It’s summer time in Southern California, and for horseplayers which means it’s time for Del Mar! The annual Del Mar summer time Thoroughbred meet opens on Saturday, July 20, and can usher in California’s most eagerly anticipated season of horse racing.
The 2024 Del Mar summer time meet can be carried out totally on a four-days-a-week foundation, Thursdays by means of Sundays plus Labor Day for eight weeks ending Sunday, Sept. 8.
The eighty fifth Del Mar summer time season will embody 31 race days with complete purse distribution on the meet anticipated to be $26.6 million. Del Mar’s stakes program alone will host 39 stakes races with purses price $7,875,000 and can embody six Grade 1 stakes races, topped the meet’s signature race, the $1 million FanDuel Racing Pacific Basic on Aug. 31. The Pacific Basic will function a course and distance prep race for the Longines Breeders’ Cup Basic, which can be contested at Del Mar this fall.
Six stakes on the meet can be Breeders’ Cup Problem “Win and You’re In” qualifying races, together with the Pacific Basic, the Del Mar Handicap offered by the Japan Racing Affiliation (Turf division), the Inexperienced Flash Handicap (Turf Dash), the Bing Crosby Stakes (Dash division), the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes (Distaff division), and the Pat O’Brien Stakes (Filth Mile division).
The standard of racing is prime notch, however for horseplayers, Del Mar is about way more than simply vital stakes. The race meet will supply handicappers large day-to-day aggressive fields, promising 2-year-olds, and the return of turf racing that has been absent in SoCal because the finish of Santa Anita in mid-June.
Learn on for some handicapping recommendation and suggestions that can assist you win “The place the Turf Meets the Surf” at previous Del Mar.
Del Mar Most important Observe Tendencies
Del Mar’s important monitor profitable profile may be speed-favoring at instances, and that was the case at Del Mar’s two meets in 2023. In grime sprints, pace horses racing on the tempo or inside a size of the lead accounted for wins in 47% of all grime dash winners (71 wins in 152) in 2023. Almost equally as efficient had been pressers and stalkers racing between 1-4 lengths off the early lead, who gained many of the races not gained by pace horses (68 winners of the 152 races for 45%). Closers, outlined as horses coming from 4 or extra lengths off the early tempo, nearly by no means gained Del Mar grime sprints in 2023. Late runners gained simply 13 of the 152 races for 9%. The bias towards closers existed in any respect dash distances.
In grime route races, the overwhelming majority of the 63 races Del Mar ran in 2023 had been run at one mile (57 races), with solely six longer grime routes being run final 12 months, and people races had been stakes, which means that every one the in a single day grime route races on the meet discovered within the situation ebook are at one mile.
Del Mar grime miles performed way more pretty in 2023 than the sprints, with closers coming from greater than 4 lengths off the tempo having a significantly better probability. Velocity horses gained 21 of the 57 miles (36%) and stalkers gained 23 of the mile races (40%) whereas closers had been capable of win 14 of the 57 Del Mar grime miles in 2023 accounting for twenty-four%.
General, all submit positions, together with the surface posts, had been truthful in Del Mar routes in 2023, nonetheless, a horse’s working type did make a distinction relative to its possibilities from numerous submit attracts. For instance, pace horses racing on or near the tempo have their greatest possibilities from the within submit attracts 1-3, whereas stalkers clearly benefitted from center posts 4-6. Closers did terribly from the within three submit positions, profitable a complete of simply two of the 57 grime miles run in 2023. A pace horse’s possibilities worsen the farther outdoors they go as they’re pressured to “ship” from outdoors posts in an effort to keep away from going vast and shedding floor on the primary flip. Velocity horses drawn in posts 7 and wider gained solely 4 grime miles in 2023.
Del Mar Turf Route Ideas
Del Mar runs a number of the nation’s greatest summer time grass racing. Within the present period of Del Mar turf racing since its new turf course was put in previous to internet hosting the Breeders’ Cup in fall of 2017, the overwhelming majority of Del Mar’s turf routes have been run at one mile or 1 1/16 miles. A handful of races every summer time are also run at 1 1/8 miles and 1 3/8 miles on the turf. Turf routes at Del Mar in 2023 had a terrific common subject measurement of 9.33 runners.
Del Mar’s turf course performs extraordinarily truthful by way of submit positions in one-mile races, which is by far the commonest turf-route distance (82 races run in 2023). The skin posts are very way more problematic at 1 1/16 miles (26 races in 2023) and 1 1/8 miles (eight races in 2023) on the turf, nonetheless, the place the wins drop off sharply outdoors of post-position 6. Just one horse was capable of win a 1 1/16-mile turf race from posts 7 and outward in Del Mar’s two meets in 2023, and just one outdoors horse gained at 1 1/8 miles.
