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Del Mar Increases 2021 Stakes Purses

Del Mar has released its 2021 summer stakes schedule, with purse increases for 21 of its races making the total program worth 30% more than 2020. The GI TVG Pacific Classic will be worth $750,000–an increase of $250,000–when it is run Aug. 21. The purse of the GII Del Mar Mile has increased $150,000 to $300,000. Receiving $100,000 increases are the GII Del Mar H. (up to $300,000) and the July 17 GII San Diego H. (now worth $250,000).

“This is one of the strongest stakes schedules in Del Mar's history,” said Del Mar racing secretary David Jerkens. “We have increased purses virtually across the board. I am really excited to see the level of quality our stakes program will attract, especially being the home of the Breeders' Cup this year.”

The Pacific Classic card will feature five stakes. In addition to the track's signature race, the Aug. 21 card will also feature the GI Del Mar Oaks; the GII Del Mar H.; the GII Del Mar Mile, and the GIII Torrey Pines S.

There will be six Grade I events over the course of the summer–the July 31 $300,000 Bing Crosby S.; the Aug. 1 $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch S.; the Del Mar Oaks and the TVG Pacific Classic, the $300,000 Del Mar Debutante Sept. 5, and the $300,000 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity Sept. 6.

Del Mar, which will host championship weekend in November, will present five Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” races: the Bing Crosby S. (guaranteeing admission and entry fees to the $2-million Sprint); Clement L. Hirsch S. ($2-million BC Distaff); the Del Mar H. ($4-million Turf); TVG Pacific Classic ($6-million Classic), and the $200,000 Aug. 28 GII Pat O'Brien S. ($2-million Dirt Mile).

The Del Mar summer meet runs from July 17 through Sept. 6.

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30% Increase To Del Mar Summer Stakes Purses Led By $250,000 Boost To Pacific Classic

Building on the positive news it announced last week concerning a 30% increase to overnight purses and major enhancements to its popular “Ship & Win” program, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., released this year's summer stakes schedule showing a similar healthy increase of 30% to its major stakes compared to the 2020 racing season.

In 2020, the track presented 32 major stakes worth $5,175,000. For this year there will be two additional stakes and total purses will be $6,750,000, a value increase of 30%.

Twenty-one of this season's major stakes show increases from 2020 beginning at $25,000 and rising to $250,000. Notable in those escalations are an additional quarter-million dollars added to the Grade 1 TVG Pacific Classic, raising it to $750,000; $150,000 to the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile making it worth $300,000, and $100,000 each to the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap (up to $300,000) and the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap (now worth $250,000).

“This is one of the strongest stakes schedules in Del Mar's history,” said David Jerkens, Del Mar's racing secretary. “We have increased purses virtually across the board. I am really excited to see the level of quality our stakes program will attract, especially being the home of the Breeders' Cup this year.”

Del Mar again will host the Breeders' Cup this fall, presenting the World Championships on Friday and Saturday, November 5 and 6. Del Mar hosted the Breeders' Cup previously in 2017.

Two stakes that took a hiatus in 2020 will return in 2021, the Grade 3 Cougar II Stakes and the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf, both carrying $100,000 purses.

Del Mar once again will present a power-packed program around its signature event, the TVG Pacific Classic, scheduled for Saturday, August 21. As it has done for the past several years, the track will offer four additional stakes that afternoon: the Grade 1, $300,000 Del Mar Oaks; the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap; the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile, and the Grade 3, $100,000 Torrey Pines Stakes.

It also will feature a stakes tripleheader on its opening day, Saturday, July 17. The traditional opening day headliner – the $100,000 Runhappy Oceanside Stakes – will be on the bill, joined by the Grade 2, $250,000 San Diego Handicap and the Osunitas Stakes, an overnight offering that carries an $80,000 purse.

There will be six Grade 1 events over the course of the summer – the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes on Saturday, July 31; the $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes on Sunday, August 1; the Del Mar Oaks and the TVG Pacific Classic, both on Saturday, August 21; the $300,000 Del Mar Debutante on Sunday, September 5, and the $300,000 Runhappy Del Mar Futurity on Monday, September 6, which is closing day.

