Del Mar to hike purses for 11 non-Breeders' Cup stakes races
DEL MAR, Calif. - The purses of 11 non-Breeders’ Cup stakes will be higher than in past years at the 15-day Del Mar autumn meeting from Nov. 3-28, the track announced Sunday.
The Breeders’ Cup races will be held on Nov. 5-6, the second time the track has hosted the series. Del Mar conducted the Breeders’ Cup series in 2017.
There are 14 Breeders’ Cup races – five on Nov. 5, and nine on Nov. 6, ranging in value from $1 million to $6 million.
The most significant increases for non-Breeders’ Cup races at this year’s autumn meeting involve leading turf races at the start and end of the brief season.
The current Del Mar meeting has shown an increase in all-sources handle, allowing for higher purses.
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The Grade 3 Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes for fillies and mares at five furlongs on turf on Nov. 5 will be worth $200,000, an increase of $100,000 from 2020, when the race was run at Santa Anita.
The Grade 2 Goldikova Stakes, for fillies and mares at a mile on turf on Nov. 6, will be worth a record $300,000. The race was run for $200,000 at Santa Anita in 2020. The Maddy and Goldikova Stakes have frequently moved between the tracks in recent years.
There are two Grade 1 turf races on the final weekend of the meeting worth $400,000 – the Hollywood Derby at 1 1/8 miles on Nov. 27, and the Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares a day later. Those purses have been increased $100,000 from 2020 and are a record since they were incorporated into the Del Mar autumn calendar following the closure of Hollywood Park in 2013.
The Hollywood Derby and Matriarch Stakes were worth $500,000 for several years in the 2000s. The Hollywood Derby had a purse of $600,000 in 2003.
Two other Grade 2 races on Thanksgiving weekend this fall – the Hollywood Turf Cup at 1 1/2 miles on Nov. 26 and Seabiscuit Handicap at 1 1/16 miles on Nov. 27 – will be worth $250,000, an increase of $50,000 from last year. Those races were worth $250,000 in 2014 and 2015.
Two seven-furlong stakes for California-bred 2-year-olds – the Golden State Juvenile Fillies and Golden State Juvenile – will be run on Nov. 5 for $175,000, an increase of $25,000 from last year.