Accelerate to face nine in Del Mar's San Diego Handicap

Defending race champion Accelerate will face nine challengers in Saturday's Grade 2, $200,000 San Diego Handicap at Del Mar.

The draw for post positions was scheduled later Wednesday, with the entrants in alphabetical order: Accelerate (Victor Espinoza), Catalina Cruiser (Drayden Van Dyke), Curlin Rules (Tyler Baze), Dabster (Flavien Prat), Dr. Dorr (Joe Talamo), El Huerfano (TBD), Harlan Punch (Martin Pedroza), Prince Of Arabia (Stewart Elliott), Sharp Samurai (Gary Stevens) and Two Thirty Five (Franklin Ceballos).

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic five times but has visited the winner’s circle after the San Diego, the major Classic prep event, only once. That was with Fed Biz in 2014.

Baffert will be doubly represented by Dr. Dorr, owned by his wife Natalie, and Dabster, owned by the Sheik Mohammed bin Khalifa al Maktoum. Dr. Dorr won the Grade II Californian at Santa Anita in April and was second to Accelerate in the Gold Cup at Santa Anita last month.

Dabster was an allowance winner in his only Del Mar appearance on the undercard of the Breeders’ Cup program on Friday, November 3.