Del Mar cards 15 stakes for autumn meet
:quality(75))
Led by two Grade 1 turf races, Del Mar has scheduled 15 stakes for its 13-day autumn meeting from Nov. 6 to Nov. 29. Prize money levels for stakes are unchanged from the 2025 fall meeting.
The Grade 1 races are worth $300,000 – the Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles for 3-year-olds on Nov. 28 and the Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile on Nov. 29. They are part of a massive weekend of nine turf stakes, seven of which have graded status, from Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 26, through closing day. Del Mar will race on Thanksgiving this year for the first time since 2023.
Aside from Thanksgiving, the season will operate on a Friday-Sunday basis.
There are nine graded stakes at the meeting, including two Grade 2 turf stakes worth $200,000 – the Hollywood Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles on Nov. 27 and the Seabiscuit Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 28.
:: Play to Win at Del Mar! Get DRF Past Performances, Expert Picks and Clocker Reports
The autumn meeting will not include four stakes run at the California track that either hosts the Breeders’ Cup or simulcasts the famous two-day series.
This year, Santa Anita will be racing when the Breeders’ Cup is held at Keeneland on Oct. 30-31.
The Senator Ken Maddy Stakes and Goldikova Stakes, both for fillies and mares on turf, and the Golden State Juvenile and Golden State Juvenile Fillies for statebred 2-year-olds on dirt will be run on the closing weekends of the Santa Anita meeting that runs from Sept. 26 to Nov. 1.