It’s summer season in Southern California, and for horseplayers which means it’s time for Del Mar! The annual Del Mar summer season 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 season meet might be carried out totally on a four-days-a-week foundation, Thursdays by way of Sundays plus Labor Day for eight weeks ending Sunday, Sept. 8.
The eighty fifth Del Mar summer season season will embody 31 race days with whole 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 embrace 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 might be contested at Del Mar this fall.
Six stakes on the meet might 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 rather more than simply essential stakes. The race meet will provide handicappers large day-to-day aggressive fields, promising 2-year-olds, and the return of turf racing that has been absent in SoCal for the reason that finish of Santa Anita in mid-June.
Learn on for some handicapping recommendation and suggestions that will help you win “The place the Turf Meets the Surf” at outdated Del Mar.
Del Mar Primary Monitor Tendencies
Del Mar’s foremost observe successful profile could be speed-favoring at occasions, and that was the case at Del Mar’s two meets in 2023. In filth sprints, pace horses racing on the tempo or inside a size of the lead accounted for wins in 47% of all filth dash winners (71 wins in 152) in 2023. Almost equally as efficient have been pressers and stalkers racing between 1-4 lengths off the early lead, who received many of the races not received 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 received Del Mar filth sprints in 2023. Late runners received simply 13 of the 152 races for 9%. The bias towards closers existed in any respect dash distances.
In filth route races, the overwhelming majority of the 63 races Del Mar ran in 2023 have been run at one mile (57 races), with solely six longer filth routes being run final 12 months, and people races have been stakes, which means that each one the in a single day filth route races on the meet discovered within the situation e book are at one mile.
Del Mar filth miles performed rather more pretty in 2023 than the sprints, with closers coming from greater than 4 lengths off the tempo having a a lot better probability. Pace horses received 21 of the 57 miles (36%) and stalkers received 23 of the mile races (40%) whereas closers have been in a position to win 14 of the 57 Del Mar filth miles in 2023 accounting for twenty-four%.
Total, all put up positions, together with the surface posts, have been truthful in Del Mar routes in 2023, nevertheless, a horse’s operating fashion did make a distinction relative to its probabilities from numerous put up attracts. For instance, pace horses racing on or near the tempo have their finest probabilities from the within put up attracts 1-3, whereas stalkers clearly benefitted from center posts 4-6. Closers did terribly from the within three put up positions, successful a complete of simply two of the 57 filth miles run in 2023. A pace horse’s probabilities worsen the farther outdoors they go as they’re compelled to “ship” from outdoors posts so as to keep away from going broad and shedding floor on the primary flip. Pace horses drawn in posts 7 and wider received solely 4 filth miles in 2023.
Del Mar Turf Route Suggestions
Del Mar runs among the nation’s finest summer season 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 season 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 area measurement of 9.33 runners.
Del Mar’s turf course performs extraordinarily truthful when it comes to put up positions in one-mile races, which is by far the commonest turf-route distance (82 races run in 2023). The skin posts are very rather more problematic at 1 1/16 miles (26 races in 2023) and 1 1/8 miles (eight races in 2023) on the turf, nevertheless, the place the wins drop off sharply outdoors of post-position 6. Just one horse was in a position to 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 received at 1 1/8 miles.
By way of operating fashion preferences in turf routes, stalkers and closers do the perfect and pace horses on or near the tempo are at a giant drawback. In 122 whole turf routes run at Del Mar in 2023, solely 23 races (19% of the races) have been received by pace horses. Stalkers received 47 occasions (39% of the races) and closers received 52 occasions (43% of the races). The figures for turf closers at Del Mar are a lot better than at Santa Anita. Due to this fact, a very good betting angle early within the Del Mar meet is to improve turf route closers coming in off losses in current 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 season and fall meets in 2023 (roughly one turf dash per day). Santa Anita turf dash type, which incorporates races on the downhill course and principally consists of longer turf sprints, could not translate effectively to Del Mar, so count on loads of upsets.
For Del Mar turf dash handicappers, operating fashion developments are extra essential than post-position developments when it comes to with the ability to type out the horses with the perfect probabilities 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. Nevertheless, whereas pace is helpful in these races, it’s not 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 need to guess on a horse prone to fall too far again, nevertheless, as a result of closers from 4 or extra lengths out of it received solely 11 of the 62 races accounting for 18% of the races. In different phrases, it’s OK to come back from just a little bit off the tempo in these races, however ideally not too far again.
By way of put up positions, Del Mar’s turf sprints have a mean area measurement of 8.54 horses and there was little or no favoritism at current meets when it comes to put up positions. Center posts did higher in 2022 and inside posts did higher in 2023, however typically all of the put up positions in these races provide truthful probabilities 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 season meet main rider from 2023 with 39 winners from 174 mounts for a 22% win proportion. Hernandez often rides first name for coach Bob Baffert and can get a lot of his finest mounts throughout the season from that high-percentage barn.
Second within the 2023 summer season 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 observe to look at for embrace veteran Mike Smith, who rides selectively however nonetheless racked up 14 winners on the 2023 summer season meet for a 20% clip. Additionally, Flavien Prat, who could be anticipated on the town for some stakes days and over the last week of the meet after Labor Day received eight occasions from simply 24 mounts in 2023 for a strong 33% win proportion.
Del Mar’s High Trainers
Phil D’Amato edged Bob Baffert by one winner to take the 2023 summer season coaching title at Del Mar. D’Amato received 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 season coaching title is Doug O’Neill, who missed the title by simply two wins on the 2023 summer season meet when he received 19 occasions. The factor O’Neill has going on this favor is that he’ll in all probability begin extra runners on the meet than some other coach after having began 144 horses on the 2023 summer season meet with a 13% win proportion.
By way of 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 you could need to depend on for higher earnings this season, primarily based on their performances on the 2023 summer season meet, embrace Peter Eurton, who received 16 races from 63 starters in summer season 2023 for 25%, and Richard Mandella, who received 9 races from 39 starters on the meet for 23%.
Benefit from the 2024 SoCal summer season racing season the place the turf meets the surf at Del Mar. Better of luck!
