The much anticipated opening day of the Del Mar summer meeting, the highlight of the California racing calendar for many participants and racing fans, arrives a bit later than normal this year. Besides moving opening day to a Saturday, much of Del Mar is the same. The season offers the best racing of the year in the West, exceptional late summer weather, and a continued emphasis on turf racing, which has become the norm at many leading venues in the nation in recent years. This summer’s meeting, a 31-day season through Sept. 8, will be conducted amid a measure of economic scrutiny, however. Earlier this year, the track announced a $400,000 reduction in stakes purses, from $8.275 million in 2023 to $7.875 million. Overnight purses have been reduced by 8 percent from 2023 summer levels. Last year, Del Mar overpaid purses by approximately $2 million, erasing a $1.8 million cushion from the beginning of 2023, officials said. Del Mar is not alone among California tracks facing purse pressure. All tracks in the state have reduced purses in the last year. :: DRF's Del Mar Handicapping Packages: Get everything you need to play the races with confidence. This season, track officials have made conservative estimates on handle. The 31-day meeting in 2022 handled more than $579.8 million, including simulcasting. The figure fell to more than $527.6 last year during a 30-day season. One day of racing was lost last year because of the remnants of a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean. Track chief financial officer Mike Ernst said Wednesday that projections for the summer indicate handle is likely to be closer to the 2023 figures than 2022. “We’re projecting to be at last year’s level,” Ernst said. The track is opening on a Saturday this year to allow a longer gap from the closure of the San Diego County Fair on July 7, which is held on the same property as the racetrack. The fair typically closes on July 4, but was conducted through the holiday weekend. The massive transformation from a county fair to the start of the racing meeting involves many facets, notably providing track maintenance crews sufficient time to prepare the racing surface. By foregoing a Friday opening, Ernst said the track will lose a day with substantial handle. Last summer’s opening day on a Friday had an all-sources handle of more than $21.7 million, according to California Horse Racing Board data. Handle on the first Saturday was more than $22.9 million. “We’re really losing a premium day,” Ernst said of a delayed opening. “Financially, it would have been favorable, but after talking with our track crew and racing guys, the best thing was to make sure we had the track ready.” Del Mar has an 11-race program on Saturday and plans to run 11 races on Sunday. For the most part, racing will be held on a Thursday-through-Sunday basis, as well as on Labor Day, Sept. 2. The final four-day week will begin on Thursday, Sept. 5. Last year, the final week was run Friday through Sunday. Last summer, field size averaged 8.92 runners per race, down from an outstanding 9.14 runners per race in 2022. Similar support is anticipated over the next eight weeks. “I think we’ll be near where we have been the last few years,” racing secretary David Jerkens said. The track ran 286 races last summer, including 125 on turf. On Saturday’s program, five of the races are on turf. :: Get Del Mar Clocker Reports straight from the morning workouts at the track. Available every race day. Jerkens said the barn area is at capacity with approximately 1,850 to 1,900 active runners. The stables include a larger group of trainers who are typically based in Northern California. Several trainers from that circuit have had a presence at Del Mar in past years, but the number has grown this summer. “Last year, we had more of an out-of-state presence,” Jerkens said. “This year, there is more of a Northern California presence.” :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.