners, so it was a solid group and one that is significantly tougher than what he is facing today. Generally, he has run well against claiming competition having raced at this level (or for a higher tag) four times while winning once and hitting the board three times. He is a mid-pack runner who needs some pace but should get it today as you can expect #6 Mongolian Apple (9/2) to go fast up front and a few horses on the outside are going to want to get forward as well. If there is one thing I have become accustomed to while watching Tampa Bay Downs, it is the fractions on the turf routes can get a little too fast sometimes and open things up for those coming from well off the pace. So long as jockey Hector Diaz Jr. has the horse in good position down the backstretch, he should be able to kick for home and pass some tiring front runners. It is also noteworthy that most of Coaches Meeting’s career has been spent sprinting, but he is 2-3 in the exacta going long with a win. He was a former $150,000 purchase at the Keeneland September Sale and has some good pedigree, so there were expectations as he competed against frequent stakes participants Evan Harlan and Son of a Birch earlier in his career.

Now, if you’re looking for a massive bomb and one that used to have expectations, #5 Street Vendor (30/1) was a former $500,000 sale who started his career in the Todd Pletcher barn. If this horse can run back to his turf efforts from 2023 when he was in the Pletcher barn, he absolutely has a chance to light up the tote board. He was off from March 2023 to April 2024 and then moved up to Canada to primarily run at Century Mile on the dirt. He is second back from a brief layoff and is finally getting back on the turf for the first time in nearly a year. His Beyer Speed Figures on the grass are good enough to win and I think he has his best chance to launch the upset should he sit a pocket trip just behind the early speed. If you want to bet on pedigree and a horse discovering his potential, then this one makes some sense. At the very least, I’ll include him in my deeper vertical wagers.