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82-534: The track races most Wednesdays, Fridays, and weekends from the end of November to the beginning of May. The main track is a one-mile (1.6 km) dirt oval. The turf course is seven furlongs and includes a quarter-mile inner chute. It is regarded as one of the best turf courses in the country. Tampa Bay Downs, the only Thoroughbred race track on the west coast of Florida, has live racing action, simulcasting, poker, as well as golf at The Downs Golf Practice Facility. Tampa Bay Downs first opened its doors in 1926 under

164-499: A sod -forming perennial grass used in agriculture is Thinopyrum intermedium . Grasses are used as raw material for a multitude of purposes, including construction and in the composition of building materials such as cob , for insulation, in the manufacture of paper and board such as oriented structural straw board . Grass fiber can be used for making paper , biofuel production, nonwoven fabrics, and as replacement for glass fibers used in reinforced plastics. Bamboo scaffolding

246-570: A match race for Seabiscuit against Ligaroti, a highly regarded horse owned by the Hollywood entertainer Bing Crosby and Howard's son, Lindsay , through Binglin Stable , in an event organized to promote Crosby's resort and Del Mar Racetrack in Del Mar, California . With Woolf aboard, Seabiscuit won that race, despite persistent fouling from Ligaroti's jockey. After three more outings and with only one win, he

328-502: A mile-and-a-sixteenth on the turf, the $ 100,000 Challenger Stakes; and the $ 75,000 Columbia Stakes, creating a $ 1-million bonanza in stakes purses. As well as numerous non-graded stakes races, the track holds two Grade IIs and five Grade III stakes races. Grass Gramineae  Juss. Poaceae ( / p oʊ ˈ eɪ s i . iː , - s i aɪ / poh- AY -see-e(y)e ), also called Gramineae ( / ɡ r ə ˈ m ɪ n i . iː , - n i aɪ / grə- MIN -ee-e(y)e ),

410-501: A nose. The defeat was devastating to Smith and Howard and was widely attributed in the press to a jockey error. Pollard, who had not seen Rosemont over his shoulder until too late, was blind in one eye due to an accident during a training ride, a fact he had hidden throughout his career. A week after this defeat Seabiscuit won the San Juan Capistrano Handicap by seven lengths in track record time of 1:48 4 ⁄ 5 for

492-577: A photosynthetic pathway, linked to specialized Kranz leaf anatomy , which allows for increased water use efficiency , rendering them better adapted to hot, arid environments. The C3 grasses are referred to as "cool-season" grasses, while the C4 plants are considered "warm-season" grasses. Although the C4 species are all in the PACMAD clade (see diagram below), it seems that various forms of C4 have arisen some twenty or more times, in various subfamilies or genera. In

574-604: A probable heart attack on May 17, 1947, in Willits, California , six months before his grandsire Man o' War . He is buried at Ridgewood Ranch in Mendocino County, California . In 2009, after an eight-year-long grassroots effort by Maggie Van Ostrand and Chuck Lustick, Seabiscuit was honored by the United States Postal Service with a stamp bearing his likeness. Thousands of signatures were obtained from all over

656-596: A smaller part of the vegetation in almost every other terrestrial habitat. Grass-dominated biomes are called grasslands. If only large, contiguous areas of grasslands are counted, these biomes cover 31% of the planet's land. Grasslands include pampas , steppes , and prairies . Grasses provide food to many grazing mammals, as well as to many species of butterflies and moths . Many types of animals eat grass as their main source of food, and are called graminivores – these include cattle , sheep , horses , rabbits and many invertebrates , such as grasshoppers and

738-581: A symbol of hope to many Americans during the Great Depression . Seabiscuit has been the subject of numerous books and films, including Seabiscuit: the Lost Documentary (1939); the Shirley Temple film The Story of Seabiscuit (1949); a book, Seabiscuit: An American Legend (1999) by Laura Hillenbrand ; and a film adaptation of Hillenbrand's book, Seabiscuit (2003), that was nominated for

