Robertson goes all in for 81-day Delaware Park meet

For most trainers, winning at a 22 percent clip with top-three finishes from 55 percent of more than 100 runners would be a very good meet. But the numbers Mac Robertson posted at Delaware Park in 2014 paled in comparison to what he had done the previous two years.

After his horses amassed $1.2 million in earnings at Delaware’s 2012 meet and $920,732 in 2013, Robertson’s horses won just 23 races and earned $598,210 in 2014.

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So, as Delaware launches its 78th season of live racing Saturday, Robertson intends to be highly active during the 81-day meet and will strive to do better. He has a total of six horses entered in five of the eight races on opening day.

“I’ll be honest, I was a little disappointed with our meet last season, especially with my 2-year-olds,” said Robertson, 41, who finished 2014 tied for fourth in the trainers’ standings after finishing third in each of the previous two years with 29 and 43 victories. “A couple of the good ones got hurt, but that is racing, and there is no mercy in this sport. This year, it’s a new group with a little different mix. I think I got a pretty good bunch coming to Delaware. None of them are five stars, but I think I have quite a few four-star horses. Hopefully, they will stay sound so they can run well, and I hope we do a little better than last year.”

Robertson, who will have 60 horses on the grounds, will send out the uncoupled entry of Da’blues Dancer and Six Tonsafun in the nominal feature, a first-level allowance for fillies and mares going five furlongs. Both horses will be making their first starts since last fall.

The meet also marks the return of former Mid-Atlantic powerhouse trainer Mark Reid. Reid, 63, the all-time leader in wins at both Parx Racing and the defunct Garden State Park, has spent most of the last 14 years as a bloodstock agent, racing manager, and breeder. He will have about a dozen horses at Delaware this season.

“Right now, my primary goal is to have fun, and I think there is no better place to have fun than Delaware Park,” Reid said. “Delaware Park has always been one of my favorite tracks because of the country setting. I am just looking to enjoy the latter part of my career doing something that I love. I own pieces of all my horses, so I do not have to worry about things that a young person just coming up has to worry about.”

Delaware will offer 11 stakes – one fewer than last year – worth a collective $2 million. As usual, the meet’s jewel will be the Grade 1, $750,000 Delaware Handicap on July 18. That card will include the Grade 3, $200,000 Kent Stakes, which formerly was contested during the third week of September. The Kent received a $50,000 purse boost this season.

The other graded stakes on the calendar are the Grade 3, $100,000 Obeah, a local prep for the Delaware Handicap, on June 20, and the Grade 3, $300,000 Delaware Oaks and Grade 3, $200,000 Robert G. Dick Memorial, both July 11.

There also are eight $50,000 overnight stakes scheduled between May 20 and July 18, plus a pair of Grade 2 stakes and two Grade 1 stakes for Arabians.

In May, live racing will be held Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays. Live racing will be added on Tuesdays from June 1 through Sept. 1. Beginning Sept. 8, Tuesday will be dropped from the schedule, and live racing will be conducted Mondays, Wednesdays, and Saturdays through closing day Oct. 17. Daily first post is 1:15 p.m. Eastern.