The 77th renewal of the Del Mar Futurity (G1) anchors the closing-day card at the 2024 Del Mar summer meet. The seven-furlong race for 2-year-olds has often served as a West Coast coming-out party for budding star racehorses and has been won in recent years by talented runners that went on to glory in U.S. classic races such as 2010 Preakness Stakes (G1) winner Lookin At Lucky, 2015 Triple Crown winner American Pharoah , and 2016 Kentucky Derby (G1) victor Nyquist .
Let's take a closer look at this year's cast of runners for this important grade 1 race Sunday at the seaside track. Bob Baffert has won the race a record 17 times and has three of the seven 2-year-olds entered.
1. Getaway Car: The lone graded stakes winner in the field, Getaway Car posted back-to-back dominant front-running victories and enters off a 5 1/2-length romp in the Best Pal Stakes (g3) on this main track Aug. 11. If not for the presence of a couple of talented stablemates, Getaway Car would probably be an overwhelming favorite.
JOCKEY: Juan Hernandez; TRAINER: Bob Baffert
2. Gaming: The second of three Bob Baffert-trained entrants. Was a runaway winner by 5 1/2 lengths in his career debut at 6 1/2 furlongs Aug. 11 at Del Mar. Interesting that Hernandez stuck with Getaway Car, but replacement Flavien Prat is riding exceptionally well. Dangerous.
JOCKEY: Flavien Prat; TRAINER: Bob Baffert
3. R Heisman: Won the Graduation Stakes for California-breds by three-quarters of a length Aug. 9 at Del Mar and is one of only two stakes winners in the field. Never worse than second in four starts, all under Juan Hernandez, who rides Getaway Car in this spot. Stalking style could be an asset if pace is hot.
JOCKEY: Umberto Rispoli; TRAINER: Peter Miller
4. Brother Tony: Closed to finish a distant third behind Del Mar Futurity entrant Gaming after a sluggish start in his Aug. 11 debut. A better break from the starting gate would help, but he might be outclassed in this spot.
JOCKEY: Reylu Gutierrez; TRAINER: Peter Miller
5. Rank: He rallied to finish second, beaten by 5 1/2 lengths by Del Mar Futurity entrant Gaming, in his Aug. 11 debut. An extra sixteenth of a mile might help close the gap but that's considerable ground to make up, and Rank has yet to win in two starts.
JOCKEY: Antonio Fresu; TRAINER: Doug O'Neill
6. McKinzie Street: Enters off a decisive front-running debut win July 28 at Del Mar in which he set a swift pace and pulled away to win by 3 1/2 lengths. Looks like the main challenger to a tough Bob Baffert-trained trio.
JOCKEY: Kazushi Kimura; TRAINER: Tim Yakteen
7. Citizen Bull: He was tested a bit in his Aug. 17 debut but after pressing pacesetter Smash It throughout, he put that foe away late for a three-quarter-length victory on this track. That debut win should set Citizen Bull up nicely if he's fast enough to match strides with his stablemates.
JOCKEY: Mike Smith; TRAINER: Bob Baffert
THE PICK: Getaway Car
LIVE LONGSHOT: Rank
SUPERFECTA: 1-2-6-7