820-904: A variety that include grasses that are related to modern rice and bamboo . Grasses have adapted to conditions in lush rain forests , dry deserts , cold mountains and even intertidal habitats , and are currently the most widespread plant type; grass is a valuable source of food and energy for all sorts of wildlife. A cladogram shows subfamilies and approximate species numbers in brackets: Chloridoideae (1600) Danthonioideae (300) Micrairoideae (200) Arundinoideae (50) Panicoideae (3250) Aristidoideae (350) Oryzoideae (110) Bambusoideae – bamboos (1450) Pooideae (3850) Puelioideae (11) Pharoideae (13) Anomochlooideae (4) Before 2005, fossil findings indicated that grasses evolved around 55 million years ago. Finds of grass-like phytoliths in Cretaceous dinosaur coprolites from

902-473: Is a grass used as a culinary herb for its citrus-like flavor and scent. Many species of grass are grown as pasture for foraging or as fodder for prescribed livestock feeds, particularly in the case of cattle , horses , and sheep . Such grasses may be cut and stored for later feeding, especially for the winter, in the form of bales of hay or straw , or in silos as silage . Straw (and sometimes hay) may also be used as bedding for animals. An example of

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984-465: Is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of monocotyledonous flowering plants commonly known as grasses . It includes the cereal grasses, bamboos , the grasses of natural grassland and species cultivated in lawns and pasture . The latter are commonly referred to collectively as grass . With around 780 genera and around 12,000 species, the Poaceae is the fifth-largest plant family , following

1066-566: Is able to withstand typhoon-force winds that would break steel scaffolding. Larger bamboos and Arundo donax have stout culms that can be used in a manner similar to timber, Arundo is used to make reeds for woodwind instruments , and bamboo is used for innumerable implements. Phragmites australis (common reed) is important for thatching and wall construction of homes in Africa. Grasses are used in water treatment systems, in wetland conservation and land reclamation , and used to lessen

1148-957: Is for piecing together historical landscapes and weather patterns, considering other factors such as genetic material amount might also affect pollen size. Despite these challenges, new techniques in Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR) and improved statistical methods are now helping to better identify these similar-looking pollen types. Grasses are the primary plants used in lawns, which themselves derive from grazed grasslands in Europe. They also provide an important means of erosion control (e.g., along roadsides), especially on sloping land. Grass lawns are an important covering of playing surfaces in many sports, including football (soccer) , American football , tennis , golf , cricket , softball and baseball . Seabiscuit Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947)

1230-606: Is linked to crop improvement, since meiotic recombination is an important component of plant breeding . Unlike in animals, the specification of both male and female plant germlines occurs late in development during flowering. The transition from the sporophyte phase to the gametophyte state is initiated by meiotic entry. Grasses are, in human terms, perhaps the most economically important plant family. Their economic importance stems from several areas, including food production, industry, and lawns . They have been grown as food for domesticated animals for up to 6,000 years and

1312-500: The 1 + 1 ⁄ 8 mile event. Seabiscuit was rapidly becoming a favorite among California racing fans, and his fame spread as he won his next three races. With his successes, Howard decided to ship the horse east for its more prestigious racing circuit. Seabiscuit's run of victories continued. Between June 26 and August 7, he ran five times, each time in a stakes race , and each time he won under steadily increasing handicap weights (imposts) of up to 130 pounds (59 kg). For

1394-449: The Aristida genus for example, one species ( A. longifolia ) is C3 but the approximately 300 other species are C4. As another example, the whole tribe of Andropogoneae , which includes maize , sorghum , sugar cane , " Job's tears ", and bluestem grasses , is C4. Around 46 percent of grass species are C4 plants. The name Poaceae was given by John Hendley Barnhart in 1895, based on

1476-653: The Academy Award for Best Picture . Seabiscuit was foaled in Lexington, Kentucky , on May 23, 1933, from the mare Swing On and sire Hard Tack , a son of Man o' War . Seabiscuit was named for his father; "sea biscuit" is another name for hardtack , a type of cracker eaten by sailors. The bay colt grew up on Claiborne Farm in Paris, Kentucky , where he was trained. He was undersized, knobby-kneed, and given to sleeping and eating for long periods. Initially, Seabiscuit

1558-698: The Albian stage of the Early Cretaceous approximately 113–100 million years ago, which were found to belong to primitive lineages within Poaceae, similar in position to the Anomochlooideae. These are currently the oldest known grass fossils. The relationships among the three subfamilies Bambusoideae, Oryzoideae and Pooideae in the BOP clade have been resolved: Bambusoideae and Pooideae are more closely related to each other than to Oryzoideae. This separation occurred within