As it has in all recent seasons, Del Mar will present five Breeders' Cup “Win and You're In” races all of which give their winners automatic admittance and entry fees to parallel Breeders' Cup races. They are:

Bing Crosby Stakes (guaranteeing admission and entry fees to the $2 million BC Sprint); Clement L. Hirsch Stakes ($2 million BC Distaff); the Del Mar Handicap ($4 million BC Turf); TVG Pacific Classic ($6 million BC Classic), and the $200,000, Grade 2 Pat O'Brien Stakes ($2 million BC Dirt Mile).

Further, the track once more will tender its usual complement of eight California-bred stakes, part of the Golden State Stakes Series that consists of 36 stakes worth more than $4.4 million. Those stakes are the $175,000 Fleet Treat Stakes, the $150,000 California Dreamin' Stakes, the $175,000 Real Good Deal Stakes, the $100,000 CTBA Stakes, the $100,000 Graduation Stakes, the $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes, the $100,000 Generous Portion Stakes and the $100,000 I'm Smokin Stakes.

Del Mar will open with Saturday and Sunday (July 17, 18) cards, then go into a Thursday through Sunday format for the balance of the meet leading up to the closing card on Labor Day Monday, September 6. First post daily will be 2 p.m.

The list of stakes follows:

DATE	RACE / CONDITIONS	PURSE / DISTANCE
Sat. Jul 17	RUNHAPPY OCEANSIDE STAKES Three-year-olds, N/W S/S of $50,000 at 1 M o/o in 2021	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (T)
Sat. Jul 17	SAN DIEGO HANDICAP (Gr. II) Three-year-olds & up	$250,000 Guaranteed 1 1/16 Miles
Sat. Jul 17	Osunitas Stakes* Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up, N/W S/S $50,000 at 1 M o/o since September 1	$80,000 Added 1 Mile (T)
Sun. Jul 18	COUGAR II STAKES (Gr. III) Three-year-olds & up	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 1/2 Miles
Sun. Jul 18	Wickerr Stakes* Three-year-olds & up, N/W S/S of $50,000 at 1 M o/o in 2021	$80,000 Added 1 Mile (T)
Thu. Jul 22	Daisycutter Handicap* Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$80,000 Added 5 Furlongs (T)
Fri. Jul 23	FLEET TREAT STAKES Fillies, Three-year-olds, Cal-Bred	$175,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sat. Jul 24	EDDIE READ STAKES (Gr. II) Three-year-olds & up	$250,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles (T)
Sat. Jul 24	SAN CLEMENTE STAKES (Gr. II) Fillies, Three-year-olds	$200,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (T)
Sun. Jul 25	CALIFORNIA DREAMIN' STAKES Three-year-olds & up, Cal-Bred	$150,000 Guaranteed 1 1/16 Miles (T)
Fri. Jul 30	REAL GOOD DEAL STAKES Three-year-olds, Cal-Bred	$175,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sat. Jul 31	BING CROSBY STAKES (Gr. I) Three-year-olds & up	$300,000 Guaranteed 6 Furlongs
Sun. Aug 01	CLEMENT L. HIRSCH STAKES (Gr. I) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$300,000 Guaranteed 1 1/16 Miles
Thu. Aug 05	CTBA STAKES Fillies, Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred	$100,000 Guaranteed 5 1/2 Furlongs
Fri. Aug 06	SORRENTO STAKES (Gr. II) Fillies, Two-year-olds	$200,000 Guaranteed 6 Furlongs
Sat. Aug 07	YELLOW RIBBON HANDICAP (Gr. II) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$200,000 Guaranteed 1 1/16 Miles (T)
Sat. Aug 07	BEST PAL STAKES (Gr. II) Two-year-olds	$200,000 Guaranteed 6 Furlongs
Sun. Aug 08	LA JOLLA STAKES (Gr. III) Three-year-olds	$150,000 Guaranteed 1 1/16 Miles (T)
Sun. Aug 08	GRADUATION STAKES Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred	$100,000 Guaranteed 5 1/2 Furlongs
Sat. Aug 14	CTT & TOC Stakes* Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$80,000 Added 1 3/8 Miles (T)
