RACING OFF THE TURF FRIDAY FOLLOWING MORNING STORM
Del Mar got its first heavy dose of rain of the 2026 Bing Crosby Season Thursday night. The nearly one inch of rain that fell overnight was enough to wash racing off the turf Friday. Races 3, 5 and 8 will now be run on the main track. The last time Del Mar was ‘off-the-turf’ was last year nearly to the day. Racing was canceled entirely on Saturday, November 15, but resumed on the main track only the next day.
In addition to the rain, the storm brought lightning and thunder, hail and high winds that left their mark all around the Fairgrounds. The wind gusts, clocked as high as 50 miles an hour in the area, knocked down fences and blew over several canopies in the parking lot. Large potted plants outside the suites on the sixth floor were laying on their sides this morning as well as several large decorative dividers in the Plaza de Mexico area.
No major damage to the track or the paddock area was reported though crews were working this morning to remove a small pond that had developed outside the first four stalls of the paddock. The track was ‘floated’ last night so there was no training this morning. Floating is a light seal that wards off enough rain so racing can be conducted today. Sealing the track would have forced the cancelation of the entire card.
Cleaning crews were out first thing this morning dealing with more than their normal routines. They were tasked with sweeping up the debris that had blown into some grandstand and clubhouse areas as well as puddles of water that accumulated when the strong winds blew rain through open doors, particularly outside the Turf Club elevators. There were also reports of wet carpet on the fifth-floor Turf Club area.
The backside had its usual flooding but the storm had little affect on the morning routines in the barn area except to delay the start of activity. Grooms and other workers were given a heads up as the storm approached so they could seek shelter. One assistant said the trailer he was in was literally rocking at one point.
The thunder and lightning had little affect on the horses.
“They were fine” trainer Jonathan Thomas said. “They’re a little more used to that back home (in Kentucky).”
No power outages were reported. The storm came ashore around 3:30 a.m. and lasted for over an hour.
SUMMER STAKES WINNER HOLMBY RETURNS IN THE DESI ARNAZ
Top 2-year-olds take center stage this weekend in a pair of $100,000 stakes races as the Bing Crosby Season continues at Del Mar. On Saturday, the girls are in the spotlight in the Desi Arnaz Stakes. They’ll be contesting seven furlongs on the main track.
Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert has won this race four times and brings a pair of nice fillies to the dance, including last summer’s G3 Sorrento Stakes winner Holmby. The daughter of Corniche broke her maiden and won the Sorrento in her first two career starts. But she finished a distant third in the G1 Del Mar Debutante to stablemate and eventual runner-up in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Miss Monica.
Holmby would rebound and run second in the G2 Oak Leaf Stakes at Santa Anita, seven lengths behind the winner Domain Expansion.
“She was sort of still knocked out,” Baffert says of the Oak Leaf effort. “She ran hard at Del Mar and really didn’t bring her ‘A’ game. She ran second just on class. She’s back now after a little freshening and hopefully she’ll run well.”
Baffert is cutting Holmby back to one turn, partly by design, partly because this is the only race left for her this year.
“I think she’s better around one turn,” Baffert concedes. “The inside post is always a concern but I’m not worried about it. She’s quick and she’s fast.”
Holmby races for Talla Racing, one of Baffert’s favorite clients.
“Michael Tallas is so passionate about horse racing,” Baffert says. “I love his enthusiasm. We’ve had some good luck together. He won a Breeders’ Cup last year (with Splendora in the Filly and Mare Sprint). We need more guys like Michael.”
Baffert’s other entry in Saturday’s Desi Arnaz is Sea’s No Joke.
“I think two turns is going to be her game,” Baffert notes. “I think this race will help her out for down the road.”
Trainer Doug O’Neill will run Vino Vino Vino, a daughter of Vino Rosso. She’s still a maiden and has run second in three of her four lifetime starts. She has missed by a half a length, one and a quarter lengths and then six lengths in her last out. The only time she didn’t run second was her debut on the turf at Del Mar in July.
“She’s a nice, honest filly in a small field in a stakes race in her own backyard,” O’Neill states. “There are a couple of toughies in there but we’re hoping we can jump up a little bit.”
Vino Vino Vino runs for the legendary Calumet Farm.
“They’re the best,” O’Neill claims. “There’s so much tradition there and just a first-class operation. I’m very grateful to work for them.”
Holmby’s stoutest challenge could come from Mo Chuisle, named after a Gaelic phrase used in the Clint Eastwood movie Million Dollar Baby. (It means “my pulse” or “my vein.” It’s meant as a version of my heart and soul.) She won first time out, overcoming a slow start and finishing strong to beat Vino Vino Vino last month at Santa Anita.
