DEL MAR, Calif. – Trainer Bob Baffert does not win the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity every year, but he wins it most years. Sunday at Del Mar, closing day of the summer meet, Baffert is likely to extend his record win total in the seven-furlong stakes. He entered three in the Del Mar Futurity, a race he has won the last three years and 17 times since 1995, when he ran third with Cavonnier, his first Futurity starter. Baffert’s 2024 trio includes likely favorite Getaway Car, a Grade 3 winner, along with debut winners Gaming and Citizen Bull. Others in the Futurity are longshot maiden Rank, Cal-bred stakes winner R Heisman, debut winner McKinzie Street, and maiden Brother Tony. Getaway Car is the most accomplished in the lineup. He wired maidens at five furlongs July 20, and followed with a dominant victory in the Best Pal at six furlongs Aug. 11. The question Sunday is whether seven furlongs will be an issue. “It shouldn’t be, Curlin you know,” Baffert said, citing Getaway Car’s pedigree. A more pressing issue is post position. Getaway Car and jockey Juan Hernandez are stuck on the rail. The colt must break running, cope with pace pressure, and stretch his speed another furlong. Gaming, whose rider is Flavien Prat, was ridden by Hernandez in his debut victory for Baffert at 6 1/2 furlongs Aug. 11. :: DRF's Del Mar Handicapping Packages: Get everything you need to play the races with confidence. “I was surprised the way he ran first out,” Baffert said. “I’ve always thought when he goes two turns, that’s going to be his [preference]. That’s a pretty good sign they’re good horses,” to win under suboptimal conditions. Gaming is the first winner sired by Baffert-trained Game Winner, who in 2018 won the Del Mar Futurity and the Eclipse Award as outstanding 2-year-old male. Gaming could get his two-turn chance Oct. 5 at Santa Anita in the Grade 1 American Pharoah Stakes. Baffert’s third Futurity starter is Citizen Bull, an Into Mischief colt who won his debut Aug. 17. “He wasn’t ready for that,” Baffert said. “He was about 80 percent. He’s a heavy horse, a big, strong horse. I knew he was going to need one, but I knew he was really good.” Citizen Bull pressed his way to a three-quarter-length debut victory over Smash It, the program favorite Saturday in race 6, a maiden sprint. Citizen Bull was ridden first out by Martin Garcia; Mike Smith takes over in the Futurity. The last time Baffert and Smith teamed for a graded stakes win was Dec. 26, 2022, when Taiba won the Grade 1 Malibu at Santa Anita. All three Baffert runners won recent starts by leading gate to wire, but it is unlikely three from the same stable would go head and head in the Futurity. More likely, Getaway Car makes the lead from post 1, pressed by Gaming from post 2, and Citizen Bull from post 7. Including debut winner McKinzie Street, four of the seven Futurity entrants set the pace last out. A contested pace would benefit longshot Rank. The late-runner finished fourth behind Getaway Car in his debut, and improved next out to finish second behind Gaming. The last maiden to win the Futurity was American Pharoah in 2014. Rank is not that caliber, at least not yet. “He’s always acted like a special colt,” Rank’s trainer Doug O’Neill said. “We’re going to swing for the fences. He’s got a good race under his belt.” :: Get Del Mar Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day. Antonio Fresu rides Rank, a closer in a race likely to unfold at a legitimate pace. The field also includes Cal-bred stakes winner R Heisman, who was expected to scratch from the I’m Smokin Stakes on Friday to run in the Futurity. R Heisman is trained by Peter Miller, who also entered blinkers-on, second-start maiden Brother Tony. The Del Mar Futurity is race 10, and follows the Grade 3 Del Mar Juvenile Turf, race 9. Scipio, a better-than-looked third in his debut, could upset the Del Mar Juvenile Turf. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.