The curtain comes down today on the Bing Crosby Season and, thereby, racing at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., for 2021. An appropriate time, it would seem, for a few key figures to, upon request, provide thoughts and comments on the summer and fall meetings this year, reflect back on COVID-marked 2020 and ahead to 2022.
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club CEO Joe Harper – “It has been a long couple years (2020-2021), but when all the dust settles, we've done terrific, and we've had a terrific year this year. I've learned not to count the people, just count the money on the tote board and there's your happy ending.”
Hall of Fame trainer Richard Mandella – “The summer for our stable was wonderful (three stakes wins highlighted by United in the Eddie Read). The fall? It was nice to be down here, but we're packing up and heading north tomorrow licking our wounds…
“It was a big difference this year to have people back in the stands. That's what we need more of in racing is people to be here and have some fun and excitement. During COVID, it was just ourselves and the horses. With nobody to brag to after you won a race, it got pretty dull.
“Thankfully, we had racing and I don't want to take away from how lucky we were to have racing. A lot of businesses just stopped and we got to go ahead and continue to make a living without major job losses. But last year compared to this? There's no comparison. We need the people here.”
Trainer Peter Miller – “The summer was great (winning the training title and five stakes). The fall has not been up to our standards, but we've closed out with two wins on Friday and the (Jimmy Durante) stakes yesterday.”
Earlier this summer, Miller announced he was stepping back from racing and turning day-to-day operations over assistant Ruben Alvarado starting with the end of the Bing Crosby Season.
“Tomorrow morning I'm going to sleep in, have breakfast with my two boys and take them to school,” Miller said. “To say that has not been routine to this point is a real understatement.”
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert – “It was nice to be able to go to the track and have people there again. Clients love to win at Del Mar, and even when you lose, it doesn't feel as bad there. It's a fun atmosphere and they've done a good job of keeping it that way. ”
Baffert won four stakes in the summer, among them the Debutante and Futurity, and added four more during the Bing Crosby meeting – among them the Breeders' Cup Juvenile. It boosted his track record stakes victory total to 147.
“I have the sign that says record (victory) No. 75, seems like a long time ago,” Baffert said … “I'll have a lot of 2-year-olds again next summer…It's the best place to develop young horses.”
Trainer Bob Hess, Jr. – “Our summer meet started out pretty darn slow, but we finished with a flourish. The fall has been a bit slow but productive. We had a big winner (Saturday) in Miss Mattie B ($61.80), a 2-year-old filly we look forward to (campaigning) next year.
“For our barn and racing in general, I believe this Del Mar dirt surface is the safest in the country and it's even better in the fall than it is in the summer. That's why I personally like to have my horses down here in the fall. It doesn't make economic sense, but I think it makes a lot of horse sense.”
Trainer Phil D'Amato – “We've had a nice exciting year (26 wins overall, six stakes) and we're looking forward to 2022. I think it's only going to get better.”
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