OPENING DAY AT DEL MAR ALWAYS A SPECIAL OCCASION

They’ve been in a partnership since man first domesticated the Equus Caballus some 6000 years ago. One would assume, since it’s not well documented, that it wasn’t long before one man on horseback said to another man, “I bet my horse is faster than yours” and it was ‘game on.’ From the bush tracks of Louisiana to the streets of Italy; from the vast plains of Mongolia to under the Twin Spires in Kentucky, horse racing has been a part of human history in one form or another for generations.

Beginning this weekend and every Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the next eight weeks, more history will be made at Del Mar. Whether it’s on the well-manicure lawn of the Jimmy Durante Turf Course or the finely groomed one mile dirt oval, men with last names of Baffert, Mandella, O’Neill and D’Amato will be out to prove that their horses are faster than the others.

While the simple pride of winning provided plenty of motivation for early man there are other incentives thrown-in these days. Del Mar has sweetened the pot with over $26 million in purse money that will be distributed over the course of the summer meet. There will be 39 stakes races spread out over the 31-days. Those races alone will be worth over $7.8 million.

Once again, Opening Day at Del Mar is sold out. A cap on approximately 21,000 seats will provide patrons with plenty of room to get around and shorter lines at the concession stands and betting windows. It is a chance to hob-knob with the stars in the Turf Club or pound a few back with friends at a picnic table on the blacktop. All of it as the cool ocean breeze blows off the nearby Pacific Ocean. 

Fashion will be the play of the day, covering a wide range of outfits from beautiful dresses and thousand-dollar suits to shorts and flip flops. And the hats. Every size, color, and creative theme will be on display. The more outrageous headpieces will require strong neck muscles and impressive balance to keep them in place. 

It’s an experience like no other, a chance to watch some of the most beautiful animals in the world race at breath taking speeds while accepting the challenge to pick the winner of each race. Some will spend hours poring over numbers and stats in the Daily Racing Form. Others will go to the paddock pre-race and decide for themselves who they think is the most likely winner by the way the horse looks and acts. Others will go strictly by numbers and odds while some may pick a horse because of the colored silks the jockey is wearing. 

And the funny thing is, they all work. 

The gates open at 11:30 a.m. and the first race is at 2 p.m. 

RICHARD BALTAS MAKES DEL MAR STAKES RETURN IN OSUNITAS

Trainer Richard Baltas has not started a horse at Del Mar in three years but one of the first he’ll send out is one of the favorites in Sunday’s $100,000 Osunitas Stakes, a one mile grass test for fillies and mares.

Baltas hadn’t raced in California since May of 2022 as he tended to legal issues. The 63-year old trainer returned for the winter/spring meet at Santa Anita this past December and is rebuilding his once prominent stable. He’ll run Ag Bullet, a graded stakes winner earlier this year, in the Osunitas. She’s coming off a disappointing trip back east to Churchill Downs for Derby week where the daughter of Twirling Candy finished ninth of 10 in the G2 Distaff Turf Mile.

“She set really fast fractions,” Baltas says. “It rained a lot that day and he (jockey Junior Alvarado) kind of sent her out of there and she didn’t do it. But she came back fine.”

Her win in the G3 Monrovia at Santa Anita in April was her fourth in five starts dating back to January of 2023. Like her race before that, the $100,000 Wishing Well Stakes, it was six and a half furlongs down the hillside course. But Baltas doesn’t think distance will be an issue in the Osunitas.

“I think she can get the mile because she’s won at a mile,” Baltas points out. “She doesn’t need the lead. It’s better if she sits behind the speed. I think she’ll rate a little bit. She’s not going to be far back.”

Baltas shared his first training title at Del Mar with Phil D’Amato in the summer of 2017 and won the title outright in the fall of 2019 and 2020. He’s returned with a large string of horses for this summer.

“We have 60 horses, 45 here,” Baltas notes. “Everything’s going good. My old clients came back. We have a good mixture. Mostly a lot of young horses.”

Baltas has always enjoyed coming down to Del Mar.

“Everybody gets excited,” Baltas says. “They’re all in a better mood. There are more fans which is great for the sport. Great turf racing here and it’s fun.”

Ag Bullet will vie for favoritism with Bob Baffert’s Richi, a Chilean-bred who, at one point, won five straight races in her home country, both on turf and dirt. She came to Baffert’s barn around the first of the year and, after time off to adapt to the new hemisphere, she made her U.S. debut in the $100,000 Desert Stormer Stakes at Santa Anita, finishing second.

“She ran a good race,” Baffert says. “She got nailed there. I think she saw the other horse coming.”

Baffert says horses coming from South America need up to six months to acclimate. 

“You sort of have to re-train them,” Baffert notes. “When they gallop (in South America), they gallop bareback. The only time they put a saddle on is when they breeze so you have to get them used to that. You have to remember, for her it’s winter right now. But so far it’s been pretty smooth with her.”

Also entered in the Osunitas is Del Mar’s darling of 2022, Justique, who captured the imagination of racing fans two years ago. Trainer John Shirreffs stretched her out to a mile and an eighth in her last, the G1 Gamely at Santa Anita, and she finished seventh.

“Justique can be a little quirky,” Shirreffs notes, “but I don’t think she was beaten that far, what, four or five lengths. She’s doing great and we’re anxious to see her run and hoping for a good outcome.”

