Del Mar | Horse Racing Free Tips

Major Boost Puts Del Mar Summer Purses Over $700,000 Daily; Ship And Win Bonuses Doubled

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Del Mar, Calif., will implement a major purse increase for its upcoming summer race meeting opening on Saturday, July 17, including substantial increases in all overnight purses and record incentives for owners and trainers that ship out-of-state horses to race at Del Mar through its popular “Ship and Win” program, track officials have announced.

Average daily overnight purses for the 2021 season will be increased by over 30% as compared to 2019 levels during which the track operated an uninterrupted racing schedule. With the increases announced today, Del Mar expects to average more than $700,000 a day in purses this summer.

The “Ship and Win” program for horses entering from outside California is doubling both its participation fee for owners (from $2,000 to $4,000) and its 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.

“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, TVG and The Stronach Group 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 due in part to a partnership with the Thoroughbred Owners of California, FanDuel Group's TVG horse racing television network and advance-deposit wagering platform and The Stronach Group's 1/ST Racing. The multi-party agreement, announced earlier this year, is expected to inject up to $15 million into California Thoroughbred purses and programs over the next two years.

In addition, Del Mar's total handle for its 2020 racing seasons was well above initial projections – despite fans not being allowed onsite – adding funding to the purse increases for the upcoming live racing season.

Among the increases for overnights, maiden special weight races will jump from $55,000 during the 2020 summer meet to $70,000 this summer, maiden-claiming $20,000 races rise from $19,000 last year to $25,000 and open $40,000 claiming races purses will increase from $37,000 to $47,000.

As an example of how these increases affect the “Ship and Win” program, a maiden special weight race on the main track this summer will carry a purse of $105,000 ($70,000 plus a 50% bonus) plus a $4,000 starter bonus for out of state horses that qualify for the program.

“Anticipation for Del Mar's race meetings is always high among horsemen but it will be even more so this year with the increased purse structure announced today,” said Gary Fenton, chairman of the TOC. “We look forward to continuing our work with the state's key racing stakeholders to further strengthen California's year-round racing program.”

Track officials also noted that Del Mar's 2021 stakes schedule will be released in the coming weeks and that purse levels will be raised for several of its summer stakes races.

Del Mar will offer a 31-day summer racing season this year after racing 27 days in 2020. It will open with Saturday and Sunday cards (July 17-18), then switch to a Thursday through Sunday schedule for the balance of the meet. The summer season will close, as usual, on Labor Day, Monday, September 6.

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Santa Anita Boosting Big ‘Cap Day Overnight Purses By $15,000 Per Race

Santa Anita Park and Del Mar Thoroughbred Club have joined forces to create the $1 Million Wild West Bonus providing $1 million in additional money to winning connections of any horse that sweeps three of Southern California's most prestigious Grade 1 races, the $400,000 Santa Anita Handicap on March 6, the $300,000 Hollywood Gold Cup (at Santa Anita) on May 31 and the $750,000 TVG Pacific Classic at Del Mar on Aug. 21.

Including the $1 million bonus, any horse sweeping these three races would bank a total of $1,870,000.

All three races are run at the North American classic distance of a mile and a quarter.

Santa Anita has also increased the purses of the China Doll Stakes to be run March 6 from $75,000 to $100,000. Additionally, Santa Anita will raise purses on all overnight races on Big 'Cap Day by $15,000 per race in an effort to ensure big fields and reward owners and trainers who continue to support Santa Anita on its most significant programs.

For additional information on the $1 Million Wild West Bonus, call Santa Anita's Racing Office at 626 574-6352.

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Economic Shortfalls, Safety Improvements In CHRB Report

The California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) has released its annual report, covering both the fiscal year 2019-2020 and the calendar year 2020. As expected, given the onslaught of a global pandemic, it paints a rather grim economic picture, but there are major positives to be gleaned, chiefly in the equine safety arena.

When it comes to the business side of the equation, all-breed total handle generation during 2020 declined by 7% over the prior year.

Because of a wholesale shift away from bricks and mortar wagering towards ADW platforms last year–which funnels a smaller percentage of handle towards racetrack commissions and purses for horsemen–the total purse generation for all breeds dropped by 15% from 2019 to $110 million.

A separate breakdown of California purse and handle data for the past three years (excluding Los Alamitos night racing) can be read here. Similarly, the Thoroughbred Owners of California recently announced a $15-million purse enhancement program to be divided between this year and next.

Because of reduced racing in the state last year, coupled with the curtailment of bricks-and-mortar wagering, a number of industry programs that derive funding directly from parimutuel handle have been financially walloped:

The Southern California Stabling and Vanning Fund faces an estimated shortfall in 2020 of $3.6 million.

Last year, revenues for the workers' compensation fund fell by 21%, or $1.35 million, from the year prior.

For the fiscal year 2019-20, the industry made additional payments of more than $4 million to support the CHRB's daily operations.

