“The Sport of Kings and Queens” traces more than 200 years of horse racing in the Tampa Bay region, from early 19th-century contests at Fort Brooke to the founding and growth of Tampa Bay Downs. In Florida, the so-called “sport of kings” is often led by women. The exhibition highlights barrier-breaking jockeys and leaders, including Diane Crump, Julie Krone and Stella Ferguson Thayer, who helped shape the sport’s history locally and across the country. It also follows the development of Plant Field, R. E. Olds’ ambitious Oldsmar, Fla., racetrack, and the track’s reinvention as Sunshine Park and later Florida Downs. Along the way, we meet legendary race caller Tom Durkin, whose early work at Florida Downs helped launch a national broadcasting career, and New York Yankees owner George M. Steinbrenner, whose ownership stake and advocacy helped raise the track’s profile.
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