Del Mar: With fans back in limited numbers and purses up, strong handle should follow
Opening day of the 2020 Del Mar summer meeting had an eerie atmosphere, held without fans in attendance because of the pandemic. It was so quiet jockeys could be heard shouting at each other for racing room on the turf course and urging their mounts through the stretch.
“It was really strange,” leading jockey Flavien Prat recalled earlier this week. “Del Mar is always a good crowd.”
This year, racegoers are back, although on a limited basis. The 31-day meeting begins Friday before a sold-out crowd track officials estimate will range from 15,000 to 16,000. Customers are required to buy clubhouse, restaurant, or grandstand tickets in advance. No walk-up sales are permitted. There was availability for Saturday and Sunday as of Wednesday.
“We’ll have people in just about every seat,” track president Josh Rubinstein said. “It will be full and lively.”
The atmosphere will not be the same as opening day of the 2019 summer meeting, which drew an ontrack crowd of 31,276, but will be much better than last year when the only observers were largely limited to track employees and stable staff.
Even a smaller crowd on Friday will draw the appreciation of Prat and his fellow riders.
“I think it’s going to be nice to have the fans back,” he said. “It seems like we’re getting back to normal. It’s something you look forward to.”
Friday’s opening day is the first daytime Thoroughbred racing in Southern California since closing day of the Los Alamitos summer meeting on July 5, and the first turf racing since the closing day of the Santa Anita winter-spring meeting on June 20.
Typically, Los Alamitos would have raced last weekend, but when the California Horse Racing Board assigned 2021 dates last year a gap of more than one week was built into the calendar. The week without racing allowed Del Mar to gain revenue from simulcasting for purses, which are higher than recent summer meetings.
“We’ve said this countless times: We’re big proponents of breaks,” Rubinstein said. “It gives horses a break and gamblers a break. When you’re racing every week, having an off week refreshes everybody.”
In summer 2020, Del Mar raced 27 days primarily on a three-day-a-week schedule, down from five-day weeks for most of the 36-day summer meeting in 2019. This year, the meeting opens with two three-day weeks before settling into a four-day pattern beginning July 29. There will be five days of racing on closing week, Sept. 2-6.
The reduction in overall racing dates is a reflection on a declining horse population in Southern California. To entice stables to California, and encourage existing owners to acquire horses from other circuits or countries, Del Mar has expanded a bonus program paid to the owners of horses making their first starts in California, or runners who have not raced in the state in the last 12 months and have started out of state in the last year.
The long-standing promotion, which excludes first-time starters, will pay a 50 percent bonus for purse monies earned for first- through fifth-place finishes in overnight dirt races through the summer meet, and a 40 percent bonus in overnight turf races. All runners, including starters in stakes, earn $4,000 for their first starts of the meeting.
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Last year, the bonuses were 20 percent of monies earned in overnight races and a $2,000 bonus for a first start.
Earlier this year, Del Mar added a clause allowing out-of-state runners to have up to two races at Santa Anita in May or June and remain eligible for bonuses through the summer meeting. The provision did not apply to the recent Los Alamitos meeting.
The Del Mar meeting has 39 stakes worth $7.15 million, compared to 40 stakes worth $7.31 million in 2019 and 39 stakes worth $5.25 million in 2020. The richest race of the meeting is the Grade 1 Pacific Classic, a $750,000 race at 1 1/4 miles on dirt Aug. 21.
Overnight purses will be the highest in seven years, thanks to a boost in account-wagering handle during the pandemic.
The 2020 summer meeting had an all-sources handle of $466.6 million, an 8 percent increase from the 2019 figure of $431.9 million. With more racing days this year, and pent-up demand from customers to attend live racing, handle is expected to be strong.
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“There is a lot of excitement to get back on track, and we missed having people here,” Rubinstein said. “There is a good buzz around San Diego. From talking to owners and trainers, we see that same kind of excitement.”
Prat led all riders last summer with 50 wins, one more than Umberto Rispoli. Abel Cedillo and Juan Hernandez finished third and fourth in the standings. Joe Bravo and Trevor McCarthy have joined the competitive jockey roster in recent weeks.
Peter Miller led all trainers with 28 wins and is expected to be in contention for the same honor this year along with Phil D’Amato. Bob Baffert, Richard Baltas, Doug O’Neill, and John Sadler are expected to be high in the standings.
Mark Casse and Mike Maker are among a small list of new trainers with stables at Del Mar this summer.
A familiar voice will describe the action. Trevor Denman is back after taking 2020 off because of the pandemic.