“It is too early to predict how these numbers might rebound going forward,” the report states.

When it comes to the issue of equine fatalities, the outlook was rosier.

During the 2019-2020 fiscal year, the total number of fatalities (including those not related to racing and training) shrunk by 15% over the prior fiscal year. Training and racing fatalities alone declined by 18%. This correlated with a decline in racing starts of just under 6%.

Unsurprisingly, the single most common site of catastrophic injury during racing and training concerned the fetlock joint, and the sesamoid bones in particular, which accounted for nearly 50% of all musculoskeletal fatalities.

In this regard, the report highlighted the impacts on the early detection of these kinds of injuries from the implementation at Santa Anita of the standing positron emission tomography (PET) unit and the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) unit. “These two diagnostic imaging modalities have greatly improved diagnostic capabilities of veterinarians,” the report states.

At the track level, Del Mar saw an uptick from 2019 in a number of key areas, including field size (8.0 to 8.4) during the summer, and average daily handle during both the summer and fall meet. For the third time in a row, the facility remained the safest major racetrack in North America.

At the beginning of 2020, Santa Anita faced the double sucker-punch of a horse shortage followed by a pandemic-induced suspension of live racing. Despite these obstacles, the report highlights a number of key plusses, including implementation of the track's new turf chute, which debuted during this current winter-spring meet, as well as important strides forward in safety.

“One of the biggest challenges in California racing has always been to get everyone to work together towards the same goal. As difficult as 2020 has been, the achievements made on that effort have been the most remarkable,” wrote Craig Fravel, 1/ST Racing's chief executive officer, in the report.

Of all the facilities, Golden Gate was arguably hit hardest by the pandemic, with more than 350 workers quarantined during an outbreak towards the end of last year. As a result, live racing was suspended there between Nov. 13, 2020 and Jan. 15, 2021.

Despite a 25% decline in racing programs from 2019 figures, however, total handle at Golden Gate declined just 1.3%, to $533,619,648.

Near the start of last year, Los Alamitos came under intense scrutiny for a rash of equine fatalities, including a significant number not related to training and racing (notably according to the CHRB report, Quarter Horse trainer Chris O'Dell is responsible for one-third of non-racing and training related fatalities at Los Alamitos during 2020).

The report highlights the efforts made by track management to address these issues, including implementation of a safety plan and greater scrutiny of horses both training and entering a race.

In terms of handle, the total all-source handle of $56,361,304 for the summer daytime meet was down 14% with two fewer programs than in 2019. Total handle for the fall meet was $75,469,118, an increase of 33% with one additional racing program. All-source Quarter Horse handle increased by 25%.

Understandably, the vulnerable Northern California Fair program faced seismic disruptions last year, with both Fresno and Humboldt County Fair vacating their dates to Golden Gate Fields.

At the same time, Alameda County Fair registered a near 10% increase in all source handle with three fewer cards than in 2019. The State Fair (run at Pleasanton) saw total handle decrease roughly 18% with 45% less racing. Sonoma County Fair (run at Golden Gate Fields) saw a handle increase of 24% with two more programs than in 2019.

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Breeders’ Cup ‘Win And You’re In’ Races To Prohibit Lasix

As 2021 kicks off with stakes races being run without Lasix at the leading racetracks and Thoroughbred racing events across the country, including the 2021 World Championships, Breeders' Cup is pleased to announce that this year's “Win and You're In” Challenge Series races will be run without Lasix. Additionally, Graded Stakes points for the purpose of selection into a Breeders' Cup World Championships race will only be awarded in Lasix-free graded stakes races.

As an operator of world-class racing with the highest safety and integrity measures in place, these initiatives are in keeping with Breeders' Cup's efforts to lead by example to move towards elimination of race day medications and to better align the industry with the rest of the world. Breeders' Cup welcomes others to join these efforts to bring the U.S. further in line with international standards.

2020 saw a successful year of 2-year-olds running Lasix-free, including on Future Stars Friday at the Breeders' Cup World Championships at Keeneland. In addition, the groundbreaking passage of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA), which was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020, has provided a critical framework for the industry going forward. Under HISA, Lasix-free racing will be the general standard as of July 1, 2022.

“Even before HISA was signed into law, running the World Championships Lasix-free was a goal of Breeders' Cup,” said Drew Fleming, President and CEO of Breeders' Cup Limited. “Extending this standard to all races associated with the Breeders' Cup World Championships will hopefully set an example for other racetracks and stakeholders to embrace forthcoming safety and integrity measures, including the elimination of race day medication, as a new, safer era for our storied sport approaches.”

Aligning Breeders' Cup's year-round “Win and You're In” program with the World Championships by modifying the Field Selection Process and allocation of Challenge Race designations to races that prohibit Lasix further strengthens Breeders' Cup commitment to this effort. The safety of human and equine athletes and the integrity of our sport must always come first, which is why Breeders' Cup, like so many others around the world, supports eliminating Lasix in racing.

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