Del Mar will present its 10th fall racing session—dubbed the Bing Crosby Season to honor the track’s iconic founder—starting on Friday, Nov. 10 and highlighted by a stakes schedule that features 15 major events over the course of its 13-day run.
Topping the list of black-type tests again will be a pair of grade 1 grass features—the $300,000 Hollywood Derby (G1T) at 1 1/8 miles for 3-year-olds on Saturday, Dec. 2 and the $300,000 Matriarch Stakes (G1T) for fillies and mares run at a mile on closing day, Sunday, Dec. 3.
Also on the agenda are twin grade 2 turf offerings for 3-year-olds and up—the $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup (G2T) at the marathon distance of 1 1/2 miles on Friday, Nov. 24 and the $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap (G2T) at 1 1/16 miles on Saturday, Nov. 25.
All told, the stakes roster carries gross purses of $2,050,000. Of the 15 events, 10 will be contested on the popular Jimmy Durante Turf Course, with nine providing graded value.
Harkening back to its show business founder, the stand features a Hollywood theme for most of its stakes races, among them the Betty Grable, the Desi Arnaz, the Cary Grant, the Bob Hope, the Jimmy Durante and the Cecil B. DeMille, all of whom were part of the glamorous early days at the seaside oval.
“Our fall meet offers some excellent racing,” said Del Mar vice president and racing secretary David Jerkens. “Coming on the heels of the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, it is well positioned to continue a positive racing flow in Southern California. Our Turf Festival—starting on Thanksgiving Day and following through to our close—offers eight grass stakes and has attracted marquee horses from across the country in the past and we’re expecting more of the same this year.”
The session will kick off with an overnight event—the $75,000 Let It Ride Stakes—at a mile on the turf for 3-year-olds and up on Nov. 10.
There will be a stakes doubleheader on Saturday, Nov. 18 with the running of the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes for Cal-bred 3-year-olds and up. Both of those events are at seven furlongs on the main track.
Further, there will be a stakes tripleheader on Saturday, Dec. 2 with the presentation of the rich Hollywood Derby, the $100,000 Jimmy Durante Stakes (G3T) for 2-year-old fillies and the $100,000 Stormy Liberal Stakes for older horses at five furlongs on the turf.
First post daily throughout the stand will be at 12:30 p.m. PT except for the Nov. 23 Thanksgiving card when racing begins at 11 a.m., allowing fans time to enjoy a day of sport and still be home in time for turkey and all the trimmings that afternoon.
The full stakes schedule can be found online.
This press release has been edited for content and style by BloodHorse Staff.
