The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will stage 14 stakes races worth a total of $2.05 million during its so-called “Bing Crosby Season” beginning Nov. 11 and continuing for 15 live dates through Sunday, Dec. 4.
Fully 10 of the 14 black-type races are graded and are anchored by a pair of Grade I tests at the end of the meet–the Dec. 3 Hollywood Derby for sophomore turf males at nine furlongs; and the Matriarch S. for turf distaffers at a flat mile Dec. 4.
Owing to recent reductions in handle during the fall meeting, some races have been canceled altogether while others have seen their purses slashed. The $100,000 Desi Arnaz S. for sprinting 2-year-old fillies has been shelved, while the purses for the GII Hollywood Turf Cup (now $200,000), the GII Seabiscuit H. ($200,000) and GIII Native Diver H. ($100,000) have each been cut by $50,000. Added to the schedule is the GII Bayakoa H., previously staged at Los Alamitos, while the Golden State Juvenile, Golden State Juvenile Fillies and Goldikova S. have returned to the Santa Anita schedule.
“We had to do some tucking and trimming,” noted Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's Executive Vice President for Racing Tom Robbins. “But in the end, we're pretty much offering our horsemen a very similar lineup to what they've seen here the past two years. We'll have a big Thanksgiving weekend with six stakes and close out strongly in the first week of December with three of our best races.”
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