Bill Shoemaker © Bill Sherlis
MILESTONE ANNIVERSARY FOR SHOEMAKER’S RECORD-SETTING SEASON
It’s the 70th anniversary of one of the most impressive accomplishments ever achieved at Del Mar. It was back in 1954 that jockey Bill Shoemaker compiled an astounding 94 victories, an all-time record for the seaside oval’s summer meet. One might point out it was a 41-day meet back then. But ‘Shoe’ took five days off, meaning he only rode 36 days, just five more than the 2024 meet.
Thirteen times Shoemaker won three races on a card in 1954. Five times he won four races on the day. He had a five-win day and one six-win day. His closest rival was Roy Lumm, who finished with 37 wins, 57 fewer than Shoemaker.
Today we have the dynamic Juan Hernandez and Bob Baffert partnership (19 wins together during the current meet). In 1954 it was Bill Shoemaker and trainer Red McDaniel, who was Del Mar’s leading trainer that summer with 47 wins. Shoemaker rode 42 of them.
It’s not known where in the meet Shoemaker took his days off. Whether or not he gave the boys a head start and showed up five days late to the meet or gave them a chance to catch up mid-season.
Following the 1954 season, Shoemaker went hunting for bigger game. The purses at Del Mar weren’t the greatest, nothing near what they were in the big-time circuits of New York and Chicago. Shoe rode the “big time” for the next 16 years before coming back to Del Mar in 1970, primarily to break John Longden’s “most wins” record which had been set at the shore track in 1956. Shoe rode a filly named Dares J for trainer Ron McAnally on Labor Day of ’70 for score No. 6,033 to go past Longden. The two riders shared a special moment in the winner’s circle following the race.
Shoemaker won seven riding titles at Del Mar all told, six from 1949 to 1954. He won his seventh in his return year of 1970.
Shoemaker would ride until 1990 and owned the record for the most wins by a jockey for 29 years with 8,833. ‘Shoe’ went on to train horses, even after a car accident in 1991 rendered him paralyzed and left him in a wheelchair. Shoemaker passed away in October of 2003 at the age of 72.
HERNANDEZ, BAFFERT TEAM UP TO LEAD STANDINGS IN FINAL WEEK
Juan Hernandez and Bob Baffert have become a potent combination at Del Mar this year. The two have combined on 19 victories, six stakes wins and now they’ve all but taken the drama out of the jockey and trainer standings at the seaside oval this summer.
Hernandez has a total of 42 wins and has built an 11-win cushion in the jockey standings heading into the final week of the meet. He’s also just $36,000 away from $3 million in earnings.
“I love my job and always try to do the best,” Hernandez says. “I’m getting a lot of support from the owners and trainers and I feel like I’m at the top of my game.”
He certainly appears to be in that ‘zone’ athletes get into where everything they do is golden. Hernandez has won 17 races over the past two weeks, 10 wins last week. He gives a lot of the credit to his agent, Craig O’Brien.
“Things are going well,” Hernandez admits. “Sometimes it’s really natural but at the same time you have to make the right choices in the race and then you have to have the right horse to do it.”
Hernandez finds many of those ‘right’ horses in the Baffert barn. He was aboard Adare Manor in the Clement Hirsch and Muth in the Shared Belief. It’s a partnership that has lifted Hernandez’ career to new heights.
“We’ve been really lucky together,” Hernandez remarks. “He always gives me a lot of confidence riding his horses. He always has his horses ready and we’re a great team.”
This will be the third summer in a row Hernandez has taken down the riders title at Del Mar. He also leads in earnings and he’s tied with Umberto Rispoli in stake wins with seven. Antonio Fresu and Hector I. Berrios have five stakes victories each.
Fresu is the closest to Hernandez in the jockey standings. He had four wins on Monday to increase his total to 31; Rispoli sits in third place with 27; Berrios has 20 wins and Kyle Frey, who had the big Pacific Classic Day, has 17. Rounding out the Top 10 are Kazushi Kimura with 14 victories, Reylu Gutierrez and Edwin Maldonado with 12 each, Armando Ayuso with 11 and Abel Cedillo with 8 wins.
While Baffert doesn’t have as comfortable a lead in the trainer standings as Hernandez has in the rider’s race, he still has the inside track to his ninth training title at Del Mar and his first lone title since 2003. He shared the title with Phil D’Amato two years ago. Baffert has 21 wins, four better than Doug O’Neill and John Sadler.
Like most trainers you talk to, Baffert is more concerned with winning the races individually rather than a year-end title.