1640-503: The Americas ). Sugarcane is the major source of sugar production. Additional food uses of sugarcane include sprouted grain , shoots , and rhizomes , and in drink they include sugarcane juice and plant milk , as well as rum , beer , whisky , and vodka . Bamboo shoots are used in numerous Asian dishes and broths, and are available in supermarkets in various sliced forms, in both fresh, fermented and canned versions. Lemongrass

1722-550: The Asteraceae , Orchidaceae , Fabaceae and Rubiaceae . The Poaceae are the most economically important plant family, providing staple foods from domesticated cereal crops such as maize , wheat , rice , oats , barley , and millet for people and as feed for meat-producing animals . They provide, through direct human consumption, just over one-half (51%) of all dietary energy; rice provides 20%, wheat supplies 20%, maize (corn) 5.5%, and other grains 6%. Some members of

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1804-571: The Breeders' Cup Distaff and Drosselmeyer won the Breeders' Cup Classic . The track's annual showcase is Festival Day. The centerpiece is the Grade II, $ 400,000 Tampa Bay Derby for 3-year-olds at a mile-and-a-sixteenth. Also on the card are the Grade II, $ 225,000 Hillsborough Stakes for older fillies and mares at a mile-and-an-eighth on the turf; the Grade III, $ 200,000 Florida Oaks, for 3-year-old fillies at

1886-453: The Cenozoic contributed to the spread of grasses. Without large grazers, fire-cleared areas are quickly colonized by grasses, and with enough rain, tree seedlings. Trees eventually outcompete most grasses. Trampling grazers kill seedling trees but not grasses. Sexual reproduction and meiosis have been studied in rice , maize , wheat and barley . Meiosis research in these crop species

1968-422: The ligule lies at the junction between sheath and blade, preventing water or insects from penetrating into the sheath. Flowers of Poaceae are characteristically arranged in spikelets , each having one or more florets. The spikelets are further grouped into panicles or spikes . The part of the spikelet that bears the florets is called the rachilla. A spikelet consists of two (or sometimes fewer) bracts at

2050-512: The 1950s, the racecourse was a popular attraction with many sportswriters who came to the Tampa Bay area to cover baseball spring training. Legendary names like Grantland Rice , Red Smith , Fred Russell and Arthur Daley became regular visitors, calling the track the "Santa Anita of the South." The year 1965 marked the third name change for the track when it became Florida Downs and Turf Club. The track

2132-586: The 2011–2012 meeting, Tampa Bay Downs began a green initiative to eventually result in a net-zero impact on the environment. Other improvements included a CREE LED lighting system in the clubhouse and grandstand and the installation of a Gaco Sil S-20 Cool Roof coating system. The 2024 edition of the Tampa Bay Derby was run for purse money only with no betting after problems from telecommunications supplier Lumen Technologies affected tote provider AmTote , leaving Tampa Bay Downs and several other tracks around

2214-425: The 2018-2019 meeting, including six that are graded. The Lambholm South Tampa Bay Derby, contested March 9 for a $ 400,000 purse, is a Grade III race for 3-year-olds. The $ 250,000 Sam F. Davis Stakes for 3-year-olds, a Grade III event, is Feb. 9. Other graded races are scheduled on the turf: the Grade II, $ 225,000 Hillsborough Stakes for older fillies and mares; the Grade III, $ 200,000 Florida Oaks for 3-year-old fillies;

2296-522: The Grade III, $ 175,000 Lambholm South Endeavour Stakes for older fillies and mares; and the Grade III, $ 175,000 Tampa Bay Stakes for horses 4-years-old and upward. Before the 2007-2008 race meet began, Tampa Bay Downs underwent several renovations, including the installation of the Grandstand elevator; the all-new Silks Poker Room, located on the third floor of the Grandstand; and the Party Suite, adjacent to

2378-489: The Oldsmar oval include a refurbished Racing Office on the backstretch, as well as a renovated track kitchen. Average daily wagering handle during the 2010–11, 90-day meeting was a record $ 4,572,074, an increase of 9.2 percent from the previous season. The average field size of 9.11 horses per race was among the highest in the country and was aided by an increase in the number of turf races, from 205 to 243. Average daily attendance

