By Jim Charvat

CANCELED: HURRICANE HILLARY PROMPTS SCRATCH OF SUNDAY RACING

For the first time since 2019 and for only the second time in the 84-year-history of Del Mar, racing has been canceled due to inclement weather. Sunday’s nine-race card has been shelved due to the likelihood of heavy rain and high winds from Hurricane Hillary.

Forecast models show up to three inches of rain is possible from Saturday evening through Monday morning. Del Mar officials felt for the safety of the horses, the jockeys, the trainers and their staffs, Del Mar employees and it’s patrons it was best to scrap racing on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, the forecast calls for substantial rain and winds that appear to be headed our way,” Del Mar president and COO Josh Rubinstein said Saturday morning. “We are hopeful this will only be a one-day thing for us, but it is a necessary step we feel we have to take.”

The lost date will not be made up. Instead the races scheduled for Sunday will be distributed among other upcoming cards over the next weeks.

Turf training, usually conducted on Sundays, was moved up to this morning.

Meanwhile, trainers on the backside stable area have been anticipating the cancelation for days. They’ve also been making preparations for whatever rain may dump on Del Mar this weekend.

“We’re going to move the ones that are outside up to San Luis Rey or we’ll move them inside,” says trainer Peter Miller, who has a bulk of his horses in one of the concrete barns on the east side of the grounds. “Basically we’re going to shift some horses around so we don’t have any horses outside when the rains come.”

The trainers may be competitors on race day but in situations like this they work together.

“I used a couple of Phil D’Amato’s stalls,” Mike Puype says. “They’ll find homes for all those horses. It won’t be a problem. The biggest problem is the blowing wind. The rain could blow into the shedrows or if the drains back up. In the old days they backed up right away but they’ve put better drainage in here over the years.”

D’Amato had to move up the works for about a dozen of his turf runners but you won’t hear him complaining.

“The wrench thrown into my plans is the same wrench thrown in every other trainer’s plans,” D’Amato says. “We’re all in the same boat. We just got make the most of it and do what’s best for the horses.”

In addition to racing, training is also canceled tomorrow and Monday, too, so several trainers were calling an audible this morning and moving works up a day to avoid the rain and cancelations.

Bob Baffert said he had to shift “lots” of works and Miller estimated about 10. In all, a total of 384 horses put in official works on the dirt and turf Saturday morning, a record number for a single morning of works at Del Mar.

As for the jockeys, most are relieved they won’t have to ride in a tropical storm.

“It’s a no brainer, it’s the logical thing to do,” Hall of Fame jockey Kent Desormeaux says. “I’m glad that they made their decision early. That way these horses that were ready to run can breeze this morning. I’m sure horses that were supposed to run today will exercise now instead of staying in their stall.”

The last time weather affected racing at Del Mar was Thanksgiving Day 2019 when racing was canceled ahead of a projected storm.

There have been numerous instances of races being taken off the turf at Del Mar because of wet weather over the years. The most recent came last September when the previous night’s rain forced racing off the grass and onto the main track.

“We’re just going to try to close down the hatches,” trainer Craig Lewis says. “We’ll do everything we can to protect the horses, that’s the main thing.”

PATRICK VALENZUELA: HELPING OUT AROUND THE BARN

Stop by the barn of Antonio Saavedra on the backside at Del Mar these days and you may recognize one of his workers. On any given morning there is a man hot walking the horses and generally helping out around the stable.

Now, what if you were told that man has won more races (765) at Del Mar than every jockey currently riding at the seaside oval.

He is Patrick Valenzuela.

“I’m trying to do some live work and keep busy,” Valenzuela says. “And of course, I love being around horses. It’s also nice to be out here around other horsemen I’ve known for years and years.”

Valenzuela also is rehabbing from the knee replacement surgery he had two months ago. While he has not officially announced his retirement, Valenzuela is 60-years-old and has been out of racing for several years now. His association with Saavedra goes back to his riding days.

“I’ve known Tony for years,” Valenzuela says, “when he was working for Barry Abrams. Tony’s been a good guy to me and very supportive. He said he would give me a job on the backside doing something, so he’s got me helping him at the barn. It’s pretty cool.”

It sort of reminds Patrick of the days when he first got into horse racing.

“As a kid I used to help my dad,” Valenzuela says. “He had about 25 horses and me and my brother would help him. Groom them and gallop them and everything. I started out when I was 9-years-old, washing feed tubs, cleaning up around the barn and helping the grooms.”

When he turned 14 Valenzuela started working horses and by 16 he was racing them.

“I know everything there is in the barn,” Valenzuela notes. “It’s all I’ve ever known. I don’t know anything else but I do know horses.”

