Dog, Horse Races Continue Simulcast Style At Derby Lane

ST. PETERSBURG, FL — In the beginning, the stands at Derby Lane were crammed with men wearing suits and top hats and women donning their best dresses as they watched greyhounds race, hoping for their bet to win.

Derby Lane was founded in 1925, and it's packed with history and visits from baseball legends, Joe DiMaggio, Babe Ruth and Steve O'Neill, and acting legends like Mickey Rooney.

Brad Pitt and George Clooney brought the nice suits back to Derby Lane in 2001 when a couple of scenes in "Oceans Eleven" were filmed there.

With the passage of Amendment 13 in 2020, live dog racing was outlawed in Florida.

Now that the green wooden benches in the stands sit empty about 96 years after they opened, facing a track that will never feel racing paws on its surface again, many people think that Derby Lane has completely closed.

It's still open, has entrees, snacks, gambling and simulcast betting, while the history of the track hangs on the walls in black and white as well as color photos.

Deborah Mann has worked at Derby Lane for almost 28 years, and she did wait on Mickey Rooney in 1995.

"He was sitting here all by himself," Mann told Patch. "He was not here to chit-chat, he just wanted to gamble."

She has done a full circle of jobs from server to hostess, bartender, management and now she works as a short-order cook on the 4th floor. Dining tables used to be filled with people, according to Mann. However, with the pandemic and the closure of the live race track that has changed the restaurant's numbers. It still has its regulars though, and she knows just about all of them.

As she walked through the poker lounge on the first floor, she greeted a few of the regulars by name. Cocktail servers handed whiskey and beer to a few of the gamblers. Back on the 4th floor another regular who wore a dirty, faded baseball cap pumped his fists as he stood in front of one of the screens that showed virtual Derby Lane racing. "Come on, pull ahead, You [expletive]," he yelled. A man in a business suit sat behind him quietly observing the race as he made marks on a sheet of paper.

Simulcast horse wagers and simulcast dog wagers remain open on the 4th floor. The business plans on keeping the simulcast wagering and poker room open for years, according to its website. Saturdays only, the Dog Saloon on the 6th floor is open, and it has a bar and and simulcast screens. Derby Lane, 10490 Gandy Boulevard, St. Petersburg, is open every day.

For more information about the racing schedules, visit Derby Lane's website. To view its food menu, click here.