Big Macher will skip Bing Crosby

Big Macher will not run in the $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar on July 26, a race he won in 2014, because of a recent splint-bone injury, trainer Richard Baltas said on Thursday.

Big Macher has not raced since finishing fifth in the Golden Shaheen at Meydan Racecourse in the United Arab Emirates on March 28. In May, Big Macher was sent to trainer Wesley Ward at Arlington Park to be prepared for a trip to Royal Ascot in England. That plan was abandoned when Big Macher did not work well on turf, and the 5-year-old was sent back to Baltas at Santa Anita.

Baltas said on Thursday that the tentative plan is to aim for a comeback race in late summer or fall.

“He had a splint bone that was active,” Baltas said. “He’ll get a few weeks off until he goes back to the track. Hopefully, we can have him ready for late Del Mar or the fall.”

One option for Del Mar is the $80,000 Pirate’s Bounty Stakes at six furlongs Sept. 7, the closing day of that meeting. The stakes schedule for the Santa Anita autumn meeting has not been published.

Owned by Tom Mansor and Brendan Bakir, Big Macher has won 6 of 16 starts and $617,678.