Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will present its eighth fall race meeting – officially titled the Bing Crosby Season in a salute to the seaside track's founder – with 18 major stakes and a pair of overnights worth a record $3,550,000 planned during a 15-day session starting on Wednesday, November 3.
Del Mar will be hosting the 38th edition of the Breeders' Cup Championships during its fall stand with 14 major races worth more than $31 million slated on Friday, November 5 and Saturday, November 6. The track had previously been home to the Breeders' Cup in 2017.
A highlight of the session will be its two Grade 1 offerings on closing weekend, the Hollywood Derby and the Matriarch Stakes. Each will carry a value of $400,000, the highest sum ever for a stakes race at the shore oval outside of the $1-million TVG Pacific Classic.
Twelve of the major stakes are Graded – two Grade 1s, four Grade 2s and six Grade 3s. The track has put an emphasis on grass racing during its previous fall stands and that holds true once more with 11 of the stakes, including the last seven, all contested on the deep Jimmy Durante Turf Course. Those seven turf tests will be conducted during Del Mar's final weekend, starting on Thanksgiving Thursday, November 25 and continuing through closing day on Sunday, November 28.
“This is the best fall stakes schedule we've ever presented,” said DMTC vice president and racing secretary David Jerkens. “The success of Del Mar racing over the past two years has allowed us to partner with our horsemen and horsewomen in this robust schedule. We think it will be an attraction to good horses from across the country.”
The track's two premier stakes will be presented on its closing weekend – the $400,000 Grade 1 Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds at nine furlongs on grass Saturday, November 27 and the $400,000 Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on the green on Sunday, November 28.
Additionally, closing weekend also will offer the $250,000 Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one-sixteenth on turf Saturday, November 27 and the $250,000 Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one-half on the lawn on Friday, November 26. Both of those races have had their values increased by $50,000 from previous runnings.
Racing will be conducted Wednesday through Sunday in Week 1, then Friday through Sunday in Weeks 2 and 3 before finishing with a Thursday through Sunday session in the final Week 4.
First post daily will be 12:30 on all racing days with the exceptions of the Breeders' Cup Days and Thanksgiving. The first race on Breeders' Cup Friday goes off at 11:55 a.m., while the first on Breeders' Cup Saturday begins at 10:15 a.m. The Thanksgiving Day card will have a first post of 11 a.m.
As in past years, Del Mar's racing office plans to card eight races during its weekday cards and nine for the weekend programs.
The complete list of stakes follows:
DATE RACE / CONDITIONS PURSE / DISTANCE
Wed. Nov 03 Seashell Stakes* Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up, N/W S/S of $60,000 at 1 M o/o since April 1 $100,000 Added 1 Mile
Thu. Nov 04 Let It Ride Stakes* Three-year-olds, N/W S/S of $60,000 at 1 M o/o since April 1 $100,000 Added 1 Mile (Turf)
Fri. Nov 05 QATAR GOLDEN MILE STAKES Two-year-olds $150,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf)
Fri. Nov 05 GOLDEN STATE JUVENILE FILLIES STAKES Fillies, Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred $175,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Fri. Nov 05 GOLDEN STATE JUVENILE STAKES Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred $175,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Fri. Nov 05 SENATOR KEN MADDY STAKES (Grade 3) Fillies & Mares, Two-year-olds & up $200,000 Guaranteed 5 Furlongs (Turf)
Sat. Nov 06 TAA STAKES (Grade 2) Three-year-olds & up $250,000 Guaranteed 1 5/8 Miles
Sat. Nov 06 GOLDIKOVA STAKES (Grade 2) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up $300,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf)
Sun. Nov 07 BETTY GRABLE STAKES Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up, Cal-Bred $100,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sat. Nov 13 DESI ARNAZ STAKES Fillies, Two-year-olds $100,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sun. Nov 14 BOB HOPE STAKES (Grade 3) Two-year-olds $100,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sat. Nov 20 NATIVE DIVER STAKES (Grade 3) Three-year-olds & up $100,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles
Sun. Nov 21 CARY GRANT STAKES Three-year-olds & up, Cal-Bred $100,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Thu. Nov 25 RED CARPET STAKES (Grade 3) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up $100,000 Guaranteed 1 3/8 Miles (Turf)
Fri. Nov 26 HOLLYWOOD TURF CUP (Grade 2) Three-year-olds & up $250,000 Guaranteed 1 1/2 Miles (Turf)
Sat. Nov 27 JIMMY DURANTE STAKES (Grade 3) Fillies, Two-year-olds $100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf)
Sat. Nov 27 SEABISCUIT HANDICAP (Grade 2) Three-year-olds & up $250,000 Guaranteed 1 1/16 Miles (Turf)
Sat. Nov 27 HOLLYWOOD DERBY (Grade 1) Three-year-olds $400,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles (Turf)
Sun. Nov 28 CECIL B. DEMILLE STAKES (Grade 3) Two-year-olds $100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf)
Sun. Nov 28 MATRIARCH STAKES (Grade 1) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up $400,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf)
The post Del Mar Announces Stakes Calendar For November Bing Crosby Meeting appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
