DEL MAR, Calif. – First it was an uncle who played the daily double every racing day. Then came visits to Santa Anita and Hollywood Park to see the likes of Buckpasser, Round Table, and Swaps. Before there was Sunday racing in California, family trips to Caliente in Tijuana, which raced on Sundays, were part of the rotation.
Lee Searing was introduced to racing at a young age. His interest took hold and never left, and over the years he has progressed from passionate fan to passionate owner.
Friday’s program at Del Mar is opening day of the summer meeting for a select group of people.
Owners with horses entered on the program will be allowed to attend races in California for the first time since mid-March, the Thoroughbred Owners of California announced in a statement on Tuesday.
:: DRF's Del Mar headquarters – Stakes schedule, previews, recaps, past performances, and more
Hit the Road, the winner of the $103,500 Oceanside Stakes at Del Mar on July 10, will miss the Grade 3 La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 9, but remains a candidate for the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 6.
Trainer Dan Blacker said on Wednesday that Hit the Road emerged from the Oceanside with a bruised foot that prevented full training in recent days.
“He needed to work last weekend,” Blacker said. “He won’t be ready to run in the La Jolla. We’ll give him a little more time to the Del Mar Derby.”
Dogtag, a 4-year-old stakes-winning filly on turf, will have her stakes debut on the main track in Sunday’s Grade 1 Clement Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar.
Dogtag has won her last two starts, both on turf at Santa Anita – a second-level allowance race at a mile on May 16 and the Possibly Perfect Stakes at 1 1/4 miles on June 14. A winner of 4 of 9 starts, Dogtag was third in her only previous appearance on dirt in a seven-furlong maiden race at Saratoga in August 2018 when trained by Chad Brown.
DEL MAR, Calif. – The best horse and presumptive favorite in the Grade 1 Bing Crosby Stakes on Saturday at Del Mar will scratch from the six-furlong race and wait for the Grade 2 Pat O’Brien Stakes at seven furlongs later this summer.
McKinzie, whose seven graded stakes and $3.4 million in earnings tops the 10-entrant Bing Crosby field, will scratch from the $250,000 sprint, trainer Bob Baffert said Wednesday.
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. – By My Standards was attempting to establish himself as the top older male in training when he went into the Grade 2 Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs on June 27. That’s when he ran into Tom’s d’Etat, who asserted his authority and class to dominate the Stephen Foster by 4 1/4 lengths over By My Standards.
Star jockey Florent Geroux is named in one race Friday at Ellis Park, marking his first ride since announcing he had tested positive for the coronavirus. Geroux last rode on July 12.
Geroux once again ranks in the top 10 nationally in mount earnings this year with more than $5.7 million.
Meanwhile, a $40,000 third-level allowance (race 5) for filly-mare sprinters serves as the feature of a nine-race Friday card that starts at 12:50 p.m. Central. Irish Mischief is the 9-5 morning-line favorite for Cox and Bridgmohan. A second allowance goes as race 8.
Anneau d’Or, a disappointment since finishing a close second last fall in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile, has joined the prospective lineup for the $200,000 Runhappy Ellis Park Derby on Aug. 9.
Art Collector, winner of the Blue Grass Stakes, figures as a heavy favorite in the 1 1/8-mile Ellis Derby, a 50-20-10-5 qualifier toward the Sept. 5 Kentucky Derby. Other probable starters include Dean Martini, Major Fed, and Shared Sense.
Mostly big fields with recognizable names were expected when entries were drawn Thursday for the third annual Kentucky Downs Preview Day, to be held Sunday at Ellis Park in western Kentucky.
Five $100,000 turf stakes will be run as designated preps for the Kentucky Downs meet, which runs Sept. 7-16. Brad Cox and Mike Maker are among the prominent trainers expected to have a multitude of starters in the preview races, with Factor This in the 1 1/4-mile Preview Turf Cup for Cox being the most notable.
