Bing Crosby welcomes first patron to Del Mar in 1937.
OPENING DAY AT DEL MAR: WE’VE COME A LONG WAY, BABY
“On the first Fourth of July, horse racing in America was alive and well just scattered across 30 different dirt ovals from the Hempstead Plains of New York to the tidal flats of Gloucester, Virginia. Match races wagered on a handshake. Four-mile heats under a Carolina sun. Plantation clearings doubling as racetracks. No electric tote board. No permanent grandstand.”
- Tom Ryan, author and racing manager of SF Bloodstock
Fast forward 161 years to 1937 when two popular actors put their heads and their pocketbooks together and created a horse racing meet in the sleepy seaside village of Del Mar, California. Population - a few hundred. Except in the summer when it swelled to a couple thousand.
Bing Crosby had just moved to Rancho Santa Fe when he hooked up with fellow crooner Pat O’Brien. With some federal funding and money of their own, they debuted the first Del Mar summer meet on July 3, 1937. It was a 20-day session back then and was the start of a summer tradition that still exists today.
Now, fast forward another 89 years to the present and the start of yet another Thoroughbred racing season at Del Mar. A lot has changed since those early years when Bing and Pat would greet patrons at the gate and lure some of their Hollywood friends south to the races.
There’s a giant grandstand where once stood a smaller, wooden structure. The barn area has grown significantly and, yes, there is a state-of-the-art tote board in the infield complete with a large video screen. The horses are still finely tuned athletes like the ones that ran back in the early days and the people who tend to them are just as dedicated.
All of this will be on display today, Opening Day of the 32-day summer race meet. Purses at the meeting will reach into the six-figures and one race, the Pacific Classic, will offer $1 million, a sum Mr. Crosby could never have imagined for a horse race.
Over the past few weeks the Del Mar Fairgrounds has been transformed from the site of a county fair to a top-of-line racetrack. Gone are the ferris wheels and fried food stands replaced by 1,800 Thoroughbreds, thousands of fresh flowers and a finely groomed racetrack. Some of nation’s top jockeys, trainers and owners will be on hand, all looking for the thrill of victory, some extra spending money and lots of sunshine and cool ocean breezes.
Many will tell you the Del Mar meet is more relaxed than others…a bit of a vacation for some. But don’t be mistaken. There’s a lot of hard work going on behind the scenes. All with one goal in mind, to reach the happiest place on earth this side of Disneyland…the Del Mar winner’s circle.
First post is at 2 p.m. daily Thursday through Sunday.
HOME GAME FOR JOURNALISM IN G2 SAN DIEGO SATURDAY
Last year at this time Journalism was preparing for the G1 Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. He had been the only horse to run in all three legs of the Triple Crown, finishing second in the Kentucky Derby, first in the Preakness Stakes and second again to Sovereignty in the Belmont Stakes.
He would go on to win the Haskell in dramatic fashion, surging late to run down a very game Gosger. That’s why he was the odds-on favorite to win the Pacific Classic six weeks later. He would come up short that day, finishing second to Fierceness in Del Mar’s marquee race.
Journalism would run one more time at Del Mar, running fourth in the Breeders’ Cup Classic in the fall.
The son of Curlin returns to the seaside oval Saturday when he takes on six other rivals in the G2 San Diego Handicap, a mile and a sixteenth local prep for the Pacific Classic.
“It’s nice to have a home game for him,” trainer Michael McCarthy says, “instead of having to put him on a plane.”
McCarthy has run Journalism twice this year, both times outside of California. He finished third behind White Abarrio and Sovereignty in the G2 Oaklawn Handicap in Arkansas and he posted another third-place finish in the G1 Met Mile at Saratoga on Belmont Stakes Day.
“He’s a very impressive, physical specimen,” McCarthy notes. “He’s a bigger, stronger horse this year.”
Journalism will have Umberto Rispoli back in the saddle. The rider rode him through all of 2025 until the Breeders’ Cup when he was replaced by Jose Ortiz, who has been his regular rider since.
