By Jim Charvat

TRAINERS SCRAMBLE FOR SHELTER AS HURRICANE HILLARY APPROACHES

Much of the talk on the backside at Del Mar Friday morning turned from horses to hurricanes. The ominous forecast hanging over the racetrack this weekend has some trainers on edge, while others scramble to find space for some of their horses.

The backside is full of horses housed in outside pens. They have chain link fencing with plastic tarps as roofs. No match for a hurricane should one decide to move this far north as forecasters are projecting.

So much of the morning was spent tending to the horses and then finding a place to put them. Trainer John Sadler has a couple dozen in outside pens. He’s planning to move them to empty stalls on the backside or to Los Alamitos.

Trainer Carla Gaines also found temporary housing for her dozen or so horses, but George Papaprodromou has several horses he needs to shelter before Hurricane Hillary is scheduled to arrive Saturday night.

“I’m full, I don’t know what to do,” Papaprodromou says. He had calls out in hopes someone would come through with a place to shelter from the storm.

Dan Blacker has a dozen or more horses outside but they’re in a more sturdy structure, with actual walls not fencing.

“Those roofs, the water runs off of them pretty well,” Blacker says. “It’s the more outdoor pens you gotta worry about.”

The heaviest rains are expected Sunday into Monday with some forecasts predicting several inches of rain. But the models are conflicting. Some say the bulk of the rain will be inland, while others say the coastline is vulnerable.

“Three inches of rain and this will all be flooded,” Gaines says of her stable area including her office. That presents other issues like having to replace all the fresh straw in the stalls. At $17 a bale, it could be expensive.

The last time weather affected the racing at Del Mar was Thanksgiving of 2019 when, out of an abundance of caution, racing was canceled ahead of a projected storm. It was the first time in the 82-year-history of the track that Del Mar lost a day of racing to inclement weather. Last September, and in November of 2018, heavy rain in the morning forced racing off of the turf. In 2015, an unexpected thunder storm, complete with thunder and lightning, caught everyone by surprise. Turf racing was canceled that day when patrons waded in from the flooded parking lot to get to the races.

ANISETTE LOOKS TO COMPLETE SAN CLEMENTE, OAKS DOUBLE

Ten talented fillies will line up in the starting gate Saturday afternoon for the 67^th running of the G1 Del Mar Oaks. They’ll travel a mile and an eighth on the Jimmy Durante turf course.

It marks the return of Anisette, the impressive winner of the G2 San Clemente at Del Mar last month. The English-bred import came from the back of the pack and rolled past the field, finishing 2 ½ lengths in front of runner-up Ocean Club. It was her third win in a row, dating back to last December in England, and her second of two races she’s run since arriving stateside.

“Eclipse Thoroughbred’s Aaron Wellman bought her privately and they sent her our way,” trainer Leonard Powell says. “We are very grateful for that.”

He expects the Oaks to come down to the trip.

“She won the San Clemente in good fashion,” Powell says. “Honestly, she ran up to expectations. She was very tractable in the race. She’s very easy to ride for the jockey because he can put her where he wants and whenever they ask her, she’s there for them. That’s a big asset in American racing.”

Window Shopping comes in off of her victory in the G2 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita in June. It’s been nearly 2 ½ months since that race.

“I didn’t want to overrun her into the Oaks,” trainer Dick Mandella says. “She’s had enough at Santa Anita I thought to carry her.”

Window Shopping will be trying turf again. Her initial try came in her career debut when she finished sixth in a maiden special weight at Del Mar last fall.

“If you watch the replay of her first race,” Mandella says, “she had no chance at all and wanted to run. I think she’ll like the turf very well and she’s proven to be a good filly.”

Mandella is also running Ruby Nell, a winner of an entry level allowance race at Del Mar on opening weekend.

Phil D’Amato also brings two horses to the Oaks. Paris Secret ran a disappointing ninth in the San Clemente, 8 ¼ lengths behind Anisette.

“She kind of checked a little bit out of it,” D’Amato says. “She’s a filly that just kind of likes to run all day. If you get her stopped, it’s hard to get back going. But I think the extra eighth of a mile should help her.”

D’Amato also entered Impact Warrior, an Irish-bred who just missed in her U.S. debut at Del Mar last month.

“I was really impressed with her first race in the country,” D’Amato notes. “We tried to get her in the San Clemente and it didn’t work, so I had to run her in an allowance race. I think she definitely fits with these horses. Her last breeze was pretty impressive.”

Impact Warrior worked five furlongs on the turf in 1:02.60 last Sunday.

Trainer Tim Yakteen is excited to run Big Pond in the Saturday’s Oaks. The Cal-bred won the $175,000 Fleet Treat at Del Mar last month, keeping her undefeated after her first two races, both on the dirt and both one-turn sprints.

