The TVG Pacific Classic from A to Z

In celebration of the 25th running of Del Mar’s biggest race, let’s take a look at some of the most interesting facts from the TVG Pacific Classic, in Andy Scoggin style, from A to Z ...

A – Acclamation – Best known for his turf accomplishments, Acclamation rode his narrow victory over Twirling Candy at Del Mar to an Eclipse Award as Champion Older Male.

B – Bobby Frankel – Before his untimely passing, no trainer dominated the Pacific Classic like Bobby Frankel, who won six of the first eleven runnings.

C – Candy Ride – Candy Ride is the only still undefeated winner of the 1 ¼ mile affair, having extended his perfect record to six with an impressive victory in 2003, in what would turn out to be his final career race.

D – Dare and Go – Ridden by Alex Solis, Dare and Go shocked the world with a powerful rally that carried him right on by the mighty Cigar at odds of 39-1.

E – Eddie Delahoussaye – Eddie Delahoussaye became the first jockey to boot home more than one Pacific Classic winner when he piloted Tinners Way to back-to-back wins in 1994 & 95.

F – Forty Four Thousand – The attendance record for the Pacific Classic is 44,181, set in 1996 when Cigar saw his 16-race winning streak go up in smoke.

G – General Challenge – General Challenge joined Best Pal as Golden Eagle Farm 3-year-old winners of the Classic with an easy front-running score in 1999.

H – Hall of Fame – Three-time Pacific Classic participant, and the inaugural winner, Best Pal (1991), was inducted into racing’s Hall of Fame 19 summers later in 2010.

I – Island Fashion – Island Fashion became the second female to run in the Pacific Classic, but could only manage a 9th-place finish in 2005. Paseana, 5th in 1992, was the first.

J – Juddmonte Farms – Led by the late, great Bobby Frankel, no owner has won more editions of the seven figure race than Juddmonte Farms with four -- two each for Tinners Way and Skimming.

K – Kentucky Derby – No Pacific Classic winner has ever previously won the Kentucky Derby. Best Pal, Free House and Dullahan were the closest, having finished second, third and third respectively in the Run for the Roses.

L – Lava Man – Lava Man became the first horse to sweep the Santa Anita Handicap, Hollywood Gold Cup, and Pacific Classic with a popular 2 ½-length victory in the 2006 edition.

M – McCarron & McCaffery – Chris McCarron and Judy McCaffery teamed up with Paco Gonzalez and John Toffan to win the 1998 running with their wonderful California-bred, Free House.

N – No Female Horses – No Female horses have won the Pacific Classic yet, but Julie Krone piloted Candy Ride to an easy victory in the 2003 edition.

O – Over 8 Lengths – Game on Dude scored the largest margin of victory in Pacific Classic history, when he romped home by 8 ½-lengths in 2013.

P – Pleasantly Perfect – Pleasantly Perfect had already won the Breeders’ Cup Classic and Dubai World Cup when he scored at even money in Del Mar’s biggest race in 2004.

Q – Quindici Man– Quindici Man rallied from last to earn a check as the longest shot on the board in 2011. The son of the 2002 Pacific Classic winner, Came Home, finished 5th.

R – Richard’s Kid – The Bob Baffert trained Richard’s Kid became the third horse to win consecutive editions of the Pacific Classic with a rallying score in 2010 at odds of 9-2.

S – Skimming – 2000 winner, Skimming became Bobby Frankel’s second repeat winner of the big race when he dominated the 2001 edition by more than five lengths.

T – Tinners Way – Tinners Way became one of Secretariat’s richest offspring by winning consecutive editions of the Pacific Classic in editions four and five.

U – Upsets - In the first 24 editions, there have been five horses to go off at under even money (Best Pal, Cigar, General Challenge, Gentlemen, and Medaglia d’Oro). Of them, only Gentlemen was able to win at odds-on.

V – Vladimir Cerin – The Vladimir Cerin trained Student Council upset the first edition of the Pacific Classic run on Polytrack with a $48.80 tote tilter in 2007.

W – William Mott – William Mott saw his Cigar defeated, but the Hall of Fame trainer came back a dozen years later to score in the Pacific Classic with Go Between in 2008.

X – XXIV – The impressive victory by the champion Shared Belief in last year’s Pacific Classic came in edition XXIV.

Y – You Know I Know – You Know I Know finished a rallying third at 40-1 in the 2013 Pacific Classic. He came back to finish 8th to Shared Belief last year at 29-1.

Z – Zenyatta – Despite a perfect 3-for-3 record at Del Mar, the great race mare, Zenyatta, never attempted to beat the boys in the Pacific Classic.