2460-562: The Poaceae are used as building materials ( bamboo , thatch , and straw ); others can provide a source of biofuel , primarily via the conversion of maize to ethanol . Grasses have stems that are hollow except at the nodes and narrow alternate leaves borne in two ranks. The lower part of each leaf encloses the stem, forming a leaf-sheath. The leaf grows from the base of the blade, an adaptation allowing it to cope with frequent grazing. Grasslands such as savannah and prairie where grasses are dominant are estimated to constitute 40.5% of

2542-607: The Silks Poker Room, which was also updated with new flat-screen TVs installed. The Legends Bar, which includes a museum-quality exhibition of famed Thoroughbred Seabiscuit , became the newest feature of the Legends Bar on the second floor of the Grandstand. Horsemen enjoyed improvements to the Paddock area, with all-new stalls in the saddling barn ensuring the safety and comfort of horses and their connections. Other facility upgrades at

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2624-442: The base, called glumes , followed by one or more florets. A floret consists of the flower surrounded by two bracts, one external—the lemma —and one internal—the palea . The flowers are usually hermaphroditic — maize being an important exception—and mainly anemophilous or wind-pollinated, although insects occasionally play a role. The perianth is reduced to two scales, called lodicules , that expand and contract to spread

2706-450: The caterpillars of many brown butterflies . Grasses are also eaten by omnivorous or even occasionally by primarily carnivorous animals. Grasses dominate certain biomes , especially temperate grasslands , because many species are adapted to grazing and fire. Grasses are unusual in that the meristem is near the bottom of the plant; hence, grasses can quickly recover from cropping at the top. The evolution of large grazing animals in

2788-573: The country unable to process wagers. In 2007, Hall of Fame trainer Carl Nafzger brought his 3-year-old Street Sense to Oldsmar for the Tampa Bay Derby, and the colt's victory was a springboard to his win in the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. Another Hall of Fame trainer, William Mott , selected Tampa Bay Downs for the first 2011 starts for his 3-year-old filly Royal Delta and 4-year-old colt Drosselmeyer . Royal Delta went on to twice win

2870-592: The crowd of well-wishers to the winner's enclosure for some time. On April 10, 1940, Seabiscuit's retirement from racing was officially announced. When he was retired to the Ridgewood Ranch near Willits, California , he was horse racing's all-time leading money winner. Put out to stud, Seabiscuit sired 108 foals, including two moderately successful racehorses: Sea Sovereign and Sea Swallow. Over 50,000 visitors went to Ridgewood Ranch to see Seabiscuit in those seven years before his death in 1947. Seabiscuit died of

2952-418: The edge of alcoholism. A local doctor broke and reset Pollard's leg to aid his recovery, and slowly Pollard regained the confidence to sit on a horse. Wearing a brace to stiffen his atrophied leg, he began to ride Seabiscuit again, first at a walk and later at a trot and canter. Howard was delighted at their improvement, as he longed for Seabiscuit to race again, but was extremely worried about Pollard, as his leg

3034-830: The erosional impact of urban storm water runoff. Pollen morphology, particularly in the Poaceae family, is key to figuring out their evolutionary relationships and how environments have changed over time . Grass pollen grains, however, often look the same, making it hard to use them for detailed climate or environmental reconstructions. Grass pollen has a single pore and can vary a lot in size, from about 20 to over 100 micrometers, and this size difference has been looked into for clues about past habitats, to tell apart domesticated grasses from wild ones, and to indicate various biological features like how they perform photosynthesis , their breeding systems, and genetic complexity. Yet, there's ongoing debate about how effective pollen size

3116-425: The fast-closing Santa Anita Derby winner, Stagehand (owned by Maxwell Howard, not related to Charles), who had been assigned 30 pounds (14 kg) less than Seabiscuit. Throughout 1937 and 1938, the media speculated about a match race between Seabiscuit and the seemingly invincible War Admiral (sired by Man o' War, Seabiscuit's grandsire). The two horses were scheduled to meet in three stakes races, but one or

3198-590: The field. After that, Fitzsimmons did not spend much time on him, and the horse was sometimes the butt of stable jokes. However, Seabiscuit began to gain attention after winning two races at Narragansett Park and setting a new track record in the second—Claiming Stakes race. As a two-year-old, Seabiscuit raced 35 times (a heavy racing schedule), coming in first five times and finishing second seven times. These included three claiming races , in which he could have been purchased for $ 2,500, but he had no takers. While Seabiscuit had not lived up to his racing potential, he