“She showed her tenaciousness by being able to go from a maiden race into a stakes race against a very competitive group,“ Yakteen says of Big Pond’s win in the Fleet Treat. “She’s doing exceptionally well. She’s bred for the grass top and bottom. Her brother won first time out going long on the grass. We’re hoping that she replicates what her brother did.”

Last year’s Oaks winner, Spendarella, shipped in for the race for trainer Graham Motion. This year’s east coast invader is Be Your Best from the Horacio De Paz barn. The Irish-bred ran ninth and last in the G1 Belmont Oaks last out, but a month earlier she missed by a neck to Prerequisite in the G2 Wonder Again at Belmont Park.

The G1 Del Mar Oaks is Race #8 on Saturday’s 10-race card. Approximate post time is 5:30 p.m.

Here’s the field from the rail with jockeys and morning line odds: And Tell Me Nolies (Antonio Fresu, 12-1); Window Shopping (Hector Berrios, 6-1); Infinite Diamond (Mike Smith, 12-1); Ruby Nell (Edwin Maldonado, 6-1); Anisette (Umberto Rispoli, 5-2); Impact Warrior (Kent Desormeaux, 4-1); Big Pond (Ramon Vasquez, 8-1); Absolutely Zero (Mario Gutierrez, 50-1); Be Your Best (Juan Hernandez, 4-1), and Paris Secret (Joe Bravo, 15-1).

A DAY OF TRIBUTES PLANNED AT DEL MAR SATURDAY

It will be a day of tributes Saturday at Del Mar as two icons of the racing world are honored. Race caller Trevor Denman will receive the prestigious Laffit Pincay, Jr. Award followed by Fernando Toro’s Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

Denman will become the 19^th recipient of the Pincay Award, presented to those who have served the sport of racing with “integrity, extraordinary dedication, determination and distinction.” The presentation will be made prior to the sixth race on Saturday.

Then, following the seventh race, Toro will receive his jacket and plaque from racing’s Hall of Fame. The 82-year-old former jockey could not make the cross country trip to Saratoga to accept his awards in person earlier this month, so the hall shipped them out to Del Mar, which is just a few miles south from where Toro lives.

Video productions will accompany the ceremonies. Both presentations will be made in the winner’s circle.

HANDICAPPING SEMINARS AT DEL MAR THIS WEEKEND

Del Mar’s series of handicapping seminars continues this weekend. Every Saturday and Sunday during the summer meet top handicappers will offer their insights prior to the races. The sessions are free and held at the Plaza de Mexico, next to the large fountain.

On Saturday, host Frank Scatoni will have long-time horseplayer Joe Lademan as his handicapping guest. Then on Sunday, Dan Smith will have Ed Wilson, handicapper with the San Gabriel Valley Tribune as his guest. The seminars start at 1 p.m. and last 30-to-40 minutes.

WINE TASTING AND HORSES: A WINNING COMBINATION ON SATURDAY

Clean your palates and get ready to do a little wine tasting at Del Mar’s “Uncorked” Saturday. Over 100 wines and champagnes from around the world will be available for you to taste from 2 to 5 p.m. Food trucks also will be brought in. It all takes place at the Seaside Cabana at the west end of the Grandstand, trackside so you won’t miss any of the racing action. Tickets for the event are available online at dmtc.com.

COOLING OUT: Jockey Tiago Pereira has been suspended three days (August 24, 25 and 26) for an incident in the eighth race last Sunday. The stewards ruled that Pereira altered course without sufficient clearance in the stretch. His mount, Legislator, went on to win the race but was disqualified and placed sixth…Jockey Mike Smith has taken off his two mounts Friday. He was set to ride the second and fifth races. Smith is up in Los Angeles today for the funeral of Jerry Moss…The horse world was shocked Thursday to learn of the passing of Art Collector, who was euthanized due to complications from laminitis. The 2023 G1 Pegasus World Cup winner ran at Del Mar in 2021 in the Breeders’ Cup Classic…Notable works for Friday: Dirt – Arabian Lion (5f, :59.20); Fort Bragg (5f, 59.60), and Geaux Rocket Ride (7f, 1:25.40). A total of 137 horses put in official works. 

Del Mar Statistics

 Jockey Standings
(Current Through August 17, 2023 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings
(Current Through August 17, 2023 Inclusive) 

Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through August 17, 2023 Inclusive)

Winning favorites -- 56 out of 152 -- 36.84%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 33 out of 87 -- 37.93%
Winning favorites on turf -- 23 out of 65 -- 35.38%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 12 out of 21 -- 57.14%
In-the-Money favorites -- 93 out of 152 -- 61.18%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 16 out of 21 -- 76.19%