DEL MAR, Calif. – Phil D’Amato is showing this summer at Del Mar that it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish.
D’Amato, who topped the trainer standings solo during the summer meet in 2015 and tied for the title in 2016, had an uncharacteristically chilly start to this year’s meet, winning with just one of his first 36 starters. But he’s turned it around of late. D’Amato has won with 13 of his last 54 starters to vault to a tie for third in the standings with 14 wins heading into the final week of the season.