3280-548: The first graduate of the Tampa Bay Derby to win the Kentucky Derby. A new single-day attendance record of 12,746 was established March 15, 2008 on Festival Day, featuring the Tampa Bay Derby. Tampa Bay Derby Day 2007 also marked the Oldsmar oval's highest-ever handle, with $ 10,916,634 wagered on the Tampa Bay Downs signal on that day; a new mark of $ 10,949,948 was set March 12, 2011. Street Sense and Any Given Saturday were two of

3362-731: The first time. Improvements came quickly, and in their remaining eight races in the East , Seabiscuit and Pollard won several times, including the Detroit Governor's Handicap (worth $ 5,600) and the Scarsdale Handicap ($ 7,300) at Empire City Race Track in Yonkers, New York . In early November 1936, Howard and Smith shipped the horse to California by rail. His last two races of the year were at Bay Meadows racetrack in San Mateo, California . The first

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3444-469: The full list of Poaceae genera . The grass family is one of the most widely distributed and abundant groups of plants on Earth . Grasses are found on every continent, including Antarctica . The Antarctic hair grass, Deschampsia antarctica is one of only two plant species native to the western Antarctic Peninsula . Grasses are the dominant vegetation in many habitats, including grassland , salt-marsh , reedswamp and steppes . They also occur as

3526-408: The gate was well known. Seabiscuit, on the other hand, was a pace stalker, skilled at holding with the pack before pulling ahead with late acceleration. From the scheduled walk-up start, few gave him a chance to lead War Admiral into the first turn. Smith knew these things and trained Seabiscuit to run against this type, using a starting bell and a whip to give the horse a Pavlovian burst of speed from

3608-478: The grains of grasses such as wheat , rice, maize (corn) and barley have been the most important human food crops . Grasses are also used in the manufacture of thatch , paper , fuel , clothing , insulation , timber for fencing , furniture , scaffolding and construction materials, floor matting , sports turf and baskets . Of all crops grown, 70% are grasses. Agricultural grasses grown for their edible seeds are called cereals or grains (although

3690-566: The horse to automobile entrepreneur Charles S. Howard for $ 8,000 at Saratoga , in August. Howard assigned Seabiscuit to a new trainer, Tom Smith , who, with his unorthodox training methods, gradually brought Seabiscuit out of his lethargy. Smith paired the horse with Canadian jockey Red Pollard (1909–1981), who had experience racing in the West and in Mexico. On August 22, 1936, they raced Seabiscuit for

3772-454: The horse's trainer, lifted Woolf aboard Seabiscuit for the big match race against War Admiral." William Nack, Sports Illustrated , November 29, 1999 On November 1, 1938, Seabiscuit met War Admiral and jockey Charles Kurtsinger in what was dubbed the "Match of the Century." The event was run over 1 + 3 ⁄ 16 miles (1.9 km) at Pimlico Race Course . From the grandstands to

3854-425: The infield, the track was jammed with fans. Trains were run from all over the country to bring fans to the race, and the estimated 40,000 at the track were joined by 40 million listening on the radio. War Admiral was the favorite (1–4 with most bookmakers) and a nearly unanimous selection of the writers and tipsters, excluding a California contingent. Head-to-head races favor fast starters, and War Admiral's speed from

3936-459: The land area of the Earth , excluding Greenland and Antarctica . Grasses are also an important part of the vegetation in many other habitats, including wetlands , forests and tundra . Though they are commonly called "grasses", groups such as the seagrasses , rushes and sedges fall outside this family. The rushes and sedges are related to the Poaceae, being members of the order Poales , but

4018-453: The latest Cretaceous ( Maastrichtian ) aged Lameta Formation of India have pushed this date back to 66 million years ago. In 2011, fossils from the same deposit were found to belong to the modern rice tribe Oryzeae , suggesting substantial diversification of major lineages by this time. In 2018, a study described grass microfossils extracted from the teeth of the hadrosauroid dinosaur Equijubus normani from northern China, dating to

4100-615: The latter term, when used agriculturally, refers to both cereals and similar seeds of other plant species, such as buckwheat and legumes ). Three cereals—rice, wheat, and maize (corn)—provide more than half of all calories consumed by humans. Cereals constitute the major source of carbohydrates for humans and perhaps the major source of protein; these include rice (in southern and eastern Asia ), maize (in Central and South America ), and wheat and barley (in Europe , northern Asia and