Sun. Aug 15	SOLANA BEACH STAKES Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up, Cal-Bred	$150,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (T)
Fri. Aug 20	RANCHO BERNARDO HANDICAP (Gr. III) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$100,000 Added 6 1/2 Furlongs
Sat. Aug 21	TVG PACIFIC CLASSIC (Gr. I) Three-year-olds & up	$750,000 Guaranteed 1 1/4 Miles
Sat. Aug 21	DEL MAR OAKS (Gr. I) Fillies, Three-year-olds	$300,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles (T)
Sat. Aug 21	DEL MAR MILE (Gr. II) Three-year-olds & up	$300,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (T)
Sat. Aug 21	DEL MAR HANDICAP (Gr. II) Three-year-olds & up	$300,000 Guaranteed 1 3/8 Miles (T)
Sat. Aug 21	TORREY PINES STAKES (Gr. III) Fillies, Three-year-olds	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile
Sun. Aug 22	GREEN FLASH HANDICAP (Gr. III) Three-year-olds & up	$100,000 Guaranteed 5 Furlongs (T)
Fri. Aug 27	Tranquility Lake Stakes* Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up, N/W S/S $50,000 at 1 M o/o since February 1	$80,000 Added 1 Mile
Sat. Aug 28	PAT O'BRIEN STAKES (Gr. II) Three-year-olds & up	$200,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sun. Aug 29	SHARED BELIEF STAKES Three-year-olds	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile
Fri. Sep 03	GENEROUS PORTION STAKES Fillies, Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred	$100,000 Guaranteed 6 Furlongs
Sat. Sep 04	DEL MAR DERBY (Gr. II) Three-year-olds	$200,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles (T)
Sat. Sep 04	JOHN C. MABEE STAKES (Gr. II) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$200,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles (T)
Sat. Sep 04	I'M SMOKIN' STAKES Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred	$100,000 Guaranteed 6 Furlongs
Sun. Sep 05	DEL MAR DEBUTANTE (Gr. I) Fillies, Two-year-olds	$300,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sun. Sep 05	DEL MAR JUVENILE FILLIES TURF Fillies, Two-year-olds	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (T)
Mon. Sep 06	DEL MAR JUVENILE TURF Two-year-olds	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (T)
Mon. Sep 06	RUNHAPPY DEL MAR FUTURITY (Gr. I) Two-year-olds	$300,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs

* Indicates Overnight Stakes

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Bell’s the One Gearing Up For Return

Lothenbach Stables' Bell's the One (Majesticperfection), who became the first Grade I winner for trainer Neil Pessin in last year's Derby City Distaff ahead of a third-place effort to champion 'TDN Rising Star' Gamine (Into Mischief) in the GI Breeders' Cup Filly and Mare Sprint, breezed five furlongs in 1:00.60 (9/36) at the Fair Grounds Feb. 28. Pessin confirmed that the GI Madison S. at Keeneland Apr. 4, in which his charge was a pace-compromised third in the coronavirus-delayed 2020 renewal last July, is the jumping-off spot for the mare's 5-year-old campaign.

“She's doing very well and we are right on schedule to run at Keeneland,” the affable conditioner said Monday from New Orleans.

Following the Filly & Mare Sprint, where she was beaten by the nose of Serengeti Empress (Alternation) for second, Bell's the One was turned out for six weeks at Chesapeake Farm in Lexington. Pessin said she arrived at the Fair Grounds in early January, galloped for about a month and has turned in four breezes since.

“She's on a weekly training schedule, just depends on the weather and the track,” Pessin said. “We're pretty happy with where we are right now, so we do have some flexibility if needed. I'm not on a tight schedule. She'll be ready to rock and roll when Keeneland comes around.”