Now a 4-year-old, the daughter of Justify has not won since her 2-year-old season when she captured the Desi Arnaz during the Del Mar fall meet. 

The Osunitas is the seventh race on Sunday’s 11-race card. The probable post time is 5 p.m.

Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and morning line odds. Miss Lizzy (Geovanni Franco, 8-1); Ascendancy (Reylu Gutierrez, 15-1); Justique (Mike Smith, 8-1); Real Fire (Jeremy Laprida, 15-1); Ag Bullet (Umberto Rispoli, 5/2); Sun of Hill (Kazushi Kimura, 10-1); Richi (Juan Hernandez, 2-1); Hang the Moon (Antonio Fresu, 8-1) and Lunar Impact (Hector Berrios, 10-1).

WHERE ARE THEY NOW: 2023 SUMMER MEET’S CHAMPIONS REVISITED

As we get ready to pop the gates on another fun-filled summer meet at Del Mar, let’s take a look back on last year’s local equine champions and where they are now.

Arabian Knight - Horse of the Meet - Top 3-Year-Old: The winner of the G1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic went on to finish fourth in the B.C. Classic in November at Santa Anita and then head to the sidelines for a well-deserved freshening. The son of Uncle Mo has still not raced in 2024 but is expected to make his 4-year-old debut in the G2 San Diego on July 27.

Gold Phoenix - Top Older Horse and Top Grass Horse: He won both the G2 Eddie Read in July and the G2 Del Mar Handicap in September. He would go on to finish fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Turf before trainer Phil D’Amato gave him a brief freshening. The gelding returned in April and finished a disappointing ninth in the G3 American Stakes, but rebounded with a win in the G2 Charles Whittingham at Santa Anita in May. Gold Phoenix is being considered for a defense of his crown in the Eddie Read on July 28.

Adare Manor - Top Older Filly & Mare: Won the G1 Clement Hirsch in August. Following another victory in the G1 Zenyatta at Santa Anita in October she appeared primed to take on the big girls in the Breeders’ Cup Distaff but only managed a well-beaten seventh. The 5-year-old daughter of Uncle Mo has turned into a beast in 2024 winning the G1 Apple Blossom at Oaklawn Park in April and the G2 Santa Margarita at Santa Anita in May. Trainer Bob Baffert plans to bring back Adare Manor to defend her title in the Clement Hirsch August 3.

The Chosen Vron - Top Sprinter: The top Cal-bred of 2023 won the G1 Bing Crosby but didn’t fare nearly as well in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint finishing fifth. He would return to Del Mar in the fall and win the Cary Grant Stakes. The son of Vronsky has won all four of his races in 2024, all stakes, and has won 13 of his last 14 outings dating back to September of 2022. Look for the 6-year-old gelding to defend his title in the Bing Crosby July 27.

Anisette - Top 3-Year-Old Filly: She first served notice with a win in the G2 San Clemente on opening weekend and then put in a scintillating stretch run to win the G1 Del Mar Oaks in August. She was runner up to Grade 1 winner Didia in her next race, the G2 Rodeo Drive, prompting trainer Leonard Powell to skip the Breeders’ Cup. She scored another Grade I win in 2023, winning the American Oaks on opening day at Santa Anita. She made her 2024 debut on Memorial Day and won the G1 Gamely. Anisette is being pointed to the G2 Yellow Ribbon at Del Mar on August 10.

Prince of Monaco - Top 2-Year-Old: He won the G3 Best Pal in August and then posted a popular victory in the G1 Del Mar Futurity on closing day. The son of Speightstown ran a disappointing fifth in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile in November and went on the shelf for the first half of 2024. He returned last month and ran a closing second to Book Em Danno in the G1 Woody Stephens on the Belmont Stakes undercard. Baffert says he’s pointing Prince of Monaco to the G1 H. Allen Jerkens at Saratoga August 24.

Tamara - Top 2-Year-Old Filly: She was arguably the most exciting prospect of the 2023 meet. The daughter of the Hall of Fame honored mare Beholder broke her maiden in August and then scored a six-length victory in the G1 Del Mar Debutante, prompting comparisons to her mother. But the filly has been battling shin issues since her seventh-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies and has yet to race in 2024. Trainer Richard Mandella is hoping to have the daughter of Bolt d’Oro back to the races sometime during the Del Mar meet. 

COOLING OUT:  A couple of salty allowance races await horse players on Sunday. The 11-race card opens with a NW3 allowance featuring last year’s G1 Shoemaker Mile winner Exaulted, 2023 Golden Gate Handicap winner War At Sea and 2022 G3 Del Mar Juvenile Turf champion Packs a Wahlop. Then later in the card, last year’s G3 La Jolla Handicap and G2 Del Mar Derby runner up Maltese Falcon takes on 10 rivals in a second-level allowance…Notable Works Saturday: Ruby Nell (3f, :35.00); Adare Manor (4f, :47.00); Dr. Venkman (4f, :49.00); Reincarnate (4f, :46.60); Arabian Knight (5f, 59.20); Grand Slam Smile (5f, 1:00.80); Nothing Like You (5f, :59.60) and Straight No Chaser (5f, 1:01.60).