4182-463: The leaves are attached. Grass leaves are nearly always alternate and distichous (in one plane), and have parallel veins. Each leaf is differentiated into a lower sheath hugging the stem and a blade with entire (i.e., smooth) margins. The leaf blades of many grasses are hardened with silica phytoliths , which discourage grazing animals; some, such as sword grass , are sharp enough to cut human skin. A membranous appendage or fringe of hairs called

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4264-469: The lemma and palea; these are generally interpreted to be modified sepals. The fruit of grasses is a caryopsis , in which the seed coat is fused to the fruit wall. A tiller is a leafy shoot other than the first shoot produced from the seed. Grass blades grow at the base of the blade and not from elongated stem tips. This low growth point evolved in response to grazing animals and allows grasses to be grazed or mown regularly without severe damage to

4346-600: The most prestigious honor, the American Horse of the Year Award . In 1938, as a five-year-old, Seabiscuit's success continued. On February 19, Pollard suffered a terrible fall while racing on Fair Knightess, another of Howard's horses. With half of Pollard's chest caved in by the weight of the fallen horse, Howard had to find a new jockey. After trying three, he settled on George Woolf , an already successful rider and old friend of Pollard's. Woolf's first race aboard Seabiscuit

4428-614: The name of Tampa Downs as the racetrack of the West Coast Jockey Club, and has since amassed a long and colorful history. The founding operation was headed by Ohio investor Harvey Myers and Kentucky Colonel Matt J. Winn . In 1943, the United States Army took over the track for use as a training facility. In 1946, the track was renamed Sunshine Park, and entered the modern era with the installation of an electric starting gate, photo finish and electric tote board. During

4510-438: The nation, and the final approval was given by Citizens Stamp Committee member Joan Mondale , wife of former Vice President Walter Mondale . Seabiscuit ran 89 times at 16 different distances over the course of his career. ^   a:  The Saturday Evening Post , dated April 27, 1940, reported: "By the following March the horse failed only by inches—because his jockey erred in looking back—to win in his first try at

4592-589: The notable horses that competed over the Tampa Bay Downs surface in the 2006-2007 racing season, with Street Sense defeating his rival by a nose in the Tampa Bay Derby. More recently, 2010 Kentucky Derby winner Super Saver, Eclipse Award turf champion Gio Ponti, Belmont Stakes and Breeders' Cup Classic winner Drosselmeyer, Breeders' Cup Classic winner Fort Larned, Eclipse Award winner Tepin, Kentucky Derby winner Always Dreaming and Belmont winner Tapwrit have raced at Tampa Bay Downs. The Silks Poker Room opened on December 13, 2003. Tampa Bay Downs has 28 stakes scheduled for

4674-466: The other was scratched, usually due to Seabiscuit's dislike of heavy ground. After extensive negotiation, the owners organized a match race for May 1938 at Belmont , but Seabiscuit was scratched. By June, Pollard had recovered, and on June 23, he agreed to work a young colt named Modern Youth. Spooked by something on the track, the horse broke rapidly through the stables and threw Pollard, shattering his leg and seemingly ending his career. Howard arranged

4756-467: The outside. Trusting in his horse's acceleration, Pollard steered between the leaders and burst into the lead, taking the firm ground just off the rail. As Seabiscuit showed his old surge, Wedding Call and Whichcee faltered, and Pollard drove his horse on, taking "The Hundred Grander" by a length and a half from the fast-closing Kayak II under jockey Leon Haas . Pandemonium engulfed the course. Neither horse and rider, nor trainer and owner, could get through

4838-400: The plant. Three general classifications of growth habit present in grasses: bunch-type (also called caespitose), stoloniferous , and rhizomatous . The success of the grasses lies in part in their morphology and growth processes and in part in their physiological diversity. There are both C3 and C4 grasses, referring to the photosynthetic pathway for carbon fixation. The C4 grasses have

4920-622: The relatively short time span of about 4 million years. According to Lester Charles King , the spread of grasses in the Late Cenozoic would have changed patterns of hillslope evolution favouring slopes that are convex upslope and concave downslope and lacking a free face were common. King argued that this was the result of more slowly acting surface wash caused by carpets of grass which in turn would have resulted in relatively more soil creep . There are about 12,000 grass species in about 771 genera that are classified into 12 subfamilies. See

