Del Mar purse underpayment could be put to use at fall meet
Del Mar raised purses in late July after a successful start to its current summer meeting that began July 10. If business remains strong through closing day on Sept. 7, a top executive of the owners’ organization said the excess funding should be devoted to the track’s autumn meeting, which runs from Oct. 31 to Nov. 29.
“Unless it’s a crazy high number, it will be rolled forward,” said Greg Avioli, president of the Thoroughbred Owners of California.
Avioli said the TOC would like to provide additional funding to purses for the autumn meeting, a season in which there are fewer horses based at Del Mar and a time of year when rain can be a factor. Many stables remain at Santa Anita and keep a small number of horses at Del Mar, or ship runners for specific races.
This year, Avioli said the uncertainty regarding the coronavirus pandemic is a factor in deferring additional funds for the autumn meeting. Del Mar is not open to the general public this summer and may race under the same conditions at the autumn meeting.
Del Mar reduced overnight purses by 20 percent before the current meeting. The recent increase restored half of those funds.
As of late July, Avioli said there were 2,639 Thoroughbreds at Southern California tracks. The figure is slightly lower than the summer of 2019, but down from more than 3,000 in the summer of 2018. There were 2,184 Thoroughbreds in Southern California at the end of April, Avioli said.
Tom Robbins, director of racing at Del Mar, said during a California Horse Racing Board dates committee teleconference on Wednesday that the number of 2-year-olds in Southern California has declined 20 percent from last year. He cited the pandemic as a leading cause.