APPLICATIONS FOR STALLS ON DEL MAR’S BACKSIDE MIRROR 2023
It looks like another full house on the backside at Del Mar as horsemen and women from around the country descend on the seaside oval this summer. The number of stalls that have been assigned this year is slightly higher than last year. In 2023, Del Mar had 1,903 horses boarded on the backside and officials believe we’ll be around that amount again in 2024.
“One thing I found a little crazy,” says racing secretary David Jerkens, “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.”
Twelve out-of-state trainers have been assigned stalls for the upcoming meet, including Patrick Biancone from Florida, Todd Fincher from New Mexico, Jonathan Thomas from Maryland and Dallas Stewart from Kentucky.
The largest number of out-of-town trainers is coming from Northern California. The number of stalls being used by trainers based in and around the Bay Area is up 24 percent over last year with a total of 152 horses shipping the 500-plus miles south to Del Mar compared to 116 last year.
“The applicants from Northern California have been healthy,” Jerkens says. “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.”
One significant change of note in the condition book for the 2024 summer meet is intended to entice Northern California trainers.
“We tweaked the allowance races,” Jerkens says. “Now it’s for horses who have not won $21,000 other than. The reasoning behind that is we had a mindset that we didn’t want to penalize Northern California allowance wins so they’re basically not going to count against a horse’s eligibility. You may see some horses at Golden Gate and Pleasanton that have won allowance races still in a one-other-than.”
Other out-of-state trainers setting up camp at Del Mar this summer are Vann Belvoir from Arizona, Rohan Crichton and Herman Wiliensky from Florida and Kent Sweezey from Kentucky. The new faces are the result of a lot of hard work by Jerkens and his staff in the racing office.
“Usually I’m on the road in the spring,” Jerkens notes. “I reach out to connections and just let as many people as possible know about the programs we’re offering. Typically our stakes schedule, our purse schedule, the ‘Ship & Win’ information and recruitment programs are announced in the spring. The effort is to spread the word as much as possible about Del Mar.”
A couple of familiar faces will not be working on the Del Mar backside this summer, most notably Keith Desormeaux, brother of jockey Kent Desormeaux and an established trainer in his own right. He has moved his operations back home to the Midwest after 29 years of racing on the west coast and at Del Mar. Also, Kristen Mulhall, who has been racing horses at Del Mar since 2002, has moved back home to Ohio and disbanded her California operation.
There are 292 proposed races scheduled for the Del Mar summer meet with purses totaling $26.6 million to be distributed over the 31-race days.
DEL MAR TO SERVE UP TASTY STAKES SCHEDULE THIS SUMMER
It promises to be another summer of great stakes action at Del Mar with more than $7.8 million up for grabs, highlighted by the 34th running of the $1 million FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic on August 31. The first six cards of the 2024 summer season will contain at least one stakes race with a total of 10 stakes on tap for the first two weeks.
The Del Mar summer meet kicks off Saturday, July 20 and it won’t take long to get to the good stuff. Two of the 39 stakes races being offered this summer will be run on Opening Day. There’s the traditional Opening Day feature, the $100,000 Caesars Sportsbook Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds going a mile on the turf, as well as the G2 San Clemente, the local prep for the G1 Del Mar Oaks.
“Nominations for the first four stakes on opening weekend were healthy,” racing secretary David Jerkens says. “I expect the Bing Crosby and the San Diego to have solid fields. It appears to be following the pattern of last year.”
Week two is highlighted by the G2 San Diego Handicap, the mile and a sixteenth local prep for the Pacific Classic. It will be run on Saturday July 27 and could feature Saudi Cup winner Senor Buscador and last year’s Pacific Classic winner, Arabian Knight, who would be making his 2024 debut.
Sharing top billing with the San Diego is the G1 Bing Crosby Stakes and last year’s winner, The Chosen Vron, is slated to defend his title. It’s the first of six Grade I races at Del Mar this summer, and the first of six ‘Win & Your In’ races for the Breeders’ Cup at Del Mar in November.
The second of the Grade I races takes place the following weekend. Top distaffers will compete in the Clement Hirsch Stakes on Saturday, August 3. The following day, Sunday, August 4, the CTBA Stakes will be run, the first of 10 2-year-old stakes at Del Mar this summer.
The marquee stakes weekend is set for the Labor Day weekend beginning Saturday, August 31. In addition to the 34th running of the FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic there will be four other graded stakes on the undercard including the G2 Del Mar Handicap and the G2 Del Mar Mile. Throw in the G3 Green Flash and the G3 Torrey Pines and you have a must-see weekend for racing fans. And if that isn’t enough, two more stakes are scheduled for Sunday, September 1 including the G2 Del Mar Derby with another pair of stakes set to be run on Labor Day, September 2. Ten stakes packed into three days of racing.
“This is the third year we are having the Pacific Classic on Labor Day weekend,” Jerkens points out, “and I think we obviously have strength in the undercard. It worked well last year so we’re optimistic.”
Nineteen stakes will be offered on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course over the eight week summer meet including the G2 Eddie Read on Sunday, July 28; the G2 Yellow Ribbon on Saturday, August 10; the G1 Del Mar Oaks on Saturday, August 17 and the G2 John Mabee on Saturday, September 7.
In addition, eight stakes will be exclusive to Cal-breds totaling $1 million in purses. The first will be the $150,000 Fleet Treat Stakes on Friday, July 26.
It all comes to a head on closing weekend as the top 2-year-olds on the grounds take center stage. On Saturday, September 7, the fillies step up in the G1 FanDuel Racing Debutante followed by the G1 Del Mar Futurity on closing day, Sunday, September 8.
IN MEMORIAM: MARTIN WYGOD AND DAVID HOFMANS
A couple of familiar faces will be missing from the Del Mar landscape this summer. Marty Wygod and David Hofmans both passed away earlier this year.
Wygod was a beloved owner and breeder at Del Mar dating back to 1994 when he and his wife Pam first moved to California from New Jersey for the purpose of being closer to their horse operation. They made many friends over the years through racing partnerships and, in 1999, Martin became a member of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club’s Board of Directors, a position he held until his death in April.
Wygod made his mark on the track with such champions as 2009 Breeders’ Cup Ladies Classic (now the Distaff) winner Life Is Sweet and 2004 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile winner Sweet Catomine. Both were bred by the Wygod’s out of their broodmare Sweet Life. The Wygod’s also raced millionaires Idiot Proof and Tranquility Lake and owned Grade I winners Courageous Cat and After Market.
His presence at the track will be sorely missed.
As will be the case with David Hofmans, who died earlier this month. The always upbeat and friendly trainer conditioned horses for 50 years with such notable successes as 1997 Belmont Stakes winner Touch Gold and 1996 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Alphabet Soup.
He also trained Dramatic Gold, Adoration and Balance a horse who won three Grade I races for Hofmans in the mid-nineties. Compassionate, classy and a true gentleman were just some of the words used to describe the man that was loved and admired by everyone who had the chance to meet him.
COOLING OUT: A busy day Wednesday at the Racing Office as entries were pulled for Opening Day. 119 horses were entered in the 11 race card that kicks off the 31-day summer meet…This will be only the third time in Del Mar’s storied history that Opening Day is being held on a Saturday. The first was the inaugural opening day in 1937. The second was in 1953. This year’s San Diego County Fair closed later than usual, on July 7, necessitating the push back to Saturday for Del Mar’s summer meet opener.