5002-511: The running, Seabiscuit finished third. His winning streak was snapped, but the season was not over; Seabiscuit won his next three races (one a dead heat ) before finishing the year with a second-place at Pimlico . In 1937, Seabiscuit won 11 of his 15 races and was the year's leading money winner in the United States . However, War Admiral , having won the Triple Crown that season, was voted

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5084-412: The seagrasses are members of the order Alismatales . However, all of them belong to the monocot group of plants. Grasses may be annual or perennial herbs , generally with the following characteristics (the image gallery can be used for reference): The stems of grasses, called culms , are usually cylindrical (more rarely flattened, but not 3-angled) and are hollow, plugged at the nodes , where

5166-497: The spring of 1939, Seabiscuit covered seven of Howard's mares, all of which had healthy foals in spring of 1940. One, Fair Knightess's colt, died as a yearling. Seabiscuit and a still-convalescing Pollard recovered together at Howard's ranch, with the help of Pollard's new wife Agnes, who had nursed him through his initial recovery. Slowly, both horse and rider learned to walk again (Pollard joked that they "had four good legs between" them). Poverty and his injury had brought Pollard to

5248-548: The start of the La Jolla Handicap at Santa Anita , on February 9, 1940. Seabiscuit was third, beaten by two lengths. By their third comeback race, Seabiscuit was back to his winning ways, running away from the field in the San Antonio Handicap to beat his erstwhile training partner, Kayak II , by two and a half lengths. Under 124 pounds (56 kg), Seabiscuit equalled the track record for a mile and 1/16. One race

5330-445: The start. When the bell rang, Seabiscuit broke in front, led by over a length after 20 seconds, and soon crossed over to the rail position. Halfway down the backstretch, War Admiral started to cut into the lead, gradually pulling level with Seabiscuit, then slightly ahead. Following advice he had received from Pollard, Woolf had eased up on Seabiscuit, allowing his horse to see his rival, then asked for more effort. Two hundred yards from

5412-516: The third time, Seabiscuit faced off against Rosemont again, this time beating him by seven lengths. On September 11, Smith accepted an impost of 132 pounds (60 kg) for the Narragansett Special at Narragansett Park . On race day, the ground was slow and heavy, and unsuited to "the Biscuit", carrying the heaviest burden of his career. Smith wanted to scratch , but Howard overruled him. Never in

5494-463: The track in its entirety at auction in 1986. They had previously co-owned the track with George Steinbrenner , but a legal dispute between the two sides forced the auction. In 1998 Tampa Bay Downs added its 7/8-mile grass track, complete with a quarter-mile chute, which has become one of the most popular turf courses in North America. The course was completed in the spring of 1998 and the first race

5576-459: The tribe Poeae described in 1814 by Robert Brown , and the type genus Poa described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus . The term is derived from the Ancient Greek πόα (póa, "fodder") . Grasses include some of the most versatile plant life-forms . They became widespread toward the end of the Cretaceous period, and fossilized dinosaur dung ( coprolites ) have been found containing phytoliths of

5658-525: The winner; it was known colloquially as "The Hundred Grander." In his first warm-up race at Santa Anita Park , Seabiscuit won easily. In his second race of 1937, the San Antonio Handicap , he suffered a setback after he was bumped at the start and then pushed wide; Seabiscuit came in fifth, losing to Rosemont . The two met again in the Santa Anita Handicap a week later, where Rosemont won by

5740-496: The wire, Seabiscuit pulled away again and continued to extend his lead over the closing stretch, finally winning by four lengths despite War Admiral's running his best time for the distance. As a result of his races that year, Seabiscuit was named American Horse of the Year for 1938, beating War Admiral by 698 points to 489 in a poll conducted by the Turf and Sport Digest magazine . Seabiscuit

5822-416: Was 3,195. The 31st running of the Tampa Bay Derby on March 12 attracted a record all-source wagering handle of $ 10,949,948, which included $ 876,063 wagered on track. In 2022 Tampa Bay Downs continued to have a successful race meet and averaged $ 488,998 in handle per race. In 2023 Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill raising purses for Florida Bred horses at Tampa Bay Downs and Gulfstream Park . Prior to

5904-463: Was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral , by four lengths in a two-horse special at Pimlico and was voted American Horse of the Year for 1938. A small horse, at 15.2 hands high, Seabiscuit had an inauspicious start to his racing career, winning only a quarter of his first 40 races, but became an unlikely champion and

