Del Mar 2016: Graded Stakes Preview
There are few things that signify summer in Southern California more so than the opening of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. The 2016 racing calendar in San Diego County is just two weeks away and it should be one to remember. Between two-year-old events featuring future stars of the game, loaded veteran turf races that offer tremendous value to gamblers, and the appearance of the game’s biggest stars, there are plenty of reasons for horseplayers to be excited for the meet that commences on Friday July 15. Here is a quick look at the graded stakes action during the highly anticipated Southern California meet.
Turf routes headline the first Saturday and Sunday of the meet. The Grade II $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap at a mile and a sixteenth for the ladies and the Grade II $250,000 Eddie Read at a nine furlongs for the boys get the Del Mar graded stakes action rolling and will likely draw full fields given the absence of the turf course at Santa Anita over the past few weeks. The Eddie Read was a Grade I last year, but was downgraded by the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) for 2016.
The Grade II San Diego Handicap on Saturday July 23 is shaping up to be quite a race. The prep for the Grade I Pacific Classic is the likely comeback race for Dubai World Cup winner California Chrome, as well as the second and third place finisher in the 2015 Kentucky Derby, Firing Line and Dortmund. It is also possible that the 2016 Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist will make his first start since the Preakness Stakes in the event contested at a mile and a sixteenth over the main track. The Grade II San Clemente for three-year-old fillies, as well as the Grade III Cougar II Handicap will also be contested during the second weekend of the meeting.
The first Grade I race of the summer at “Old Del Mar” is on July 30 and is likely to include three-time champion mare Beholder. The Clement L. Hirsch Stakes is the probable prep for the Richard Mandella trainee in her defense of the Pacific Classic, which she won in dominating fashion last summer. The Grade I Bing Crosby, a sprint for three-year-olds and up won last year by Wild Dude will be run on Sunday the 31.
The August stakes action begins with a pair of graded events on Saturday August 6. The Grade III $150,000 La Jolla Handicap for three-year-olds run at a mile and a sixteenth over the lawn and the $200,000 Grade II Sorrento Stakes for two-year old fillies are the co-features to start the new month. The following weekend is headlined by the $200,000 Grade II Best Pal Stakes for the boys. Both the Sorrento and the Best Pal are run at the tricky six and a half furlong distance.
The Rancho Bernardo Handicap is the lone graded stakes event of the summer conducted on a Wednesday. The $100,000 sprint for fillies and mares gets Pacific Classic week started.
Saturday August 20 is headlined by the Grade I $1,000,000 Pacific Classic. If all the probable runners make it to the gates, it should be one great horse race. California Chrome and Beholder are amongst those preparing for the meet’s premier event, which is contested at a mile and a quarter over the main track. I cannot wait.
In addition to the Pacific Classic, the mid-August card will also feature the Grade I $300,000 Del Mar Oaks contested at nine furlongs, as well as the Grade II $250,000 Del Mar Handicap, run at a mile and three-eighths. Both events will be run over the turf course. The big weekend culminates with a Sunday card headed by the Grade II Del Mar Mile. The Del Mar Mile is a $200,000 event for three-year-olds and up.
The final weekend of August offers two graded stakes events. The Grade II $200,000 Pat O’Brien is run at seven-eighths of a mile and is the Saturday feature. The Grade III Torrey Pines Stakes offers three-year-old fillies a chance to compete for $100,000 over the main track on Sunday afternoon.
Labor Day weekend marks the culmination of the Del Mar summer meeting. There are four graded stakes events over the final three days of the meet beginning with the Grade I Del Mar Debutante on Saturday. The seven-furlong event for two-year-old fillies is always one of my favorites of the meet.
A pair of Grade II mile and an eighth events over the grass headline the final Sunday card of the summer. The John C. Mabee for fillies and mares was moved from its usual spot early in the meeting to the final weekend in 2016 and will be the Sunday co-feature along with the $250,000 Del Mar Derby for three-year-olds.
The Del Mar Futurity takes its usual spot on closing day. The race won by Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist last year should be a great way to end the meeting, as we get to see the best young colts that the West Coast has to offer as the racing world begins to look towards the 2016 Breeders’ Cup.
Looking forward to another amazing summer "Where the Turf Meets the Surf!"