The purses of 21 of 39 stakes at the Del Mar summer meeting have been increased this year as the track continues to recover from prize money reductions forced by the pandemic in recent years. The stakes program will be worth a record $8.275 million, compared to $7.45 million in 2021. The track offered $5.25 million in stakes purses in the pandemic-ravaged 2020 summer meeting. Strong handle in 2021 has allowed for an increase in stakes purses. The richest race of the 31-day season will be the $1 million Pacific Classic on Sept. 3, which has been moved to its latest date since 2009. The race in recent years had typically been run on the third weekend of August. The Pacific Classic program on Sept. 3 will include five stakes. The Del Mar summer meeting covers eight weekends from July 22 to Sept. 11 and will be extended beyond Labor Day weekend for the first time since 2003. The track has positioned 15 of its stakes on the first two weekends of September. The purses of two Grade 1 races – the Bing Crosby Stakes at six furlongs on July 30 and the Clement Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares at 1 1/16 miles on Aug. 6 – have been increased by $100,000 to $400,000. The purses of seven stakes have been increased by $50,000, including the Grade 2 San Diego Stakes at 1 1/16 miles for older horses and the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby for 3-year-olds at 1 1/8 miles on turf. They will be worth $300,000, which restores purse levels for those races that were in place as recently as 2017 for the San Diego and as recently as 2014 for the Del Mar Derby. :: Serious horseplayers use serious products. Get DRF's premium past performances, now free for the first time With the season running through the second weekend of September, the two main races for 2-year-olds – the Grade 1 Del Mar Debutante for fillies and Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity will be run on the final two days, Sept. 10 and 11. Since 2014, those races had been run on closing weekend, coinciding with Labor Day weekend. This year’s Labor Day program will have only two modest stakes this year – the Generous Portion Stakes for 2-year-old statebred fillies and the $100,000 Tranquility Lake Stakes, a restricted race for fillies and mares. The Tranquility Lake is one of five overnight races that will be worth $100,000, an increase from $80,000 last summer.