Del Mar Thoroughbred Club
Mary Shepardson, who spent more than 25 years at the Director of Publications at the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, died last week at age 77 of natural causes. A native of California, Shepardson retired from Del Mar several years ago to pursue her other passion as a member of the city of Poway's Historical and Memorial Society. She was the organization's president at the time of her passing and also served as the city's mayor in the early 1980s. "She was Marketing & Media's do everything and do-it-all for several...
Bo Derek, an actress, model, and humanitarian, has joined the MyRacehorse owner community as its first-ever celebrity ambassador. Derek sits on the Executive Board for the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, is an Ambassador for the Breeders' Cup World Championships and is now an owner on I'm a Looker '20, a 2-year-old colt by Pioneerof the Nile, who will be trained by Richard Mandella; with whom she has an over 20 year friendship. "I am so excited to be a horse owner with MyRacehorse," Derek said of her new venture. "I've...
Del Mar's summer meet kicked off with racing Friday through Sunday, and the oceanside oval broke an opening day handle record with $23.56 million wagered and set an average daily handle record for opening weekend of $22.35 million. "We hoped for this kind of beginning, but it turned out even better than we thought," said Del Mar Thoroughbred Club president Josh Rubinstein. "We've gotten terrific support from our horsemen and horsewomen, from racing fans across the country and, of course, from the horses themselves, the amazing athletes who run here....
Del Mar will offer its richest "Ship and Win" bonus when the program, designed to encourage out-of-state horses to compete in California, returns for its 12th year at the oceanside oval's summer meeting. This year's program offers a $5,000 starter bonus and a 50% purse supplement for any dirt runner. Turf horses earn a $4,000 starter fee and a 40% purse bonus. The purse bonuses extend to additional starts at the summer meet and are designed to increase all purses won by first through fifth finishers. Further, should a 'S...
A trial on the long-gestating legal battle between trainer Jerry Hollendorfer and The Stronach Group (TSG), along with its subsidiary owners of Santa Anita Park, is scheduled for Apr. 4 in the County of Los Angeles Superior Court of California. The bifurcated non-jury trial, however, is focused on a single declaratory relief cause of action against TSG, encompassing the proper legal interpretation of the race-meet contract between the California Thoroughbred Trainers (CTT) and Santa Anita, and excludes some of Hollendorfer's broader causes of action. That second part of this bifurcated...
California's Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is set to deliver purses above $25 million for its 31-day summer meet, with the daily average purse payout of more than $800,000 the highest in the history of California racing. Overnight purses and the value of 21 of the seaside oval's stakes will be raised by a blended rate of 15%. Among the most prominent races to see increases are the GI Bing Crosby S. and the GI Clement L. Hirsch S., both of which will climb from $300,000 to $400,000. Gross purses for...
The Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance's Off to the Races online auction, which closed Feb. 10, raised $35,125. From Jan. 28 to Feb. 10 the public had the opportunity to bid on experience packages on 12 major race days in 2022 and 2023. Each experience package offered a unique itinerary of horse racing-related bucket list activities and tickets to the specified race day(s). In total, 23 donors contributed to the 12 experience packages offered in the TAA's Off to the Races auction: 1/ST, America's Best Racing, Anne's Washington Inn, Breeders' Cup Ltd.,...
Craig Dado, a member of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club's executive staff for the past 20 years, is leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities. Dado, 54, a Northern California native, has been a Del Mar executive vice president and its chief marketing officer since 2013. He joined the company in 2001 as vice president of marketing, then in 2010 was named senior vice president before assuming his current role. Prior to coming on board at Del Mar, Dado had begun his racing career at Santa Anita Park in 1991...
During the Turf Publicists of America award luncheon at the Global Symposium Tuesday, Dave Zenner and Tom LaMarra were re-elected as secretary-treasurer and vice-president, respectively, and Ryan Martin was elected as vice-president; his first time on the board. Dave Zenner is a freelance publicist, a racing official at Hawthorne, and was the stakes coordinator at Arlington Park. Tom LaMarra holds a diverse set of positions including Communications Director for the Maryland Thoroughbred Horseman's Association, and Coordinator for the Mid-Atlantic Thoroughbred Championships. NYRA's Ryan Martin is a racing communications specialist. The...
The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC), and LRF Cares, a 501(c)(3) sponsored charity and arm of Little Red Feather Racing, will host a live money on-track or online contest at Del Mar Saturday, Sept. 4. Benefitting Thoroughbred aftercare, the contest will allow a maximum of 150 players, each receiving a $250 live bankroll with the "takeout" going to guaranteed prizes and LRF Cares. Guaranteed prizes include 2021 $4,000--plus $1,000 travel--Del Mar Summer Handicapping Challenge entries and two 2022 National Horseplayer Championship (NHC) entries. Click here for more information and here...
With purses to exceed $700,000 per day and "Ship and Win" incentives to double, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is substantially increasing all overnight purses and offering record incentives for its upcoming Summer Meet, which opens Saturday, July 17, and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 6. Among the increases for overnights from last year, maiden special weight races will jump from $55,000 to $70,000, with a number of maiden claiming and open claiming purses also increasing. In addition, purse levels will be raised for several summer stakes races with the...
Last week, the Thoroughbred Owners of California (TOC) announced a roughly $15-million, two-year "purse enhancement" program as part of an agreement with TVG, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club and The Stronach Group's 1/ST Racing. The reason for the new program is simple: an unprecedented betting shift toward ADW platforms over the past 11 months has hit the California purse account hard. Not just the purse account. This shift has similarly clobbered several key industry programs that rely heavily on wagering made at brick and mortar venues. The Southern California Stabling...