Del Mar

Thoroughbred Charities of America is auctioning off a 2021 Breeders' Cup Stretch Run box at Del Mar to benefit the Race to Give campaign. The box was donated to honor the memory of Dr. J. David Richardson, who passed away in September. The six-person box, 4G, is on Del Mar's third level, and was donated by Richardson's friend, Dr. James B. Threlkel. It is valid for Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6, and includes preferred parking passing for Friday and Saturday. Stretch run boxes are located before the wire....

The inaugural running of the GIII Lukas Classic in 2013, contested as the Homecoming Classic, was won handily by the previous year's GI Breeders' Cup Classic hero Fort Larned (E Dubai), who would go on to finish a hard-trying fourth in defense of his Classic title five weeks later. This year's renewal goes through Korea Racing Authority's Knicks Go (Paynter), who is expected to cement his status as the favorite for the championship day feature Saturday afternoon. An imperious winner of last year's GI Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile over a...

The Breeders' Cup today announced post times for the Nov. 5-6 World Championships at Del Mar. There will be 14 Breeders' Cup races and eight undercard races. The official race order and wagering menu for both days of the Championships will be announced Oct. 27. The 38th Breeders' Cup begins Nov. 5 with Future Stars Friday, featuring all five Breeders' Cup races for 2-year-olds. There will be five undercard races preceding the first Breeders' Cup race, with the first race post time at 11:55 a.m. PT. Friday's first Breeders' Cup...

The Breeders' Cup has made arrangements with FedEx to charter two equine flights that will transport horses to California to compete in the 2021 World Championships Nov. 5-6 at Del Mar. Both FedEx charters will be making direct trips to San Diego International Airport. The first charter flight will leave Newark International Airport Sunday, Oct. 31. The second charter will leave from Indianapolis International Airport Monday, Nov. 1. Each flight will carry up to a maximum of 33 horses. Breeders' Cup will pay the round-trip cost for all horses competing...

Del Mar's eighth fall meeting--starting Wednesday, Nov. 3--will offer horsemen/women a 20% blended raise in overnight purses compared to last year, as well as a continuation of the popular 'Ship & Win' program that has amplified field size and year-round horse population at the track and in the state, Del Mar announced Tuesday. The 15-day stand, which will run through Sunday, Nov. 28, includes the 38th edition of the Breeders' Cup World Championships Friday, Nov. 5 and Saturday, Nov. 6. "Our summer meet was extraordinary on all fronts," said track...

John Shear, who retired from his post as Santa Anita Park's paddock guard this year at age 100, will be honored along with retired Del Mar publicist Dan Smith, Turf writer Lenny Shulman and radio personality Steve Byk during the National Turf Writers And Broadcasters' 61st annual Awards Dinner Wednesday, Nov. 3. The NTWAB Awards Dinner is the organization's only fundraiser and a portion of the proceeds of the event are used toward scholarships for prospective racing journalists and to support other Thoroughbred industry charities. The NTWAB Awards Dinner returns...

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) on Wednesday unanimously approved a 2022 race dates schedule that looks similar to this year's version, with two significant tweaks: 1) Santa Anita Park will take a mid-April break in the midst of its six-month meet; 2) Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) will have a summer-meet closing date of Sept. 11, a departure from tradition that will extend the meet six days beyond Labor Day. The dates allotment was unanimously approved at the Sept. 15 CHRB meeting. The process itself was surprisingly streamlined and...

The lineup for the 2021 Breeders' Cup Festival, presented by PNC Bank, was announced Tuesday. The week-long series of events and activations will run Nov. 1-6, 2021, with events preceding and following the 38th annual World Championships, which takes place Nov. 5-6, 2021, at Del Mar. "In addition to featuring the greatest horse racing in the world, Breeders' Cup showcases the host city's best local food, entertainment and culture. We're excited to be back at Del Mar for a second time, and we look forward to offering our fans a...

Two-time GI Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Doug O'Neill got fined $2,000 for a pair of methocarbamol positives at Santa Anita Park in May and June, one in a race and the other in a workout. According to a Sept. 6 ruling published within the California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) weekly stewards' report for Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the two cases were combined into one because "O'Neill was not aware of the first medication positive [May 30] when the second complaint [June 3] was served by CHRB enforcement." Methocarbamol is a Class...

Ask David Jerkens, Del Mar's racing secretary, what he considers a key ingredient to the success of the coastal venue's latest summer season, which wrapped Monday, and his answer is a testament to the early bird. "There was lots of enthusiasm--I could go way back to March, when my phone was ringing with questions regarding our 'Ship & Win' program," said Jerkens, of a particular bait, now into its 11th year, used to hook out-of-state runners. "I just felt that buzz around Del Mar earlier than normal." All told, the...

There's no doubt that Gunite (Gun Runner) is a quality horse and he secured an important win Monday at Saratoga in the GI Hopeful S when upsetting the highly regarded colts Wit (Practical Joke) and High Oak (Gormley). But is he a GI Kentucky Derby winner? If the last 43 runnings of the Hopeful mean anything, the answer is no. The Hopeful is the first Grade I race for 2-year-old males run each year on the NYRA calendar and always brings together groups of horses who were impressive winners in...

Bob Baffert's odds-on favorite in Monday's GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity did little running, but it was no matter, as Baffert's 'other' colt, Pinehurst (Twirling Candy), picked up the slack and ran away from his foes to give Baffert an incredible 15th victory in the seaside oval's annual closing day feature. Gutting out a hard-fought debut victory as a 17-10 chalk going five furlongs on this track Aug. 1, the $385,000 Keeneland September buy was made a distant second choice despite owning the best Beyer figure in the field as...