The Desi Arnaz is named after the popular actor, bandleader and husband of comedienne Lucille Ball. Desi subsequently became a huge race fan and an owner and breeder. It’s the third of nine races on the Saturday card. Probable post time is 1:30 p.m.
Here’s the field from the rail with the jockeys and the morning line odds: Holmby (Juan Hernandez, 4/5); Vino Vino Vino (Kazushi Kimura, 12-1); Sea’s No Joke (Emisael Jaramillo, 7/5); Grammy’s Gal (Ricky Gonzalez, 20-1), and Mo Chuisele (Hector I. Berrios, 5-1).
FAMILIAR NAMES TOP THE LEADERBOARD AFTER FIRST WEEK AT DEL MAR
The first week of the 13th Bing Crosby Season is in the books and some familiar names top the jockey and trainer standings this week. Seven-time Del Mar riding champion Juan Hernandez leads the rider’s standings and seven-time trainers title winner Philip D’Amato is on top of the trainers division as we head into week two.
Hernandez put together back-to-back hat tricks on Saturday and Sunday and his six victories lead the way. He finished in the money on 11 of his 16 mounts, an impressive 69% of the time. One of his victories came Sunday when he guided Grand Slam Smile through a slow start and the dreaded inside post to a dominating win in the $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes.
Summer riding champion Joel Rosario and Kazushi Kimura are next in the rider standings with four wins. They’re followed by Armando Ayuso with three victories and Ricky Gonzalez with two. Seven riders made it to the winners circle once over the first three days, including the defending fall meet riders champion Umberto Rispoli, whose lone victory came in the Opening Day feature, the Let It Ride Stakes on Green Carrera.
Hernandez also leads in earnings by riders with $274,440, over $76k more than Rosario, his closest pursuer.
D’Amato jumped out to an early lead in the trainer’s standings with three victories last week. Hot on his tail are Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert, John Sadler and Steve Knapp, who each scored twice. Sixteen trainers all won one race during opening week. Leonard Powell’s lone victory came in the $100,000 Let It Ride Stakes and Craig Dollase pulled off a stunning upset with 36-1 shot Mr. Disrespectful in the $100,000 The Chosen Vron Stakes on Saturday.
D’Amato also led all trainers in earnings with an impressive $155,540, over $62k more than Baffert, his closest rival.
Top California breeder Nick Alexander leads all owners through week one with three victories and $127,600 in earnings.
Field sizes at Del Mar continue to rank among the top in the nation. After three days of racing and 26 races, the average field size was 8.19. The AFS on the turf was 8.85 from 13 races on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course. There were also 13 races on the main track with an AFS of 7.54.
Seven horses qualified for ‘Ship & Win’ during week one. That’s the purse incentive program for out-of-town shippers running in California for the first time. There were no winners recorded.
Week #2 begins today with eight races on the program. First post is at 12:30 p.m.
WEEKEND HANDICAPPING SEMINARS BACK AT DEL MAR
Racing fans can once again take part in Del Mar’s Free Weekend Handicapping Seminars, held each Saturday and Sunday throughout the meet. They’ll be presented on the Kona Stage in the Plaza de Mexico and begin at noon each day in advance of the 12:30 p.m. first post.
The seminars, which run for approximately 20 to 25 minutes, offer insights into the day’s racing cards from expert handicappers.
Del Mar veteran Dan Smith is the host for the Saturday cards and his guest this week is Ellis Davis, the longtime chart caller for both Daily Racing Form and Equibase.
Sunday’s programs will be overseen by handicapping ace Frank Scatoni and he’ll have as his guest this week the noted Tournament Player Evan Topol.
COOLING OUT: Trainer Michael McCarthy says Del Mar’s 2025 Top Grass Horse Formidable Man will continue racing as a 6-year-old in 2027. He’s getting a freshening right now and recuperating from his 2026 campaign that included a disappointing 10th-place finish in the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Keeneland…The brilliant mare Splendora has been retired from racing. The 5-year-old daughter of Audible ran four times at Del Mar and won every race, including the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Sprint in 2025. She finished with 10 wins out of 16 starts and over $1.8 million in earnings. Owned in partnership by Boyd Racing and Talla Racing, Splendora was trained by Bob Baffert…1st/TV has pulled the plug on XBTV, the channel that provided video of the morning workouts. Effective immediately, workouts will no longer be recorded and made available to horse players to access and watch. The videos that were already on-line will remain so through the rest of the month.