They’ll have to contend with another Breeders’ Cup winner in the San Diego. Full Serrano returns to where he won the Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile in 2024. A couple of months prior to that he was nailed late by longshot Mixto in the G1 Pacific Classic.
“This is one of his favorite tracks,” trainer John Sadler points out. “He’s won two races and has two seconds here so we’re looking forward to that. We think that’s going to be fun.”
Full Serrano, an Argentine-bred, won an allowance race by seven lengths at Del Mar last summer but then finished a disappointing fifth in his defense of his Dirt Mile crown. He has also run twice in 2026, posting a third-place finish in the Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park in January and running fourth in the G3 Oaklawn Mile in March.
Sadler has won the San Diego five times and comes into the summer meet in second place on the all-time list of stakes wins by trainers at Del Mar with 93. He’ll also send out The Goat, a Chilean-bred who made his U.S. debut in the G3 Triple Bend at Santa Anita in May, finishing fourth.
“This is his second race out of Chile where he was a champion,” Sadler states. “He hadn’t run in a year so we’re anxious to give him a shot.”
Trainer Phil D’Amato also has a pair of entries in the San Diego. Shea Brennan is coming off of a win in the $100,000 Bertrando at Los Alamitos. It was his 2026 / 4-year-old debut last month.
“We didn’t expect him to show the kind of speed he did,” D’Amato admits. “But he did it the right way and finished with some in reserve.”
The Cal-bred son of Tough Sunday is owned by Nick Alexander. He broke his maiden at Del Mar in 2024 and ran second in last year’s $150,000 Real Good Deal Stakes.
“He likes this Del Mar surface,” D’Amato claims. “I think second off the bench he’ll be primed and ready to run his best race. He’s going to need to be with some nice horses in there.”
One of which is his stablemate, Iron Man Cal, a four-year-old son of Collected who missed winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf by a neck at Del Mar in 2024. He subsequently ran second in last year’s Oceanside Stakes and has been keeping allowance company in 2026.
“We’re going to try something new here on the dirt,” D’Amato says. “He trains really well on the dirt but you never know if these grass horses in the afternoon will take to it like they do in the morning. But he has been training with some of my better horses like Shea Brennan and Stronghold and doing as well as them. That’s why we’re taking a shot.”
The other contenders are Mirahmadi, runner-up in the 2023 Del Mar Futurity and runner-up in last year’s edition of the San Diego. He hasn’t raced since and will be making his 5-year-old debut Saturday. Mc Vay is out of the Peter Eurton barn and ran third last out in the G2 Gold Cup.
This is the 85th running of the San Diego Handicap. It goes off as Race 8 on the 11 race program. Probable post is 5:30 p.m.
Here’s the field from the inside post with the jockeys and morning line odds: Mc Vay (Hector I. Berrios, 15-1); Mirahmadi (Juan Hernandez, 6-1); Shea Brennan (Armando Ayuso, 12-1); Iron Man Cal (Antonio Fresu, 10-1); Journalism (Umberto Rispoli, 1-1); Full Serrano (Joel Rosario, 7/2) and The Goat (Emisael Jaramillo, 6-1).
FILLIES WITH EYE ON THE OAKS STRUT THEIR STUFF IN G2 SAN CLEMENTE
The 3-year-old fillies grass division will be on display in the second half of Saturday’s graded stakes doubleheader at Del Mar when a packed field of 11 go to the post in the G2 San Clemente Handicap.
Several horses have shipped in for the one-mile contest, the local prep for next month’s G1 Del Mar Oaks. Trainer Brendan Walsh has sent Irish-bred Raiding Party from Kentucky; Kelsey Danner will send out Ground Support, a horse who ran third in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf last fall at Del Mar, and Saffie Joseph has shipped-in Spirit Doll from Florida.
“We’d like to win a graded stake with her,” Joseph says, “or get graded stakes placed. Getting a plane to California or getting a van to Saratoga is almost the same thing. It may be easier to get to California.”
Spirit Doll won the $75,000 Honey Ryder at Gulfstream Park last out in May.
“We put blinkers on because we felt she was running even in her previous races,” Joseph contends. “I think the blinkers helped her. She found a good pocket and when she got room at the top of the lane she quickened away. She’s going to need to improve again but we feel she’s had a good lead up to the race so hopefully all continues well and if she can fire her best shot we think she’s capable.”
