Del Mar will host 20 stakes aside from the Breeders’ Cup races during its five-week autumn meeting from Oct. 31 to Dec. 1. The 14 Breeders’ Cup races will be run on Nov. 1-2. The most significant change to the stakes schedule is the addition of the Grade 3 Bayakoa Stakes, a $200,000 race for fillies and mares at a mile that had been previously been run at times at Los Alamitos in December. The Bayakoa will be run on the undercard of the Breeders’ Cup program on Nov. 2. The Bayakoa has struggled to draw runners at Los Alamitos in recent years. The race was not held in 2018 and 2022, and had fields of six from 2019 to 2021. Last December, the race drew a field of seven. As part of Breeders’ Cup weekend, the race may attract runners from other parts of the nation, Del Mar racing officials said last weekend. :: Get Del Mar Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day. Two stakes will have higher purses than in 2023. The $200,000 Sen. Ken Maddy Stakes for fillies and mares at five furlongs on turf on Nov. 2 has been increased $50,000 from last year when it was run at Santa Anita at about 6 1/2 furlongs on the hillside turf course. For the first time, the Maddy will be open to 2-year-olds and older. In the past, the race was open to 3-year-olds and older. On Nov. 2, the Grade 3 Goldikova Stakes for fillies and mares at a mile will be worth $300,000, an increase of $100,000 from 2023 at Santa Anita. The Maddy and Goldikova Stakes are two of five stakes that move between Del Mar and Santa Anita annually, depending on which track is hosting the Breeders’ Cup or holding simulcast betting for the lucrative two-day series. One race has new conditions. The $200,000 Thoroughbred Aftercare Alliance Stakes will be run for 2-year-olds at a mile on turf. Last year, the race was worth $250,000 and run for 3-year-olds and older horses at 1 5/8 miles on dirt. The race has historically been run at the venue hosting the Breeders’ Cup. At Del Mar in 2021 and Santa Anita in 2023, the race drew fields of five. There were 10 runners at Keeneland in 2022. Del Mar has not scheduled the Kathryn Crosby Stakes for fillies and mares, a restricted race at a mile on turf that had been run in the opening days of past fall meetings. The Del Mar fall meeting will largely operate on a Friday-through-Sunday basis with the exception of Thursday, Oct. 31. For the first time since the track began running a fall meeting in 2014, there will be no racing on Thanksgiving this year, on Nov. 28. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.