Del Mar

Years before they skyrocketed to sports stardom with the purchase of the Los Angeles Lakers in 1979, the Buss family, consisting at the time of Jerry, then-wife JoAnn, and children Johnny, Jim, Jeanie and Janie, were just another family spending the hot summer months where the turf meets the surf. "My parents had a summer house at Del Mar," Janie Buss remembered of her childhood in California. "So every summer, we would go there. My parents were [gamblers]. We would go to Torrey Pines Beach in the morning, then go...

In Friday's GII Baird Doubledogdare Stakes for females 4-years-old and up at Keeneland, GSW Alpine Princess (Classic Empire) will take on seven others, including GISW Gin Gin (Hightail). Currently a 5-year-old mare, Alpine Princess capped a strong 2025 campaign by winning the GIII Falls City Stakes at Churchill Downs in late November. Trainer Brad Cox gave the consistent bay two and half months away from the racetrack, then she returned to finish as the runner-up behind GI Apple Blossom Handicap heroine Claret Beret (Not This Time) in the GIII Royal...

The 2026 racing at Del Mar will feature 37 stakes races when it kicks off on Friday, July 17 and continues through Monday, Sept. 7 (Labor Day). Tickets for Opening Day and the Summer Racing Season go on sale on Friday, May 8 at 10 a.m. PST at www.dmtc.com/tickets. New this year, Del Mar is hosting a new VIP party in the Seabiscuit Skyroom on opening day. The ticketed event takes place in the opulent Seabiscuit Skyroom on the Grandstand's sixth floor. Refreshed Friday Programming: Fridays at Del Mar get...

Owners Gary Barber and C2 Racing Stable have filed a suit in a California Superior Court alleging that defendants Breeders' Cup Limited, the California Horse Racing Board, and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club engaged in intentional interference with prospective economic relations, negligent interference with prospective economic relations, violation of California business & professions code, gross negligence, negligence, breach of contract, and breach of the implied  covenant of good faith and fair dealing. The matter involves the scratching of White Abarrio (Race Day), which took place just minutes before the running...

Edited Press Release  The 2025 Breeders' Cup World Championships at Del Mar provided an economic boost to the San Diego region estimated at $125-million in total industry output, it was announced by Breeders' Cup Monday. Citing an independent study conducted by Sport Management Research Institute, the organization said that the report found the World Championships supported 1,023 jobs across the region, generating $51.8-million in labor income, and $80.2-million in value added (equivalent to GDP). In addition, $11-million in federal taxes and $7.6-million in state and local taxes were generated. Applicable...

California's storied racetracks once set the gold standard in American racing. Yet today, many owners are asking: is there hope? From my vantage point as a longtime owner, the answer lies in collaboration, clear communication and a shared commitment to the future. We've seen encouraging signs--new training programs, emerging talent and a continued passion among participants. California racing does not lack for quality horses, trainers or owners. What we must do now is harness that strength and align it toward a common purpose. After retiring from a career in public...

Last year the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) approved the establishment of maximum statewide ages at which horses can race--10 years old for winners and five years old for maidens. On Wednesday, the CHRB voted unanimously to tweak that rule, raising the max age for maidens to six, with the stipulation that such horses would be receiving "increased scrutiny" from the state's regulatory veterinarians. Prior to the codification of a maximum age for maidens at the state level, California's three currently active tracks had been operating under "house rules" that...

Del Mar's 'Ship and Win' program will return for its 16th year when racing returns to the seaside oval July 17 and will help boost purses for 2-year-old maiden special weight races to record levels. The 'Ship and Win' program provides $5,000 for any qualified dirt runner in their first local outing. The 50% purse bonus is applied to the first through fifth finishers in their initial start and all subsequent outings at the meet. For turf runners, there is a $4,000 payment for that first start, as well as...

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will offer significant enhancements to its 2-year-old racing program, reinforcing the track's long-standing commitment to developing juvenile runners while expanding opportunities for owners, trainers and breeders, the track announced Wednesday. Beginning with the 2026 Summer season, which opens July 17, Del Mar will offer $100,000 open maiden races for 2-year-olds on the main track. These enhanced purses, for both colts and fillies, underscore the early success of California's new single-circuit structure and reaffirm the importance of juvenile racing to the seaside oval. In addition, Del...

Stablemates Skippylongstocking (Exaggerator) and White Abarrio (Race Day) exited their one-two finish in Saturday's GI Pegasus World Cup Invitational in good shape and connections are still contemplating next moves for the 7-year-olds, according to trainer Saffie Joseph, Jr. "Nothing's signed yet. Just talking it over briefly, something like the GII Oaklawn Handicap comes into play for one of them," Joseph said. "And also the G1 Dubai World Cup. But nothing's really been decided yet. We're going to sleep on it and then decide." The Oaklawn Handicap will be run at...

Sovereignty (Into Mischief) capped off yet another massive evening at the Resolute Racing Eclipse Awards for Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al Maktoum's far-flung Godolphin operation, capping the festivities at The Breakers in Palm Beach, Florida, by being named America's Horse of the Year for 2025 by a wide margin. It marks the second time in three years that a horse bred and raced by Godolphin stole the show, following on from Cody's Wish (Curlin), who took down top honors in 2023. Godolphin was also named outstanding owner and breeder Thursday...

WinStar Farm's Heartland, a 'TDN Rising Star' son of Justify out of the Cat Thief mare Sambuca Classica and a half-brother to Classic Empire, sired his first reported foal on Friday, Jan. 16, when a colt out of I Love Nola (Champali) was born at Katierich Farm in Midway, Ky, the farm announced Friday. The colt, whose dam is a half-sister to stakes-placed Love Boot (Storm Boot), the dam of stakes winner and graded stakes-placed Made to Love Her (Steve Wonderboy), and hails from the family of multiple stakes winner...