Cornucopian © Benoit Photo

Nine of the fastest older horses in the west will face the starter at Del Mar Saturday in the 81st edition of the $400,000, Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes, the feature attraction on an 11-race card on Day 4 of a summer meet scheduled to run through to Labor Day.  

The Crosby, named, of course, for the man who founded this sunny seaside course way back in 1937, normally earns championship sprint honors for its winner, not to mention a first prize of $240,000 and a Grade 1 notch on the belt. It is the first of six Grade I tests at the session.

Likely favorite in the dash is a 4-year-old bay colt named Cornucopian, who is owned by an extended partnership led by Bashor Racing, Front Row Club and Determined Stables. The son of super stallion Into Mischief races out of the barn of Hall of Fame conditioner Bob Baffert and will be handled by Del Mar riding ace Juan Hernandez. They’ll break from Post 6 at approximately 6:30 in the evening.

Trainer Phil D’Amato has a pair of burners in the affair – Agave Racing Stable, et al’s Maximum Bourbon and Rick or Sharon Waller’s Stronghold. The former, a 4-year-old gelding by Maximum Security, will have Hall of Famer Joel Rosario in the tack, while the latter – a Ghostzapper horse -- gets regular rider Antonio Fresu at the controls.

Also on the Saturday card are a pair of overnight stakes, the $100,000 Daisycutter Handicap, a turf sprint for fillies and mares, and the $100,000 Osunitas Stakes, a mile on the turf, also for fillies and mares.

First post on the afternoon is the usual 2 p.m.