Double Dirt Mile winner Cody’s Wish. (Ernie Belmonte/Past The Wire
Jim Charvat/Del Mar Stable Notes
DEL MAR, Calif.—The Breeders’ Cup brings world championship horse racing to Del Mar and attracts the best of the best of the jockeys and stables in the sport. It also brings an economic boom for local businesses.
When economist and financial experts, like Del Mar’s CFO Mike Ernst, sit down after the Breeders’ Cup, they take into consideration the spending of the out-of-town fans, the media that covers the event and the actual participants with the Breeders’ Cup. All those folks who fly, drive or take the train into San Diego for the world championships.
“Because it’s a worldwide event,” Ernst says, “we have people coming from all over the world, so the percentage of out-of-area people is significantly higher. The two-day event and the days leading up to the Breeders’ Cup and after, all of the economic activity they bring totals $100 million.”
That’s money going to restaurants and bars, hotels and short-term rentals.
“It’s from people outside of San Diego County coming in spending money,” Ernst notes. “It’s also going to all those local companies that are providing services to the Breeders’ Cup. The flowers and the chair rentals. That’s all-new money coming in.”
Then there’s the impact Breeders’ Cup has on the marketing of the Del Mar racetrack. Millions of eyes will be on the seaside oval this weekend.
“When we talk to sponsors of our summer and fall race meets,” Ernst says, “the fact that we can attract the Breeders’ Cup helps our image. Our best day for on-track wagering of the fall race meet will be the day before the Breeders’ Cup because we have so many people coming in.
“All the monies from the Friday and Saturday of the Breeders’ Cup go to the Breeders’ Cup to support the event,” Ernst continues. “We make some monies to help pay the landlord but what we call the ‘shoulder days’ surrounding the Breeders’ Cup really helps our fall meet as opposed to when we don’t have the Breeders’ Cup.”
As far as how the Breeders’ Cup helps the actual racing at Del Mar, racing secretary David Jerkens believes there are trade-offs.
“There are horses that look at Breeders’ Cup day races that could run in our races,” Jerkens says. “I think the advantages are trainers who are coming out here may bring additional horses, similar to the Brad Cox entry in (today’s) Let It Ride Stakes. We carded nine races on Thursday. Typically, we’re not carding nine on a weekday.”
Breeders’ Cup is a win-win for everyone involved. For the organizers of the event, for the Del Mar racetrack, for the race fans who will attend the races and for the cities of Del Mar and San Diego.
Friday’s Undercard Completes Stakes Filled Program
Part of the appeal of the Breeders’ Cup is that the cards that are run on Friday and Saturday are chock full of stakes races. On Future Stars Friday, of the 10 races on the card, nine are stakes races. There are five Breeders’ Cup races and four undercard races beginning with the $200,000 Senator Ken Maddy, which has the unique condition of 2-year-olds and upward. As you would expect, there are no juveniles entered in the race but there are a salty bunch of seven fillies and mares.
Trainer Doug O’Neill has a pair of his horses entered including Stay and Scam, a multiple Cal-bred stakes winner trying open company. She was the post time favorite in the Solana Beach at Del Mar this summer but ran a disappointing fifth, the only time she’s finished out of the money in nine races in 2024.
“When she’s good we just gotta go for it,” assistant trainer Leandro Mora says. “She’s been very honest for us. She’s one of the few homebreds that we are happy to have, and she’s done well with this turf.”
O’Neill’s second entry is Just Nails, a winner last out in a second-level allowance race on Santa Anita’s hillside turf course.
“Doug felt it was time to try her in a stakes,” Mora states. “She’s been knocking on the door and winning some decent races. She’s improving. When we got her first, she was a little cuckoo-cuckoo, but has overcome that hurdle and is back to normal now.”
Kissed By Fire comes into the Ken Maddy off of a win in a second level allowance race here at Del Mar on Labor Day, one race after returning from Maryland where she ran a distant seventh in the Jameela Stakes at Laurel Park.
“It was either being back on the California surfaces or the weather maybe,” trainer Peter Eurton says. “She just did not seem to have the same speed over the different (Laurel Park) turf course.”
Kissed by Fire has put in two bullet works this month leading up to the race.
