Del Mar Closes Out 36-Day Run

Del Mar’s Thoroughbred season came to a close Sept. 3 with GI TVG Pacific Classic hero Shared Belief (Candy Ride {Arg}) earning the title of 2014 Horse of the Meeting. Undefeated in six career starts, including his latest in the 10-furlong Classic, the dark bay–who also collected the title of top 3-year-old colt–was the unanimous choice as voted by the Del Mar media. Voted in other divisions: Tom’s Tribute (Lion Heart) – Older horse and Grass Horse; Iotapa (Afleet Alex)- Older Filly or Mare; Goldencents (Into Mischief) – Sprinter; Personal Diary (City Zip)- 3yo Filly; American Pharoah (Pioneerof the Mile)- 2yo Colt; and Sunset Glow (Exchange Rate)- 2yo Filly. Leading owners at the meet with $633,490 in earnings was Hronis Racing LLC, who edged Jungle Racing LLC et al ($600,000). Leading jockey was Rafael Bejarano, who collected 42 wins, 10 more than runner-up Kent Desormeaux. Heading the training ranks in money earned was Jerry Hollendorfer, who closed out the meet with $1,996,986, surpassing Peter Miller who amassed $1,153,054. The two trainers both concluded the meeting with 20 victories. 
Preliminary final figures showed that the track’s overall daily average handle decreased 7.3% to $12,087,844 from last season’s 37-day meet. Attendance was down 6.3% to 16,535 per day. The track’s 2014 mutuel figures were comparable to the 2012 meeting, which generated a daily average of $12,396,871. 
“In 2013 we had one of the finest seasons in Del Mar history,” track president Joe Harper noted. “This year we rode the roller coaster a bit, but overall we’re happy with another fine meeting. Our horsemen responded wonderfully to what was offered and the racing, as always, was topnotch. Now we’ve got an exciting new fall season to look forward to.” 
On-track handle was down 11.3% on average from $2,174,588 per day from $2,452,080 in 2013, while California Advanced Deposit Wagering was up 0.1% ($1,979,319 to $1,977,021 in ’13). ITW handle rose 0.4% to $3,988,833 from $3,973,557 in 2013. 
The seaside track will run its inaugural fall meeting Nov. 7-30.