Based on stall applications and assignments, racing secretary David Jerkens projects there will be more horses on site for Del Mar's Bing Crosby meeting than usual in 2020.
“I'd say around 400-425 a day will be stabled here,” Jerkens said Wednesday afternoon. “That's slightly higher than usual (300-350) and I take it as a good sign.”
While most trainers will, for economic reasons, continue to house charges at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos or San Luis Rey Downs training center and ship in for the races, Jerkens listed 10 who are sending their entire Santa Anita stable to Del Mar. They are: Phil D'Amato, Doug O'Neill, John Shirreffs, Ron McAnally, Bill Spawr, Bob Hess, Jr., Kenny Black, Sal Gonzalez, Gary Mandella and Alfredo Marquez.
Saturday's opening day program of the Bing Crosby meeting was put together on Wednesday with 76 total entries, 73 in the “body” of the nine-race card and three listed as also eligibles.
“We expected maybe a few more, but there are going to be some very competitive races and we're certainly happy with the eight we got for the stakes (Kathryn Crosby),” Jerkens said.
After its Saturday-Sunday opening, the 15-day meeting runs Friday through Sunday through November 22 and closes with a four-day “Turf Festival” from Thanksgiving Day, November 26 to Sunday, November 29. Seven of the nine graded stakes during the meeting will be staged over the final four days over the Jimmy Durante Turf Course.
Those races, especially the Grade I Hollywood Derby and Grade I Matriarch Stakes, have been major enticements to East Coast trainers in the past and elite trainers Chad Brown, Mark Casse and Graham Motion, among others, have sent marquee runners with good success.
“Even in this COVID era, when people aren't shipping to the extent they used to, we've received quite a bit of interest from back east,” Jerkens said. “And I know some local trainers have been acquiring horses (for turf stakes) as well.”
It has been so long since rain graced San Diego County that's it's easy to forget that torrential downpours forced cancellations of two race programs last fall, one of them a Thanksgiving card scheduled to start the final week, and the rescheduling of some graded stakes.
Still, the East Coast contingent was a strong one and the appropriately name Got Stormy closed things with a victory in the Matriarch for Casse.
“If the weather cooperates, I think we'll get some very good horses from the east like we usually do,” Jerkens said.
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