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Del Mar Maintains Purse Levels For 2020 Fall Stakes Schedule

Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will present its seventh fall race meeting – officially titled the Bing Crosby Season in a salute to the seaside track's founder – with 16 stakes worth $2,250,000 scheduled during a 15-day session starting on Saturday, October 31.

Despite the concerns and obvious issues around the ongoing pandemic, the track was able to maintain the same purse amounts for its stakes as presented in 2019, including $300,000 incentives for its pair of Grade Is and $200,000 for its two Grade IIs.

Additionally, because Del Mar serves as California host for the Breeders' Cup races this year, it also will run two California-bred sprint stakes for juveniles that were not on its agenda the past two seasons.

Nine of the 16 fall stakes are graded; nine of the 16 stakes will be run on turf; seven of the stakes – all of them on grass – will be presented over the track's extended closing weekend which begins on Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 26, and goes until closing day on Sunday, November 29.

“Given the current climate of things, we are very pleased to keep our fall stakes purse levels intact,” said David Jerkens, Del Mar's racing secretary. “The response to our summer racing program was exceptional. We are expecting similar results this fall. I am especially excited about our Thanksgiving stakes weekend, which has taken on national prominence.”

The track's two premier stakes will be presented on its closing weekend – the Grade I, $300,000 Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds at nine furlongs on Saturday, November 28 and the Grade I, $300,000 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on Sunday, November 29. Both are run on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.

Additionally, closing weekend also will offer the Grade II, $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup for 3-year-olds and up at a mile and one-half on Thanksgiving Friday, November 27 and the Grade II, $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap for 3-year-olds and up and a mile and one-sixteenth on November 28.

Racing will be conducted Saturday and Sunday for opening weekend, then Friday, Saturday and Sunday for the next three weeks, finishing finally with a four-day week around Thanksgiving.

First post daily will be 12:30 p.m. on all racing days with the exception of the track's special holiday card on Thanksgiving Thursday when racing begins at 11 a.m.

There will be six stakes offered for juveniles, led off by the two Cal-bred dashes – the $150,000 Golden State Juvenile Fillies on Friday, November 6 and the $150,000 Golden State Juvenile on Saturday, November 7, both at seven furlongs.

Three of the juvenile tests are Grade IIIs – the $100,000 Bob Hope Stakes at seven furlongs on Sunday, November 15; the $100,000 Jimmy Durante Stakes for 2-year-old fillies at a mile on the grass on Saturday, November 28, and the $100,000 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes on Sunday, November 29, also at a mile on the lawn.

The Bing Crosby Season once again will kick off with a pair of $75,000 overnight stakes — the Kathryn Crosby Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on turf October 31 and the Let It Ride Stakes for 3-year-olds at the same distance and surface on November 1.

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
Sat. Oct 31	Kathryn Crosby Stakes* Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$75,000 Added 1 Mile (Turf)
Sun. Nov 01	Let it Ride Stakes* Three-year-olds	$75,000 Added 1 Mile (Turf)
Fri. Nov 06	GOLDEN STATE JUVENILE FILLIES Fillies, Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred	$150,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sat. Nov 07	GOLDEN STATE JUVENILE Two-year-olds, Cal-Bred	$150,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sun. Nov 08	BETTY GRABLE STAKES Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up, Cal-Bred	$100,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sat. Nov 14	DESI ARNAZ STAKES Fillies, Two-year-olds	$100,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sun. Nov 15	BOB HOPE STAKES (GR. III) Two-year-olds	$100,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Sat. Nov 21	NATIVE DIVER STAKES (GR. III) Three-year-olds & up	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles
Sun. Nov 22	CARY GRANT STAKES Three-year-olds & up, Cal-Bred	$100,000 Guaranteed 7 Furlongs
Thu. Nov 26	RED CARPET HANDICAP (GR. III) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 3/8 Miles (Turf)
Fri. Nov 27	HOLLYWOOD TURF CUP (GR. II) Three-year-olds & up	$200,000 Guaranteed 1 1/2 Miles (Turf)
Sat. Nov 28	JIMMY DURANTE STAKES (GR. III) Fillies, Two-year-olds	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf)
Sat. Nov 28	SEABISCUIT HANDICAP (GR. II) Three-year-olds & up	$200,000 Guaranteed 1 1/16 Miles (Turf)
Sat. Nov 28	HOLLYWOOD DERBY (GR. I) Three-year-olds	$300,000 Guaranteed 1 1/8 Miles (Turf)
Sun. Nov 29	CECIL B. DEMILLE STAKES (GR. III) Two-year-olds	$100,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf)
Sun. Nov 29	MATRIARCH STAKES (GR. I) Fillies & Mares, Three-year-olds & up	$300,000 Guaranteed 1 Mile (Turf)