“Not on purpose,” Eurton contends. “She’s good like that. That’s how she trains. She’s very much on the bridle. Last time we slowed her down a little bit but we’re not looking for that, that’s just her. You never want to put her in company, she’s so game.”
The first of two Cal-bred stakes slated for Friday is the Golden State Juvenile Fillies. Nine fillies will go to the gate for the 7-furlong test on the main track. The race pits two stakes winners from Del Mar’s summer meet.
The last we saw Hot Girl Walk she was winning the Generous Portion on Labor Day.
“She’s doing real good,” trainer Carla Gaines says. “She would get a little worked up in the paddock this summer, but she’s settled into herself and is doing great coming into the race.”
Into the Air Tonight captured the CTBA Stakes at Del Mar in August, one race before running into Hot Girl Walking in the Generous Portion. In the Air Tonight ran last in the G2 Oak Leaf finishing fourth behind three Bob Baffert horses.
“I used the Oak Leaf race as a prep because I didn’t have anywhere else to run her,” trainer Steve Knapp says. “So, we didn’t have to work her two-or-three extra times. She got quite an education. She got dirt kicked in her face and still kept running on. One more stride and she would have got third.”
The other Cal-bred stakes is the $175,000 Golden State Juvenile for the colts and geldings. Ten horses will go to the post in the 7-furlong event on the main track. Another stakes winner from the summer, R Heisman, is back in Cal-bred company. The winner of the Graduation Stakes at Del Mar ran in the G3 Zuma Beach last out.
“This race made a lot of sense,” trainer Peter Miller says. “We know he likes this racetrack. We think seven-eighths is a good distance for him. He was getting a little more aggressive, so we took the blinkers off of him last out and we’ll keep them off. Get him to relax a little bit better.”
Trainer Phil D’Amato has two horses entered in the race. Speedy Wilson comes in off of an impressive maiden win.
“He’s a horse who’s just starting to figure things out,” D’Amato notes. “I think the added distance will help him and hopefully he’ll continue to improve.”
I’m A Bad Boy is the morning line favorite. He’s won two in a row, a maiden at Del Mar and an entry-level allowance race at Santa Anita, for trainer Luis Mendes.
In between the two Cal-bred stakes they’ll run the Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance for two-year-olds. Tim Yakteen came to Del Mar with Sabertooth hoping to get into the Breeder’s Cup but it didn’t work out.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t draw into the Breeders’ Cup, drawing in on the 14. We drew the one post in the T.A.A which is a much more preferred post position. Our horse is doing well and hopefully we’ll have a good trip. And hopefully we’ll have made the right choice.’
They’ll have to deal with Artislas, who has beaten Sabertooth twice before, in the G3 Del Mar Juvenile Turf and the G3 Zuma Beach. The son of Catalina Cruiser drew the outside post #14 for the T.A.A.
Keeneland Sale At Del Mar A Huge Success
Happy buyers and happy sellers at last night’s Keeneland Championship Sale in the Del Mar paddock. While there were no horses attending the sale, an estimated crowd of 300 people showed up from all parts of the globe.
A stallion share in Flightline sold for $2.5 million and another stallion share for Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint favorite, Cogburn, sold for $425,000. In all, five of the 10 offerings sold for $4.3 million, for an average of $865,000.
Pandora’s Gift, an entry in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint this weekend, sold for $875,000 and Reincarnate, a graded stakes winning colt, went for $375,000. Meanwhile, a 25% share of three-time G2 Del Mar Handicap winner Gold Phoenix sold for $175,000.
It’s the first time Keeneland has held a boutique sale during Breeders’ Cup week. They plan on doing another one next year.
COOLING OUT ~ ~ ~ ~
The weather forecast calls for cloudy skies, temperatures in the 60s for Friday and Saturday. There’s a slight chance of a rain shower Saturday afternoon, but not likely. That’s an improvement over forecasts earlier this week that called for rain during the Breeders’ Cup. Del Mar hasn’t had any measureable rain since late April….
Notable works on Thursday: Dirt – Truly Quality (4f, :48.20); Big City Lights (5f, 1:01.20), and Tamara (6f, 1:11.40).
