Kathleen O'Connell makes Tampa Bay Downs history with five-win card

Kathleen O’Connell turned a nine-race Tampa Bay Downs card into a showcase for placement, patience and a deep barn, sending out five winners on Sunday in a performance believed to be a one-day record for a trainer at the Oldsmar track.

She did it with eight horses entered across five races, which made the day as much about decisions as numbers. O’Connell won the opener with Surprise Package, swept the second race with Beaster Bunny and Princess Fortress, took the fifth with Princess Britni, won the sixth with Wicked Legacy and closed the afternoon with Fast Town. In the eighth, King Gerald ran third, giving her barn another placing on a day when nearly everything she touched fit the condition book.

The feat stood out even more because it came after a rougher stretch for the stable. O’Connell entered the meet 0-for-28 and had to work through a nearly three-week quarantine caused by EHV-1, a disruption that interfered with normal gate schooling and the daily rhythm of the barn. Tampa Bay Downs had already identified her operation as one built on a strong support crew and careful placement, and this card underscored both. She keeps about 18 horses at Gulfstream Park and more than 40 at Tampa Bay Downs, a split that gives her flexibility to spot runners where they are most likely to win.

The numbers behind the run were striking. Daily Racing Form said O’Connell had previously won four races on a Tampa card twice, on Feb. 23, 2003 and Jan. 2, 2026, and that the only other trainers to win four on a single Tampa card were Gerald Bennett, Jamie Ness and Chad Brown. Samuel Marin rode five winners on the same program, three for O’Connell, while entering the day with 134 wins at the meet and chasing Antonio Gallardo’s single-meet record of 147. O’Connell was 13-for-35 since April 1, a surge that pushed her barn into first place in the standings.

The five-win afternoon added another line to a résumé already defined by longevity and volume. Florida Thoroughbred Breeders’ and Owners’ Association listed O’Connell as the winningest female trainer of all time with 18,274 career wins as of Dec. 17, 2024, and Tampa Bay Downs said her horses have topped $1 million in earnings in 27 consecutive years. She won her first Tampa title in 1998-99, has been the track’s leading trainer of Florida-breds 13 years in a row and is now chasing a third straight Oldsmar training title and a fifth overall. At a track celebrating its 100th anniversary, five winners in one day made history feel earned, not accidental.