Trainer Philip D’Amato hopes to play the role of spoiler to the out-of-town folks. He brings three entries from his barn of talented grass runners. Inbox leads the trio. The English-bred missed by a nose in the $100,000 Honeymoon at Santa Anita last month.
“It was the first time Joel Rosario has ridden her,” D’Amato points out. “I think he learned something last time on when he should make his move with her. I think she’ll like this grass course even more than Santa Anita.”
Prior to the Honeymoon, Inbox had missed by a length in the longer $100,000 Providencia in April three months after breaking her maiden.
Her stablemates could make some noise. Peanutbutterbombe won an entry-level allowance race in her last out in May.
“She is steadily coming around,” D’Amato claims. “She showed a really nice turn of foot the last time and will be taking a step up against stakes company. To me she should be one of the horses to beat.”
D’Amato’s third entry is Cortina d’Amprezzo, an Irish-bred who broke her maiden by four-lengths last month.
Juddmonte Farm’s Marjoram is looking to rebound from her disappointing performance in the G3 Summertime Oaks last time out. She finished fifth, 14 ¾ lengths behind the winner Mizumi. Trainer Michael McCarthy is taking the blame for that one.
“I think I screwed up,” McCarthy admits. “I got out in front of my skis a little bit.”
The Oaks was the daughter of Quality Road’s first time around two turns and it was on the dirt. One month earlier she had won the G3 Senorita on Santa Anita’s downhill turf course.
Lookin At Diamond has shown she can run with these, finishing third, a length and a half behind Inbox in the Honeymoon.
“She kind of ran in spurts,” trainer Leonard Powell says. “She’s still an unfinished product but she’s got talent so hopefully she can take another step up.”
The 59th running of the G2 San Clemente Handicap will go as Race 9 on the Saturday program. Probable post time is 6 p.m.
Here’s the field from the inside post with the jockeys and morning line odds: Raiding Party (Ben Curtis, 3-1); Wild Like the West (Hector I Berrios, 15-1); Ground Support (Adam Beschizza, 5-1); Spirit Doll (Rasheed Hughes, 8-1); Peanutbutterbombe (Antonio Fresu, 8-1); Light Won Up, (Emisael Jaramillo, 10-1); Marjoram (Juan Hernandez, 8-1); Inbox (Joel Rosario, 8-1); Lookin At Diamond (Umberto Rispoli, 6-1); Somerset West (Armando Ayuso, 20-1) and Cortina d’Amprezzo (Julien Leparoux, 20-1).
“DAYBREAK AT DEL MAR” OFFERS INSIGHTS INTO MORNING WORKOUTS
“Daybreak at Del Mar” is back this year. The popular forum for fans is a great way to watch the morning workouts on the weekend, enjoy a little breakfast and ask any questions you might have. It begins at 7:30 a.m. and lasts until 9. This year veteran racetracker Jeff Reichert, who’s been involved in tracking workouts at ‘Daybreak’ for several years, will host the event. Breakfast can be purchased at the Clubhouse Terrace Restaurant. Admission and parking are free and no reservations are required.
Those attending should enter through the Main Gate off Jimmy Durante Blvd., park in the main lot and proceed through the Clubhouse entrance to the second-floor restaurant area. It begins this Sunday, July 19, and will be held every Saturday and Sunday throughout the rest of the meet.
COOLING OUT: Turns out business for jockey Florent Geroux is so good back in Kentucky that he will not be moving his tack to Del Mar full-time this summer as originally planned. That’s per his agent Matt Nakatani, who says Geroux will still make the trip out west for a couple of weekends during the meet. “He’s pretty busy with Ellis Park and shipping around the East Coast,” Nakatani said via a text message Thursday night. "He’s riding first call for (trainer Bob) Baffert back there. More money to make so I wanted to leave him back there.”…Notable works: Dirt – Man O Rose (3f, :38.00); Hey Ney Ney (4f, :48.80); Subsanador (4f, :47.60); Privman (5f, :59.80);