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Status of horse races set to jump
By CHASE SQUIRES © St. Petersburg Times, published September 15, 2000 DADE CITY -- Organizers of March's inaugural series of point-to-point horse races are preparing to make a giant leap next year, elevating the race from a small-town exhibition to the highest levels of competition. Race coordinator Karen Streaker said Thursday that race founders are preparing to offer a $100,000 purse for the March 11, 2001, Little Everglades Steeplechase. The money, along with a new course at the 1,700-acre Little Everglades Ranch north of town and a set of permanent viewing and judging stands, helped earn the race sanctioning by the National Steeplechase Association and could make it one of the 12 top stops on the steeplechase racing circuit, an NSA official said. Steeplechase racing challenges horse and rider to leap a series of barricades as they race up to 2 miles along rustic turf courses. Traditionally a favorite of the well-heeled in the South and Northeast, the sport has gained popularity and spread in the past two years to Florida, with races at tracks in Miami and Tampa, officials say. If organizers can produce a $100,000 purse for Dade City's meet, it would become among the richest races of the year, eclipsing in just its second year many established races with storied backgrounds, including races that traditionally draw tens of thousands of spectators. "We're extremely excited," NSA race director Bill Gallo said Thursday. "With a $100,000 purse structure, it puts them in with the top 12 meets of the year. It would jump-start the meet and really catch the attention of the horsemen." Gallo said NSA officials were amazed this past March when about 5,000 spectators attended the inaugural event, which featured only a few horses per race galloping over a makeshift course. "I was stunned," he said. "For a first-time event, they got off to a great start." He said NSA officials and racers were pleased to find at the March race that the drive down to Florida from the sport's winter home in Camden, S.C., was not difficult. The attraction of linking one race at Tampa Bay Downs with a series in Dade City offers racers an early start to the season, with a chance to win money, earn series points and get the horses in racing shape for big spring events, Gallo said. Streaker said the Dade City race will again be held on the Little Everglades Ranch just north of Dade City, off U.S. 301. The course this spring will move to a location closer to main roads, and more access points will be opened to help racers and spectators get in and out more quickly, she said. Gallo praised organizers for committing to extensive work on the race course and erecting permanent viewing and judging areas and fences. The combination of a good purse and a safe, well-manicured course could prove irresistible to racers, he said. Gallo said the NSA is already promoting the race series to its members and expects to have as many as nine horses in each of four steeplechase events, plus an added race on the turf without jumps. Streaker said hosts at Southcreek equestrian club are hoping to lure national sponsors with an elegant hillside terrace area dotted with party tents available for $5,000 sponsorships. In addition, the race will offer a variety of tent reservation packages starting at $500 for families, clubs and businesses to hold gala parties during the races. Spectators at the inaugural race got into the spirit of steeplechase racing with lavish spreads, fancy clothes and hats and a host of affiliated activities such as Jack Russell terrier races and antique carriage displays. Sponsors are needed at every level, Streaker said. Information on sponsorship, from the family to the corporate level, is available through coordinator Vicki Reeves at (813) 251-5533. Streaker and Pioneer Florida Museum curator Donna Swart said the museum and race hosts expect to work together again this year to benefit the museum. Streaker said as the event is growing so quickly, another charity may be added as well. "We never thought it would grow this quickly," Streaker said. "It's going so fast."
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