The trainer has no reservations about training up to the Madison.

“Very,” he said when asked about his level of confidence running in the Madison without a prep. “I have a lot of confidence in her. I'll be honest with you, if my filly runs her race–there has to be a little bit of a pace set-up for her at Keeneland–but with any sort of pace whatsoever, she ought to be tough. I don't think Gamine is coming and I'm really not worried about anything else.”

Pessin has never been one to rack up big numbers, but my any metric, 2020 was a banner year, with a victory in the GIII Winning Colors S. over an insufficient six-furlong trip in addition to the Derby City Distaff, where she got just the better of Serengeti Empress following a final-furlong throwdown.

“Well, winning the Derby City Distaff was nice, especially the fashion we did it,” he said. “Breeders' Cup, if we'd have been second–we had to wait a little bit turning for home and I think it cost us the nose. But with that being said, she ran a big race.

He continued, “Overall, having a horse like her in the barn is very exciting, makes you want to get up in the morning. I do wish she'd have been a finalist in the [Eclipse] balloting, because I do think she belonged on the list. We ran against Serengeti [Empress] twice, we beat her a nose and she beat us a nose. I feel we could have beaten her in the Breeders' Cup with a little more luck. I hope we get a shot to win one or two more Grade Is this year and she stays healthy and everything goes well.”

As for the rest of this year, Pessin said that the team will chart a course backwards from this year's Filly & Mare Sprint at Del Mar Nov. 6 following her first two starts. From there, her future remains an open question.

“I would say it depends on how healthy she stays and how well she runs,” Pessin said. “Bob breeds his own, but that doesn't necessarily mean she'll go straight to the breeding shed when this year is over.

“I want to do whatever is best for her,” Pessin added. “If I think she is 100% good to go for another year, then it'd be up to Bob and [racing manager] Drew [Nardiello] whether to race her or not. But I won't race her unless she's 100%.”

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Major Purse Increases for Del Mar’s Summer Meet

With purses to exceed $700,000 per day and “Ship and Win” incentives to double, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is substantially increasing all overnight purses and offering record incentives for its upcoming Summer Meet, which opens Saturday, July 17, and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 6. Among the increases for overnights from last year, maiden special weight races will jump from $55,000 to $70,000, with a number of maiden claiming and open claiming purses also increasing. In addition, purse levels will be raised for several summer stakes races with the stakes schedule to be released in the coming weeks.

Average daily overnight purses for the 2021 season will be increased by over 30% as compared to 2019 levels. Del Mar's total handle for 2020 was above initial projections–despite a unique year due to the COVID-19 pandemic that allowed no spectators on site–which added funding to the purse increases for 2021.

Owners and trainers that ship out-of-state horses to race at Del Mar through the “Ship and Win” program will see significant boosts as well, with the participation fee for owners doubling from $2,000 to $4,000 and a purse bonus from 20% to 40% for all eligible races. The purse bonus will be upped to 50% for dirt races in the “Ship and Win” program. For example, a maiden special weight race on the main track this summer will carry a purse of $105,000 ($70,000 with a 50% bonus), plus a $4,000 starter bonus for out-of-state horses that qualify.

“We've got some real momentum in California as we prepare for the 2021 season and, based on the inquiries we're receiving, owners and trainers are taking notice,” said Del Mar's executive vice president for racing, Tom Robbins. “Our partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners of California [TOC], TVG, and The Stronach Group [TSG] has us on track for one of the most lucrative seasons in Del Mar history, which will be a boost for California racing and help set the stage for us to host the Breeders' Cup here again in November.”

The 2021 purse enhancements are partly due to a partnership with TOC, FanDuel Group's TVG, and TSG's 1/ST Racing. The agreement is expected to inject up to $15 million into California Thoroughbred purses and programs over the next two years.

Del Mar will offer a 31-day summer racing season this year. It will open with Saturday and Sunday cards (July 17-18), then switch to a Thursday through Sunday schedule. Keeping with tradition, the 2021 summer season will close on Labor Day.

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