Del Mar summer meet opens July 20, 39 stakes are planned
Del Mar's 31-day summer meet begins July 20 and will feature 39 stakes, including the Grade 1 Pacific Classic on Aug 31.
Del Mar projected a total purse distribution of more than $26.6 million over the course of the eight-week season.
The Pacific Classic will be the highlight of a rich afternoon of racing that will feature five graded stakes, including the $300,000 Del Mar Handicap (G2) and the $300,000 Del Mar Mile (G2), both contested over the track’s turf course.
All told there will be $7,875,000 in stakes purses available, notable among them six Grade 1 events. Along with the Pacific Classic, the other Grade 1s are the $400,000 Bing Crosby Stakes on July 27, the $400,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes on Aug. 3, the $300,000 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 17, the $300,000 Del Mar Debutante on Sept. 7, and the $300,000 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 8.
Del Mar again will offer eight black-type events for California-breds. It also has a total of 19 stakes on the turf course as well as five overnight stakes.
As it has for decades, the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes, for 3-year-olds on the grass, will kick off the proceedings on opening day. Then, also as part of a tradition, closing day will be highlighted by the Del Mar Futurity (G1) at seven furlongs on the main track.
“We’re extremely pleased with the racing program we’re offering this summer,” said Del Mar vice president and racing secretary David Jerkens. “Our horsemen and horsewomen have been extremely supportive of our race meets and we look forward to working with them on another successful season.”
Del Mar will be the host track for this year’s renewal of the Breeders’ Cup on Friday, Nov. 1, and Saturday, Nov. 2, with its more than $33-million in purses and awards to go along with its 14 championship races. In conjunction with that, the shore track will host a half-dozen win-and-you're-in races.
"Del Mar truly shines as the pinnacle of California racing,“ Thoroughbred Owners of California chairman Gary Fenton said. “The summer season is also paramount to our racing ecosystem, with its handle driving significant purse generation and other benefits to both the Northern and Southern zones that our members enjoy throughout the year."