Del Mar has scheduled 41 stakes for its summer meeting, which runs July 19 to Sept. 4, including several that serve as prep races for the Breeders’ Cup on Nov. 3-4. Del Mar is hosting the Breeders’ Cup for the first time this year. The summer stakes schedule is led by the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 19, one of five races that offer an automatic berth for the winner to a Breeders’ Cup race. The winner of the Pacific Classic will receive a fees-paid berth to the $6 million BC Classic. :: Enjoy news and analysis from DRF? Get handicapping analysis, real-time coverage, special reports, and charts. Unlock access with DRF Plus. The Pacific Classic program will have two other graded stakes, both on turf – the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks for 3-year-old fillies and the Grade 2 Del Mar Handicap for 3-year-olds and up. The winner of the $250,000 Del Mar Handicap will receive an automatic berth to the BC Turf. The other races with automatic berths for the Breeders’ Cup are the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes on July 29 for the BC Sprint, the Grade 1 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes on July 30 for the BC Distaff, and the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes on Aug. 26 for the BC Dirt Mile. In 2016, the track had 43 stakes during the summer meeting. The track has cut two $75,000 overnight stakes from its summer calendar – the Sandy Blue Stakes for 3-year-old fillies on turf and the Pirate’s Bounty Stakes for sprinters on the main track. The purses for two stakes for California-bred 2-year-old sprinters – the I’m Smokin and Generous Portion stakes – have been cut by $50,000 each to $100,000. The summer season will open on a Wednesday for the first time since 2013. The 2016 summer meeting opened on a Friday.