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Del Mar Wednesday Events
COORS LIGHT PARTY
When: Opening Day, Wednesday, July 18
Come to Del Mar on Wednesday, July 18, 2012 for the ultimate Opening Day party. Tickets cost $30 and include:
-Clubhouse Admission to Racetrack
-Access to Private Area in the Seaside Cabana and Seaside Stage area
-Live music
-Big-screen Video Board
-Private wagering windows, restrooms, bars, table seating on first-come basis in tented area
-Food & beverages available for purchase
Order tickets online here beginning May 11
| | BATTLE OF THE EXES MATCH RACE
When: Sunday, August 7
Where: On the track
Eight years after the “Battle of the Sexes” match race involving jockeys
Julie Krone and Patrick Valenzuela, the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club has
announced plans to present a “Battle of the Exes” between Hall of Famer
Mike Smith and female star Chantal Sutherland on Sunday, August 7.
Krone’s
one, and as it turned out, only season riding at Del Mar provided the
inspiration for the “Battle of the Sexes” in 2003. It was originally
planned to pit Hall of Fame riders Krone and Gary Stevens, but
Valenzuela was called upon as a replacement when Stevens was injured in
that year’s Arlington Million. Valenzuela, aboard Chester’s Choice, won
by a nose over Krone and Woke Up Dreamin in a thrilling finish. The two
horses were selected by Del Mar racing secretary Tom Robbins for
comparable ability and riding assignments were by blind draw.
A
similar format will be followed for the “Battle of the Exes” with the
likely distance to be either a mile or a mile and one sixteenth. It is
expected to be offered as either the third or fourth race on the Sunday
card that will feature the Grade II Best Pal Stakes for 2-year-olds.
Besides
the one-on-one battle that match races automatically engender, the
history between Smith and Sutherland adds some special spice to the
event. At one time they were engaged and their romance played out
publicly and to great interest by racing fans in the two-year Animal
Planet television series “Jockeys.”
Yet another element in the
mix is the fact that August 7 just happens to be Ladies’ Day at Del Mar.
Sutherland, a Canadian who has been among the leading riders in that
country for the past several years but who will be riding her first full
summer at Del Mar, figures to gain a bit of a rooting edge in that
regard.
The match will be only the fifth in 72 summers of racing
at the seaside oval. The previous ones were the heralded 1938 duel won
by Seabiscuit over Ligaroti, widely considered “The Race that Put Del
Mar on the Map;” the 1994 “Showdown at the Seashore” in which Soviet
Problem, under Chris McCarron, bested Mamselle Bebette and Corey
Nakatani; the 2002 “Mule Duel at Del Mar” in which Black Ruby, known as
“the best ass in the West,” continued dominance over archrival Taz, and
the “Battle of the Sexes.”
The race will be sponsored by Daily
Racing Form. Pierre (PEB) Bellocq, the talented artist/cartoonist over a
long career with the racing newspaper, will create a special poster for
the race, just as he did for the Krone – Valenzuela match up.
A
press conference and the blind draw for horses will be held on the
Wednesday (August 3) before the match at 12:30 in the track’s paddock
and be open to the public.
Smith, 45, inducted into racing’s Hall
of Fame in 2003 and the regular pilot for two champion females – 2002
Horse of the Year Azeri and 2010 Horse of the Year Zenyatta – is
approaching 5,000 winners with mounts that have earned more than $217
million during his 29 years in the saddle. Sutherland, who only has been
riding for 11 years, is approaching 900 winners and purses of nearly
$43 million. The 35-year-old scored the biggest victory of her career
when she captured the Santa Anita Handicap aboard Game On Dude earlier
this year.
Smith will be riding his 11th season at the seashore
oval and has 151 local victories going into this season, including a
trio of tallies in the $1-million Pacific Classic. Sutherland will be
seeking her first Del Mar triumph after managing one third-place finish
in three mounts.
The Battle of the Exes is race # 4 and wagering is allowed. Morning line has at Mike 3/5 and Chantal at even money. | |
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Track Info
Click here to listen to the XX 1090 Radio Interview with Mike Smith