When it comes to working type preferences in turf routes, stalkers and closers do one of the best and pace horses on or near the tempo are at an enormous drawback. In 122 complete turf routes run at Del Mar in 2023, solely 23 races (19% of the races) had been gained by pace horses. Stalkers gained 47 instances (39% of the races) and closers gained 52 instances (43% of the races). The figures for turf closers at Del Mar are significantly better than at Santa Anita. Subsequently, betting angle early within the Del Mar meet is to improve turf route closers coming in off losses in latest begins at Santa Anita.
Del Mar Turf Dash Tendencies
Del Mar’s turf dash races are all run on the distance of 5 furlongs and Del Mar ran 62 of those races in its summer time and fall meets in 2023 (roughly one turf dash per day). Santa Anita turf dash kind, which incorporates races on the downhill course and principally consists of longer turf sprints, could not translate effectively to Del Mar, so anticipate loads of upsets.
For Del Mar turf dash handicappers, working type tendencies are extra vital than post-position tendencies by way of having the ability to type out the horses with one of the best possibilities to win. Being that these Del Mar turf sprints are run at 5 furlongs, it shouldn’t be a shock that it pays to have early pace. Nonetheless, whereas pace is helpful in these races, it isn’t important to success and loads of winners come from off the tempo. In 2023, winners of 28 of the 62 turf sprints raced on or near the tempo to account for 45% of the wins, adopted by 23 stalking winners (37%). You don’t wish to guess on a horse prone to fall too far again, nonetheless, as a result of closers from 4 or extra lengths out of it gained solely 11 of the 62 races accounting for 18% of the races. In different phrases, it’s OK to return from somewhat bit off the tempo in these races, however ideally not too far again.
When it comes to submit positions, Del Mar’s turf sprints have a median subject measurement of 8.54 horses and there was little or no favoritism at latest meets by way of submit positions. Center posts did higher in 2022 and inside posts did higher in 2023, however normally all of the submit positions in these races supply truthful possibilities to win.
Del Mar’s High Jockeys
The Del Mar jockey colony is robust on the prime and is led by Juan Hernandez, who’s the defending Del Mar summer time meet main rider from 2023 with 39 winners from 174 mounts for a 22% win proportion. Hernandez normally rides first name for coach Bob Baffert and can get lots of his greatest mounts throughout the season from that high-percentage barn.
Second within the 2023 summer time jockey win standings was up-and-coming star Antonio Fresu, who scored 31 wins from 173 mounts for 18%. The remainder of the highest 5 was made up of Umberto Rispoli, who had 25 wins from 125 mounts for 21%, Hectos Isaac Berrios, who had 24 winners from 174 mounts for 14%, and Edwin Maldonado, who had 20 wins from 162 mounts for 12%. Oher jockeys of notice to look at for embody veteran Mike Smith, who rides selectively however nonetheless racked up 14 winners on the 2023 summer time meet for a 20% clip. Additionally, Flavien Prat, who may be anticipated on the town for some stakes days and over the past week of the meet after Labor Day gained eight instances from simply 24 mounts in 2023 for a sturdy 33% win proportion.
Del Mar’s High Trainers
Phil D’Amato edged Bob Baffert by one winner to take the 2023 summer time coaching title at Del Mar. D’Amato gained 21 races from 134 starters (16%), whereas Baffert scored 20 wins from simply 63 starters for a a lot increased win proportion of 32%. The opposite coach within the combine to compete for the Del Mar summer time coaching title is Doug O’Neill, who missed the title by simply two wins on the 2023 summer time meet when he gained 19 instances. The factor O’Neill has going on this favor is that he’ll most likely begin extra runners on the meet than some other coach after having began 144 horses on the 2023 summer time meet with a 13% win proportion.
When it comes to win proportion, no coach will be capable to compete with Baffert on the meet, however for bettors, Baffert’s horses are despatched off at low odds. Another trainers chances are you’ll wish to depend on for higher earnings this season, based mostly on their performances on the 2023 summer time meet, embody Peter Eurton, who gained 16 races from 63 starters in summer time 2023 for 25%, and Richard Mandella, who gained 9 races from 39 starters on the meet for 23%.
Benefit from the 2024 SoCal summer time racing season the place the turf meets the surf at Del Mar. Better of luck!