“It’s nice,” Baffert says about winning the trainers title. “Like, if it happens it happens but right now what you’re doing is trying to win these big races. The stakes races mean more to me.”
Baffert has two excellent chances at adding to the six stakes wins he’s won already at the summer meet. All six with Hernandez aboard. Baffert brings the presumptive morning line favorites into both the G1 FanDuel Racing Del Mar Debutante on Saturday with Nooni and the G1 Futurity on Sunday with Getaway Car.
Last year’s trainers title winner and the defending champion, Phil D’Amato, is fourth in the standings with 16 wins, one better than Mark Glatt. Peter Miller has 13, Michael McCarthy 12 and George Papaprodromou with 10. Rounding out the Top 10 are Carla Gaines and Steve Knapp with eight wins each.
Hronis Racing has bolted away from the field in the owners race with a dozen victories. Five other owners are next with four wins apiece.
CAL-BREDS KICK OFF JUVENILE STAKES ACTION FRIDAY IN I’M SMOKIN
The $100,000 I’m Smokin Stakes appeared to have a clear cut favorite when entries were drawn for the race on Sunday. R Heisman was coming into the race off of a stakes win against similar Cal-bred company. But now trainer Peter Miller is considering running his Graduation Stakes winner in the G1 Del Mar Futurity on Sunday.
“We want to see where he stacks up,” Miller says about why they’re leaning more toward running R Heisman in the Futurity. “Mr. Barber (owner Gary Barber) and I think he’ll get better with more distance.”
The I’m Smokin’ is six furlongs, the Futurity is seven. Should Miller follow through and scratch R Heisman from the I’m Smokin, it would trim the field down to five and leave it a wide open affair.
Miller still has a horse in the race. Style Cat, the son of Curlin to Mischief, broke his maiden in his third career start and the first at Del Mar when he wired the field last month.
“That was a very good run,” Miller says. “He’s doing very well right now. He could be the speed of the race. He liked being on the lead the other day. We’re probably going to send him out of there and see what happens.”
Trainer Phil D’Amato is known for his graded stakes grass horses but he also has a few Cal-breds up his sleeve. One of them, Shea Brennan, will be running in Friday’s I’m Smokin.
“Here, not many,” D’Amato says of the number of Cal-breds in his barn. “Most are at Los Al. I probably have a handful down here,”
Shea Brennan is a son of Tough Sunday. He won at first asking in July at Del Mar.
“He’s a very nice horse who is full of potential,” D’Amato notes. “He drew the rail which isn’t the greatest post but hopefully he’ll break a little sharper this time.”
Shea Brennan’s troubled line in his last race in the Daily Racing Form reads “Lost his path” at the start but in the end he was much the best by 2 ¼ lengths in the 5-furlong maiden sprint.
There are a trio of horses who ran in the Graduation Stakes who will move up should R Heisman defect from the I’m Smokin.
Timty is out of the Doug O’Neill barn. After winning first out at Santa Anita in May he’s been beaten by double digits in a couple of stakes races. The son of Stanford lost by 10 ¼ lengths in the Everett Nevin up at Pleasanton then lost to R. Heisman by 12 ½ lengths in the Graduation.
The Gypsy Cowboy finished the best of the three in the Graduation, coming in fourth 5 ¾ lengths back of the winner. He’s by Stay Thirsty and is trained by Steve Knapp.
Bodacious was a distant sixth in the Graduation, 11 ½ lengths back. He’s by Smokem out of the Jorge Periban barn.
The 35th running of the I’m Smokin Stakes is the second race on Friday’s eight-race card, named after a Cal-bred that ran back in the late 70s and early 80s. Probable post is 3:30 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Shea Brennan (Kyle Frey, 9/5); R Heisman (Juan Hernandez, 6/5); Timty (Antonio Fresu, 15-1); The Gypsy Cowboy (Tiago Pereira, 20-1); Style Cat (Reylu Gutierrez, 4-1), and Bodacious (Tyler Baze, 6-1).
COOLING OUT: Hot Girl Walk came back from her win in the Generous Portion Monday in good order. Trainer Carla Gaines says she doesn’t know yet where she will run the daughter of Bodexpress next…Trainer Bob Baffert will not be at Del Mar this weekend. He’s planning on being in Kentucky for the Keeneland September Sales that begin Monday…Notable works on Thursday: Dirt – Prank Zappa (3f, :37.80); Sully (4f, :47.80); Asada Fries (5f, 1:00.40), and Donttellourwives (5f, 1:01.20).