Del Mar bolsters Pacific Classic card with two more stakes

Del Mar has added two Grade 3 stakes worth $100,000 each to the Pacific Classic program on Aug. 17 and will have five stakes on the card, a track record for a non-Breeders’ Cup day.

The Green Flash Handicap at five furlongs on turf and the Torrey Pines Stakes, for 3-year-old fillies at a mile, will be on the undercard of the $1 million Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles, the track’s richest race.

The Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap, a $250,000 race at 1 3/8 miles on turf, and the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks, a $300,000 race for 3-year-old fillies at 1 1/8 miles on turf, also will be on the program.

“Our plan is to bolster our premier race and make it the showcase event on a day like we’ve never had before at Del Mar,” track president Josh Rubinstein said in a statement Friday.

Last year, there were three stakes on the Pacific Classic program, including the Del Mar Handicap and Del Mar Oaks.

The track has yet to announce its full stakes schedule for the summer meeting, which runs July 17 to Sept. 2.