Del Mar summer meet

California's Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is set to deliver purses above $25 million for its 31-day summer meet, with the daily average purse payout of more than $800,000 the highest in the history of California racing. Overnight purses and the value of 21 of the seaside oval's stakes will be raised by a blended rate of 15%. Among the most prominent races to see increases are the GI Bing Crosby S. and the GI Clement L. Hirsch S., both of which will climb from $300,000 to $400,000. Gross purses for...

California's Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) will open its 2021 summer race meet Friday, July 16, with 100% capacity in its seating areas. All attendees must obtain a seating package, which will include admission and parking passes, in advance. Seats will be on sale online Friday, June 18, with a pre-sale available Thursday, June 17. Reserved seating packages will also be available by phone (858-792-4242) beginning Monday, June 21. Under current California Department of Public Health guidelines, fans will be required to wear masks at Del Mar, except when eating...

With purses to exceed $700,000 per day and "Ship and Win" incentives to double, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club is substantially increasing all overnight purses and offering record incentives for its upcoming Summer Meet, which opens Saturday, July 17, and runs through Labor Day, Sept. 6. Among the increases for overnights from last year, maiden special weight races will jump from $55,000 to $70,000, with a number of maiden claiming and open claiming purses also increasing. In addition, purse levels will be raised for several summer stakes races with the...

During these unprecedented times of global pandemic and spectator-free stands, the 81st Del Mar summer meet wrapped up Monday with a gripping battle to the wire between Flavien Prat and Umberto Rispoli for leading jockey honors. They were tied at 49 races apiece going into the GI Runhappy Del Mar Futurity, with Prat winning on Dr. Schivel (Violence) and Rispoli finishing fourth on Scooby (Fast Anna). It was the penultimate race of the meet and left Prat alone atop the rider standings with 50 wins and $2,968,918 in earnings. It...

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club (DMTC) has implemented a new set of protocols and procedures to ensure human safety at its seaside Thoroughbred headquarters in advance of its 81st racing season. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the track will race without fans in 2020. Working in conjunction with health and medical experts in the county and state, Del Mar has put together a human safety program which will be in effect at the 340-acre racetrack during the 28-day season, running from July 10 to Sept. 7. Among the daily measures...

Larry Collmus, the voice of the Triple Crown and the Breeders' Cup on NBC, will become the announcer at Del Mar this summer when he steps in on a "pinch hitting" assignment for the track's regular caller, Trevor Denman. Stemming from health concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic, Denman, who has been Del Mar's announcer for 36 years, recently informed Del Mar officials that he and his wife, Robin, would remain at their Minnesota farm this summer. "When Trevor told us of his situation, we naturally had to respect what he...