Del Mar autumn meet purses raised 20 percent from 2020
Del Mar has increased overnight purses for its upcoming autumn meeting by approximately 20 percent from 2020, bringing prize money for that season to record levels and on par with the track’s summer season.
The purse increase was announced by track officials at the end of the summer meeting earlier this month and detailed in a statement released Tuesday.
The 15-day autumn meeting runs from Nov. 3-28 and includes the Breeders’ Cup races on Nov. 5-6.
Since 2014, when Del Mar began an autumn meeting following the closure of Hollywood Park in 2013, overnight purses for the season often have been lower than summer meetings.
In 2019, for example, a maiden special weight race was worth $61,000 in the summer and $52,000 in the fall. This year, the races are worth $70,000.
Last year, a maiden special weight race at the beginning of the summer meeting was worth $50,000, but later increased to $55,000 at the end of that meeting. Last fall, those races were worth $57,000.
A first-condition allowance race will be worth $72,000 this fall compared to $53,000 in the fall of 2019 and $57,000 last year.
Prior to the start of the 2020 summer meeting, Del Mar cut overnight purses out of concern the pandemic would affect handle. The track had better-than-expected business in the summer of 2020, allowing for purse increases during the summer meeting and last fall.
This year, Del Mar increased purses before the summer meeting and has been able to do so for the fall meeting after strong handle in recent months.
This fall, Del Mar’s “Ship and Win” program, designed to lure runners from out of state will pay a bonus of $3,000 as a starter fee for a runner’s first race, and a 30 percent bonus for purses earned from top-five finishes in overnight races. First-time starters and horses who have raced in California in the last 12 months are not eligible.