* Indicates Overnight Stakes

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OwnerView Thoroughbred Owner Conference To Be Held Virtually During Breeders’ Cup Week

OwnerView announced today that the seventh Thoroughbred Owner Conference, which was scheduled to be held in Lexington, Ky., in the week leading up to the Breeders' Cup, will be conducted in a virtual format on November 3-4, 2020. The conference, presented by Breeders' Cup, Bessemer Trust, and Dean Dorton, was originally planned for July 19-22, 2020, in Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

“We are committed to offering the owner conference in a safe format for attendees, so we made the decision to move our event online given the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Gary Falter, project manager for OwnerView. “Registrants will be able to watch nine panels on a range of topics relevant to Thoroughbred ownership and submit questions to our expert panelists from the comfort of their home or office.”

The registration fee for the virtual conference is $425. For more information about the owner conference, including the full schedule of panels and registration, please visit ownerview.com/event/conference or contact Gary Falter at gfalter@jockeyclub.com.

OwnerView is a joint effort spearheaded by The Jockey Club and the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association to encourage ownership of Thoroughbreds and provide accurate information on aspects of ownership such as trainers, public racing syndicates, the process of purchasing and owning a Thoroughbred, racehorse retirement, and owner licensing.

The need for a central resource to encourage Thoroughbred ownership was identified in the comprehensive economic study of the sport that was commissioned by The Jockey Club and conducted by McKinsey & Company in 2011. The OwnerView site was launched in May 2012.

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Canterbury Handles Record $2 Million During Minnesota Festival Of Champions

Rain may have forced scratches and surface changes Wednesday at Canterbury Park, but it did not dampen the spirit of participants in the 27th Minnesota Festival of Champions, an evening of racing restricted to horses bred in the state and designed to celebrate the industry. The 12-race card, with eight stakes, was conducted over a sloppy main track with five races moved from the rain-saturated turf course to the slop in front of a capacity crowd limited to 750 spectators due to COVID-19 restrictions. On track handle was $121,434 while total handle of $2,048,915 was a record for the event.

Ready to Runaway continued her Canterbury dominance winning the $100,000 Bella Notte Minnesota Distaff Sprint by 4 1/4 lengths in 1:10.12, her sixth stakes winner, including a 2019 Festival victory, since being claimed last summer for $25,000 by John Mentz of Lakeville, Minn. The 4-year-old filly came from off the pace, before taking command in the stretch. “I was a little concerned because I thought she would get the lead,” Mentz said. “But she has been so good. When you claim a horse you just hope to get a [winner's circle] picture taken, not win a $100,000 stakes race.” Roimes Chirinos rode the $2.20 winner for trainer Mac Robertson.

Chirinos and Robertson teamed up again to win the $100,000 Princess Elaine, moved from turf to the main track, with Clickbait who is co-owned by Mentz, Jeff Larson and Hugh Robertson. Clickbait won easily by 7 ½ lengths and paid $3.20 as the favorite. Robertson has won a record 37 Festival races.

