Trainer Bob Baffert not only won the Del Mar Futurity (G1) a record 18 times, Game Crossing the finish line in front, he won the race for the fifth time for longtime client and friend Mike Pegram. Four of those included partners Karl Watson and Paul Weitman.
As usual, Baffert won the Futurity with multiple entries, in this case a trio that featured as the top three betting picks. The game was the furthest shot of the trio and the least expensive, but on this day he proved himself to be the best.
When the gates opened in the seven-furlong Futurity, Escape car took the lead, as he did in his first two races for Baffert when he won the maiden and Best Pal Stakes (G3) on the day. In this case, however, the long shot Mr. Tony The two battled it out with Getaway Car, and the two raced very fast as Getaway Car ran the first quarter mile in :21.85.
Flavien Prat, on Gaming, was in no hurry with his horse, which was almost the last of the seven after breaking away from 2nd place.
“He was relaxed,” Prat said. “He was a little nervous before the race, so I kept him quiet.”
Once Gaming got into a good rhythm, Prat allowed him to sneak up on the rail, and they quickly ran second behind Getaway Car. That position put Gaming in a good position to pass Getaway Car for fifty-sixth. Gaming took the lead on the turn to the finish, broke away on the top stretch, and crossed the line 1 3/4 lengths in 1:23.02. Gaming then galloped hard.
McKinzie Road closed well in second place, finishing four lengths ahead Citizen Cow Baffert’s third student, in third place. They were followed by Getaway Car, Heisman R , Ranking And Mr. Tony.
“Bob told me not to push him and he would run, and that’s exactly what he did today,” Prat said.
Prat went to Southern California to attend Futurity instead of attending Kentucky Downsalso test driving An Chorr Dubh to an unraced effort in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf Stakes. The horseman won his third Futurity, having previously won the race with Dr. Schivel in 2020 and Prince of Monaco last year. Baffert coached the Prince of Monaco.
“You’re always nervous when you draw one, two—but Prat, he’s smart,” said assistant trainer Jimmy Barnes. “He let the others go. He let it go back a little bit, picked a spot on the rail and went out, and he went.”
Play the game that follows Cave in 2022, Drill in 2011, and Look at Lucky in 2009 as the fourth Baffert-trained Del Mar Futurity winner for Pegram, Watson and Weitman. Baffert also won the race in 2002 with Icecoldbeatreds Cold Brewwas bred and owned by Pegram, who went back to his Baffert’s Quarter Horse days with him. Pegram’s so quiet trained by Baffert, missed out on a chance to win the Triple Crown in the 1998 Belmont Stakes (G1).
The 18 Baffert Futurity Prize winners include Winner of the game Gaming, who won the race in 2018, is the first time Baffert has coached a second generation to win the Futurity, and Gaming is Game Winner’s first ever winner.
Baffert, who won a record 10th Del Mar Debutante (G1) the day before with Tenma spent the weekend in Kentucky preparing for the Keeneland September foal sale. All three of Baffert’s Futurity runners came from that sale last year. Gaming sold the Lane’s End consignment for $40,000 to Pick View, which entered the horse in the Ocala Breeders’ March 2024 2-year-old-in-training sale. Pegram, Watson and Weitman bought Gaming for $250,000 under the name Three Amigos at the OBS sale.
Mt Brilliant Farm & Ranch has been raising game in Kentucky since Johannesburg mare So stylish a ranked Irish jockey. The mare is a half-sister to the European champion A cool cat and she has a half-brother to Gaming in the upcoming Keeneland colt sale consigned by Lane’s End as Hip 3051.
Gaming is the first generation of Game Winner, who also won the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) and the American Pharoah Stakes (G1) out of the Futurity en route to winning that year’s Eclipse Award for 2-year-old stallions. The stallion was paid a $20,000 2024 stud fee at Lane’s End near Versailles, Ky.
Video: Del Mar Future (G1)