5986-613: Was contested on Kentucky Derby Day, May 2, 1998. This new avenue has provided more opportunities for horsemen and patrons alike. Other renovations include a 22-acre (89,000 m) golf range and short-game area called The Downs Golf Practice Facility, including a 270-yard (250 m) driving range and betting machines. When Tampa Bay Downs concluded its 81st season on May 6, 2007, the track had established new records in handle, attendance and purses paid, including an all-time attendance mark of 11,014 on Kentucky Derby Day, May 5, 2007, which featured Tampa Bay Derby winner Street Sense becoming

6068-517: Was left in the season. A week after the San Antonio, Seabiscuit and Kayak II both took the gate for the Santa Anita Handicap and its $ 121,000 prize. 78,000 paying spectators crammed the racetrack, most backing Seabiscuit. Pollard found his horse blocked almost from the start. Picking his way through the field, Seabiscuit briefly led. As they thundered down the back straight, Seabiscuit became trapped in third place, behind leader Whichcee and Wedding Call on

6150-434: Was not the poor performer Fitzsimmons had taken him for. His last two wins as a two-year-old came in minor stakes races. The next season started with a similar pattern. The colt ran 12 times in less than four months, winning four times. One of those races was a cheap allowance race on the "sweltering afternoon of June 29," 1936, at Suffolk Downs . That was where trainer Tom Smith first laid eyes on Seabiscuit. His owners sold

6232-597: Was owned by the powerful Wheatley Stable and trained by "Sunny Jim" Fitzsimmons , who had taken Gallant Fox to the United States Triple Crown of Thoroughbred Racing . Fitzsimmons saw some potential in Seabiscuit but felt the horse was too lazy. Fitzsimmons devoted most of his time to training Omaha , who won the 1935 Triple Crown. Seabiscuit was relegated to a heavy schedule of smaller races. He failed to win any of his first 17 races, usually finishing back in

6314-400: Was renamed Tampa Bay Downs in 1980. On February 12, 1981, Julie Krone , then a 17-year-old apprentice jockey and now a U.S. Racing Hall of Fame member, got her first career victory here on Lord Farkle. In 1983 the track began running periodic Arabian horse races. The Arabian-bred program ended in 2003. The present owners, Stella F. Thayer and her brother Howell Ferguson, purchased

6396-717: Was scheduled to go head-to-head with War Admiral in the Pimlico Special in November, in Baltimore, Maryland . Sent to race on the East Coast , on October 16, 1938, Seabiscuit ran second by two lengths in the Laurel Stakes to the filly Jacola , who set a new Laurel Park Racecourse record of 1:37.00 for one mile. "George Woolf always said he never had more fun on a racehorse than he did that day in 1938 at Pimlico , when Tom Smith,

6478-401: Was still fragile. Over the fall and winter of 1939, Seabiscuit's fitness seemed to improve by the day. By the end of the year, Smith was ready to return the horse to race training, with a collection of stable jockeys in the saddle. By the time of his comeback race, Pollard had cajoled Howard into allowing him the ride. After the horse was scratched due to soft going, the pair finally lined up at

6560-517: Was the $ 2,700 Bay Bridge Handicap, run over one-mile (1.6 km). Despite starting badly and carrying the top weight of 116 pounds (53 kg), Seabiscuit won by five lengths. At the World's Fair Handicap (Bay Meadows' most prestigious stakes race ), Seabiscuit led throughout. In 1937, the Santa Anita Handicap , California's most prestigious race, was worth over $ 125,000 ($ 2.8 million in 2010) to

6642-413: Was the Santa Anita Handicap, "The Hundred Grander" the horse had narrowly lost the previous year. Seabiscuit was drawn on the outside, and at the start was impeded by another horse, Count Atlas, angling out. The two were locked together for the first straight, and by the time Woolf disentangled his horse, they were six lengths off the pace. Seabiscuit worked his way to the lead but lost in a photo finish to

6724-496: Was the number one newsmaker of 1938. The only major prize that eluded him was the Santa Anita Handicap. Seabiscuit was injured during a race. Woolf , who was riding him, said that he felt the horse stumble. The injury was not life-threatening, although many predicted Seabiscuit would never race again. The diagnosis was a ruptured suspensory ligament in the front left leg. With Seabiscuit out of action, Smith and Howard concentrated on their horse Kayak II , an Argentine stallion. In

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