Drop of Golden Sun raced gate to wire in the 1 1/16 mile $100,000 Blair's Cove Stakes under Francisco Arrieta winning by two lengths over Dame Plata. The 5-year-old is owned and trained by Tony Rengstorf. Made the wagering favorite off a front running win in the Wally's Choice Stakes Aug. 19 at the same distance, Drop of Golden Sun paid $5.20 to win covering the distance in 1:42.57.

Sneeky Diversion, a 2-year-old gelding who eight days earlier broke his maiden at first asking, battled for the lead with eventual fourth place finisher Well Pro for a half-mile in the six furlong $100,000 Northern Lights Futurity before prevailing by 1 1/2 lengths over closer Fitzpatrick in 1:09.80. Sneeky Diversion, who paid $9.80, was ridden by Dean Butler for leading owner Lothenbach Stables, Inc. and leading trainer Joel Berndt. This was the first Festival victory for Berndt.

Jockey Ry Eikleberry wasted no time sending 2-year-old filly Star of the North to the lead in the $100,000 Northern Lights Debutante and was never challenged, winning by 4 1/2 lengths in 1:10.77 for six furlongs and paying $8.00 to win. The filly is owned by Michael Grossman and trained by Francisco Bravo.

Trainer David Van Winkle won $100,000 Crocrock Minnesota Sprint with Fireman Oscar who closed from last to win by three lengths after chasing a pace of 43.93 seconds for the half mile. The 6-year-old completed six furlongs in 1:08.80. Fireman Oscar is owned and was bred by Peter Mattson and was ridden by Alonso Quinonez.

The $70,350 Minnesota Quarter Horse Futurity was decided by a head as Corona White Sox defeated favorite Western Reserve with Nik Goodwin aboard for trainer Patrick Swan and owner and breeder Dan Kjorsvik.

“I broke really, really well,” Goodwin said. “I was pretty confident,” he said after a photo finish determined the winner.

Eikleberry closed out the card winning the $67,250 Minnesota Quarter Horse Derby on the favorite Vo Fantastic Aira who paid $3.40. The 3-year-old was a head better than Johnee B. Vo Fantastic Aira is trained by Ed Ross Hardy for the meet's leading quarter horse owner Corey Wilmes.

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Sen. McConnell Introduces Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act

U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and U.S. Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Martha McSally (R-AZ), and Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act today to help set national standards to promote fairness, increase safety, and help preserve Thoroughbred racing. At a press conference last week in Lexington, the Horse Capital of the World, Senator McConnell joined U.S. Congressman Andy Barr (KY-06) and leading Kentucky stakeholders, including Keeneland, Churchill Downs Incorporated, Breeders' Cup Limited, and the Jockey Club in announcing the introduction of the bill.

They also announced the launch of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority, an independent, non-governmental regulatory body responsible for improving current regulations and bringing a new level of transparency. The Board will set national standards for track safety, anti-doping and medication rules, and lab protocols. Senators McConnell and Gillibrand's bipartisan bill will provide federal recognition and enforcement power for the Board to enable them to develop uniform, baseline standards for Thoroughbred racing.

“It's been a privilege throughout my Senate career to deliver for Kentucky's signature horseracing industry and the workers who support it. The Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act we introduce today will help protect this sport for the future with uniform, national standards. Baseball, football, and other professional sports have a central regulatory authority, and Thoroughbred racing should too,” said Senator McConnell. “I am proud to join Senator Gillibrand, my colleague from another Triple Crown state, in introducing our bipartisan legislation, along with Senator McSally and Senator Feinstein. Together, we can make Thoroughbred racing as fair and as safe as possible. We owe nothing less to the jockeys, trainers, breeders, equine athletes, and fans.”

“Having grown up near the races at Saratoga Raceway, I know how important it is to protect horses at Saratoga and across the country. Congress must put an end to the harsh treatment of racehorses and solidify health and safety standards for both racehorses and racetracks,” said Senator Gillibrand. “I'm proud to work with Majority Leader McConnell on the bipartisan Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act. This legislation will do the important work of creating an independent regulatory process tasked with implementing anti-doping and safety programs to help ensure health and safety in America's historic horseracing industry.”

