Florida offers a wide choice of sports entertainment. Thrilling and exciting events ranging from football, baseball, and basketball to horse, greyhound, and motor racing can be watched and enjoyed throughout the state. Football and baseball are particularly popular in Miami where a number of sporting events are held. The spring is the busiest time in most fields of sports while Florida's sunny climate makes participation sports such as tennis, golf, and watersports popular throughout the year.
Football
Florida presently boasts three teams in the National Football League (NFL): the Miami Dolphins, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Miami Dolphins, members of the NFL long before the Buccaneers and the Jaguars, have appeared in five Super Bowls, winning twice. The season runs from September to December.
Florida holds more college bowl games than any other state. Among the college teams, the Seminoles of Tallahassee, the Hurricanes out of Miami, and the Gators from Gainesville often finish high in national football ratings; their rivalry is fierce.
Around New Year's Day there is a glut of important and popular college games.
The three favorites are the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, the Orange Bowl Classic in Miami, and the annual Gator Bowl clash in Jacksonville.
Baseball
set up in 1993, the Florida Marlins was the state's first major league baseball team. Despite the relatively short time since joining the National League, the Marlins have won two World Series championships. The second Florida team to join the major leagues was the Tampa Bay Devil Rays based at St. Petersburg Tropicana Field stadium. The baseball season runs from April to October. Eighteen major league baseball teams hold spring training in Florida. In March the teams play friendly games in many cities in the so-called Grapefruit League. These games, which take place throughout the week, attract huge crowds, with fans often coming from outside the state. For dates and tickets contact the individual stadiums in advance. A list of the teams, cities and phone numbers is also available from the Florida Sports Foundation.
Horse Racing And Greyhound Racing
Florida boasts the country's second largest thoroughbred industry, centered on Ocala. Gulfstream Park in Hallandale has racing from January through April. This is the home of the prestigious one million dollar Florida Derby which is run in March. The famous Breeder's Cup is often held at Gulfstream. From May through December racing moves to Calder Race Course in Miami.
The Summit of Speed in July and the Festival of the Sun in October are two days of stakes racing at Calder, each with purses totaling over one million dollars. Thoroughbred racing also takes place at Tampa Bay Downs in Tampa from December to May. There is one harness racing track in Florida, Pampano Park in Pompano Beach. Here standardbreds race year-round. Greyhound racing is popular in Florida and held at 16 tracks across the state, including in Miami and Tampa.
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