Valenzuela’s racing career spanned 39 years, some of it interrupted and marred by the demons of addiction. But much of it was filled with success. Of his 4,372 victories, one was a Kentucky Derby win aboard Sunday Silence in 1989 and seven were Breeders’ Cup wins. He had 68 stakes victories and 765 wins overall at Del Mar, fourth best all-time.

He’s hoping to get back up in the saddle by September. As for any kind of comeback to racing, P-Val will leave that up to fate.

“You never know, only God knows that,” he says. “The doctors will let me know if I’m good enough to do that. I’ll just keep trying one day at a time and see what happens.”

‘SHIP & WIN’ CONTINUES TO LURE OUT-OF-STATE TRAINERS AND OWNERS

At the close of racing last Sunday, the halfway mark of the summer meet, 121 horses had qualified for the “Ship & Win” program, offering at least one explanation for the large fields Del Mar has enjoyed this summer.

This year’s number is a slight reduction in the number of horses qualifying for “Ship & Win” from the 143 a year ago.

“We had record number of starters last year,” racing secretary David Jerkens says, “and we didn’t really expect to match that this year. But overall it’s very encouraging. You add that up to 14, 15 days and the number is significant.”

What we have seen is the ripple effect “Ship & Win” has on Southern California racing as a whole throughout the year. This year there’s been an uptick in the number of horses that qualified for “Ship & Win” at Santa Anita and are still eligible for the bonuses at Del Mar. That number has increased from 29 a year ago to 43 this year.

“This is year three of us opening it up to Santa Anita,” Jerkens says, “and I think it’s catching on a little bit. There may be individuals who acquire a horse in April and May and they know that they’re still eligible for Del Mar if they start at Santa Anita.”

In this case, an eligible horse can make two starts at Santa Anita in May and June and still be eligible for purse bonuses at Del Mar. At the Santa Anita autumn meet horses will remain eligible as long as they’ve made one start at Del Mar.

“Ship & Win” is in its 13^th season. Over 2,500 horses have qualified over that time. If a horse has made its last start outside of the state, they get a bonus just for running: $5,000 for dirt runners, $4,000 for turf. Then on top of the bonus they get a purse supplement: 50% for dirt, 40% for turf.

“It’s a key component to our program,” Jerkens notes.

Thirteen “Ship & Win” horses have won a race during the summer meet.

“Typically it levels out,” Jerkens says. “Generally the big bump is the first few weeks of the meet. We could get a bump if we get some shippers for the stakes that we were not expecting.”

Pacific Classic Day and closing weekend, with the G1 Debutante and the G1 Futurity, are all coming up in September.

“Stakes races do qualify,” Jerkens continues. “Obviously no purse bonus but they do get the appearance fee and it helps with the shipping.”

The Del Mar summer meet runs through September 10.

TRIBUTES PLANNED AT DEL MAR TODAY

A special treat will unfold for those who come out to the track today as Del Mar honors two icons of the racing world. 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.

COOLING OUT: The California Horse Racing Board approved racing dates for Southern California in 2024 at their meeting at the Del Mar Hilton Thursday. They mirror the 2023 dates with one exception. Del Mar’s fall meet will start a week early and go for five weeks to accommodate hosting the Breeders’ Cup…Trainer Graham Motion says Sister Otoole came out of her win in Friday’s CTT & TOC Stakes in good order. It’s the second year in a row Sister Otoole has come out west to win the mile and three-eighths turf race for fillies and mares. Motion says she’ll probably ship to Keeneland next and run in the G3 Dowager…Notable works for Saturday: Dirt – Arabian Knight (4f, :47.60); Maltese Falcon (4f, :48.60); Practical Move (4f, :47.40); Pushiness (4f, :49.40); Ceiling Crusher (5f, 1:00.00); National Treasure (5f, 1:00.40); Slow Down Andy (5f, 1:00.40); Spirit of Makena (5f, 1:01.00); Tripoli (6f, 1:12.60, and Skinner (7f, 1:26.40). Turf – Exaulted (4f, :48.00); Turn on the Jets (4f, :51.20); Balnikhov (5f, 1:02.80); Conclude (5f, 1:04.20); Gold Phoenix (5f, 1:03.00, and Macadamia (5f, 1:02.80).

Del Mar Statistics

 Jockey Standings
(Current Through August 18, 2023 Inclusive)

Trainer Standings
(Current Through August 18, 2023 Inclusive) 

Winning Favorites Report
(Current Through August 18, 2023 Inclusive)

 Winning favorites -- 59 out of 160 -- 36.88%
Winning favorites on dirt -- 34 out of 91 -- 37.36%
Winning favorites on turf -- 25 out of 69 -- 36.23%
Winning odds-on favorites -- 13 out of 22 -- 59.09%
In-the-Money favorites -- 99 out of 160 -- 61.88%
In-the-Money odds-on favorites -- 17 out of 22 -- 77.27%