By T. D. Thornton
Purses at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club are getting a haircut for the 13-date fall meet that spans Nov. 10-Dec. 3.
Del Mar executives speaking about the meet at Thursday's California Horse Racing Board (CHRB) meeting did not initially mention the purse cuts when making their standard presentation for licensure, which the CHRB unanimously granted.
But Del Mar's president, Josh Rubinstein, detailed the reductions when directly queried about the state of purses by CHRB vice chair Oscar Gonzales.
“We have reduced purses slightly for this fall meet,” Rubinstein said. “[We're] coming off two years of record wagering at Del Mar in 2021 and '22, and what we've seen nationally this year across the board in the industry, handle has been down eight of nine months.
“We think there are multiple reasons for that,” Rubinstein continued. “My own personal view is we're in a fairly soft economy right now–higher interest rates, inflation concerns–and there's just less discretionary income that people have. So we are matching purse levels to what we believe will be the handle generation for the meet.”
Rubinstein termed the cuts as “a market correction from where we were the last two years. So depending on the race, anywhere from 3% to 11%, but still some of the highest purses in the country during this time.”
Tom Robbins, Del Mar's executive vice president for racing and industry relations, told the CHRB that the 15-stakes schedule “remains intact” compared to last fall's meet.
Rubinstein noted that the fall season at Del Mar is traditionally a scaled-back version of racing compared to the track's nationally prominent summertime flagship meet that extends over two months. Instead of some 2,000 horses being stabled on the grounds, there are more like 350-400, with the remainder of runners shipping in from Santa Anita Park or Los Alamitos Race Course.
To help defray the costs of travel, Del Mar will be paying trainers a $250 stipend on each racing day they participate in the fall meet.
“We realize it's expensive for trainers to come down to Del Mar,” Rubinstein said.
Del Mar will race Fridays (8 races), plus Saturdays and Sundays (nine races). A Thanksgiving Thursday holiday program will also be carded.
Horses will be allowed to ship in for stabling Sunday, Nov. 5, the day after the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita. Del Mar opens for morning training Nov. 6.
Del Mar has scheduled November/December fall meets regularly since 2014, when the track filled a void in the Southern California racing schedule after Hollywood Park's 2013 closure. Prior to 2014, Del Mar's only other attempt at autumn racing was a 20-date October meet in 1967.
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