Del Mar opens its summer meet July 20 with a slightly different start than last year and with an increase in horses coming from Northern California.
Due to the San Diego County Fair being held on the same property, the seaside track in Southern California is starting on a Saturday rather than a traditional Friday. As a result, the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes and $200,000 San Clemente Stakes (G2T) will run opening day.
The headliner of the meet is the $1 million Pacific Classic Stakes (G1) Aug. 31. Last year's edition saw the Bob Baffert-trained Arabian Knight win gate to wire, fending off Geaux Rocket Ride by a neck.
"Our biggest race day is Aug. 31. Not only do we have that million-dollar race but we also have four other stakes races that day, an 11-race card. That's the highlight of the season," Del Mar director of promotions and events Chris Bahr said.
Watch: Bahr Previews Del Mar's Summer Meet
In addition to the Pacific Classic, that day's card will also feature the $300,000 Del Mar Handicap (G2T), the $300,000 Del Mar Mile (G2), the $150,000 Green Flash Handicap (G3T), and the $150,000 Torrey Pines Stakes (G3). The Pacific, Del Mar Handicap, and Green Flash are three of the six Breeders' Cup Challenge Series events held during the meet. The winner of each of those contests plus the $400,000 Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) July 27, the $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (G1) Aug. 3, and the $250,000 Pat O'Brien Stakes (G2) Aug. 24 earn automatic entry into a designated Breeders' Cup race. This year's Breeders' Cup will be held at Del Mar Nov. 1-2.
The eight-week meet, which goes through Sept. 8, will feature racing every Thursday-Sunday with graded stakes races every weekend. The track will also run one Monday on Labor Day, Sept. 2
Opening-day participation is strong, with the average number of entrants per race (an even 10 over 11 races, not counting also-eligibles) higher than the national average. In 2022, Del Mar saw 10.4 runners on its first day; last year, that number jumped to 10.9.
This year amid overpayments by many Southern California tracks, Del Mar has reduced purses by $400,000 from last year to just under $7.9 million. Still, with the closure of Golden Gate Fields, some horsemen previously based in Northern California are examining alternatives of where to run even with Northern California fairs ongoing.
Racing secretary David Jerkens said the number of stalls assigned this year is slightly higher than last year.
"One thing I found a little crazy," Jerkens said. "I pretty much assigned the same number of stalls, and I had just about to the horse the exact number of applicants as last year. We'll have about 1,900 at our peak in late July and I think we'll be consistently around 1,850, 1,900ish ballpark."
The condition book was tweaked to bring some trainers from the North down to Del Mar. The track states that the number of stalls occupied by Northern California-based trainers is up, with 152 stalls assigned compared to 116 last year.
"The applicants from Northern California have been healthy. There's been an uptick and you could attribute that to the uncertainty and everything that's transpired at Golden Gate Fields. There are a couple of trainers from Northern California who have not been here before and I definitely sense there's been more interest. But that being said, there's still connections up there that are still on the fair circuit and they want to support that," Jerkens said.
The jockey colony looks mostly the same with last year's leading rider, Juan Hernandez, back. Among those looking to challenge him for track superiority are Antonio Fresu, Umberto Rispoli, Hector Berrios, Kent Desormeaux, and Mike Smith.
