Del Mar Race Track - Home Ground To Some Crucial Pre-breede's Cup Races - Part 1

By Author: Lee Lane-Edgar
Total Articles: 365
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The Del Mar race track, aptly defines ‘Where the Turf meets the Surf’; situated on the shores of the Pacific along the city of Del Mar, the race track owns a history that takes it late back to 1937 when it all began. Built by the some exceptionally renowned artists of the times, Del Mar was Bing Crosby’s baby along with Pat O’Brien and a few others.

The racetrack is a mile long track with a seven furlongs turf, however in 2007,the racetrack was replaced by PolyTrack that cost the race track association almost $9 million.

The tracks open only after Summers each year hosts and array of Graded Stakes races throughout the remaining year, beginning with Eddie Read Stakes, Grade I following into a fine balance of grade II and III races with participation from all deserving candidates.

Let’s have a run through the various grade I races Del Mar witnesses in a year, including yours.

Open to three year olds and up, the Bing Crosby Handicap is an annual race offering a $300,000 purse for a six furlongs on polytrack. Dedicated to Big Crosby, the founder of Del Mar and also an equestrian owner and ...
... breeder, the inaugural race was run in the year 1946 and has been run ever since with a track record of 1:08.17 by Bob Baffert’s Euroears this year.

Conquered thrice by the unstoppable Zenyatta, Clement L. Hirsch is a race open to both mares and fillies three years of age and up, a distance of 1 1/8 miles on polysynthetic surface for a purse of $300,000. With a leading 7 wins by jockey Chris McCarron and a tremendous treble performance by Zenyatta in 2008 following into 2010, the race honours its winner of 1993 Clement L. Hirsch, owner of Magical Maiden.

The first Del Mar Debutante Stakes was run the first time 1951 as a six furlongs race and graduated to a one mile distance only in 1974. The racing distance was then increased to seven furlongs in ’93 and categorizing it as a Grade 1 only in 1996. The race run late during the year in September on the polytrack surface allows only fillies at two year old to compete for the $250,000 prize money. Till date the fastest lap continues to be with Ron McAnally’s Call Now at 1:21.40.

Bob Baffert’s favourite, Del Mar Futurity is a Grade I stakes since 2007 and also a part of the Breeder’s Cup Challenge series. Open to two year olds, racing a distance of seven furlongs for a purse of $250,000 on polysynthetic dirt, this is a “Win and You’re In” race mastered by Bob so well that seven out of his nine wins were from consecutive years. The fastest on the track has been timed 1:21.29 by Declan’ Moon in 2004.

The Del Mar Oaks is another Grade I race being held annually, open to three year old fillies for a purse run of $350,000 at a distance of 1 1/8 miles. Having raced the incredible horse Spectacular Bid, jockey Bill Shoemaker holds a tie with Chris McCarron for 4 wins on the track.

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