“The misuse of potentially dangerous substances in racehorses to boost performance harms horses and has led to numerous injuries and deaths,” said Senator McSally. “I have worked for years to protect racehorses against this abuse and uphold the integrity of the sport. I'm pleased to join Majority Leader McConnell and other bipartisan Senators to do just that by creating uniform racetrack safety standards that will better enforce anti-doping measures.”

“I'm pleased to join Leader McConnell in introducing a bill to finally establish uniform, nationwide standards to protect racehorses, jockeys and the integrity of the sport,” said Senator Feinstein. “Given the troubling number of racehorse deaths in recent years, this legislation is a step in the right direction, and I will continue working to ensure that increased safety standards, like those adopted in California, are applied nationally.”

U.S. Congressmen Andy Barr (KY-06) and Paul Tonko (NY-20) will sponsor identical legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Senator McConnell delivered the following remarks today on the Senate floor regarding the introduction of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act:

“On Saturday, the world of sports once again revolved around my hometown of Louisville for the 146th Kentucky Derby.

“Like so many other events, the coronavirus made this year's Derby look a little different.

“The race had already been postponed for only the second time in history. And none of the 150,000 spectators who normally fill Churchill Downs were there to sing My Old Kentucky Home.

“But the Most Exciting Two Minutes in Sports refused to be defeated. The Derby remains the longest continuously-held American sporting event. And this year's Labor Day Derby proved worth the wait.

“The winning Thoroughbred, Authentic, outlasted a ferocious challenge from the favorite. I'd like to extend the Senate's congratulations to the entire Hall of Fame team.

“This year's Derby showed our great traditions can adapt to overcome any challenge. But our sport must be protected.

“I've been proud to stand up for Kentucky horseracing throughout my career.

“I introduced a check-off bill to promote the sport domestically. I assembled a coalition to open new markets in Japan and Hong Kong. I worked to make sure Internet regulation didn't unduly restrict the racing industry. I've secured tax provisions to promote equine equity and grow investment in Kentucky.

“It's been my privilege to deliver for this sport and Kentuckians behind it. Today, I'm introducing new legislation to keep it up.

“Because, unfortunately, the coronavirus isn't Thoroughbred racing's only challenge. In recent years, tragedies on the track, medication scandals, and an inconsistent patchwork of regulations have cast clouds over the future.

“A national publication's editorial board even called for this sport to be abolished altogether.

“We needed action to protect the sport we love, defend our history, and the 24,000 Kentuckians who work in the Thoroughbred racing industry.

“So, in Lexington, Kentucky—the Horse Capital of the World—I announced with my friend Congressman Andy Barr that we'd found a way forward.

“Today, I will introduce the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act to recognize a uniform, national standard for Thoroughbred racing.

“Baseball, football, and other professional sports have a central regulatory authority. Thoroughbred racing should too.

“Some of the biggest names in the sport — Churchill Downs, Keeneland, the Breeders' Cup, and the Jockey Club, just to name a few — are supporting our plan to provide federal recognition and enforcement power to an independent Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority.

“The Board will be made up of both industry-selected and independent members. It will set national standards for track safety, anti-doping and medication practices, and lab protocols. This will make Thoroughbred racing as fair and as safe as possible.

“I'm proud to partner with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand on this bipartisan legislation. New York is home to another leg of the Triple Crown.

“Their junior Senator has previously introduced similar legislation to protect our sport. I'm also glad to have the senior Senator for California and the junior Senator for Arizona as original co-sponsors on this bipartisan bill.

“Today, Congressmen Barr and Paul Tonko will present this legislation in the House.

“I'm grateful for Congressman Barr's years of leadership on this issue, and I'm glad we are making bipartisan, bicameral progress with our bill.

“This way, when we can all return to the grandstands to watch Thoroughbreds round the final turn toward a thundering finish, we'll be taking pride in a fair and safe race.”

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