RACES CANCELLED SATURDAY AHEAD OF FORECASTED PACIFIC STORM
Forecasts of heavy rain this weekend have prompted the cancellation of racing at Del Mar on Saturday and an earlier post time on Friday. It’s the first cancellation at the seaside oval since Tropical Storm Hilary blew through the area on Sunday, August 20, 2023. This is just the third time in the track’s 86-year history that it has lost a day of racing to the elements.
The rain is not expected to get to Del Mar until late Friday so track officials are hoping to get the Friday card in. Eight races are on the docket with a new, earlier post time of 12 noon.
The rain is expected to continue and get heavier through Saturday into Sunday. The status of Sunday racing is still up in the air but as of 8:30 Friday morning it’s a go according to Racing Secretary David Jerkens. Entries for nine races have been drawn for the Sunday card including a redraw of the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes, originally scheduled for Saturday. The G3 Bob Hope will be brought back next Friday (11/21). All racing on Sunday will be conducted on the main track.
The decision to cancel Saturday’s races was made Thursday morning.
“It’s a combination of people,” says Tom Robbins, Vice President of Racing at Del Mar. “From the president of Del Mar Josh Rubinstein to the track superintendent Dennis Moore to our turf course super John Beggin. We all get together.
“You have to make these decisions early if you can,” Robbins continues, “and we rely heavily on accurate weather forecasts. We have a weather service so Dennis can communicate any time of the day or night and get the latest.”
Robbins says he and Jerkens are also communicating with the CHRB, the CTT and the TOC.
“Given the situation here most of our horses are up at Santa Anita,” Robbins notes, “where they’re projected to get even more rain. We rely on horses safely vanning here so that’s also under consideration. Getting horses and people here that are racing and getting them back to Santa Anita safely.”
The delay in drawing the entries this week was to buy more time for the racing office to better gauge the weather conditions.
“How many times have we heard these forecasts for rain a week out?” Jerkens asks, “and then it changes. We just figured let’s alter the entry schedule to give us time to allow us to make more accurate decisions.”
The revised entry schedule will remain in effect through next week: Sunday for next Friday’s races; Wednesday for Saturday and Thursday for Sunday. It’s the same schedule they did last year until the Thoroughbred Owners of California asked that they move the schedule out more days. Owners like more advanced notice of when their horses are running.
When asked about past cancellations, Jerkens is quick to recollect the Thanksgiving of 2019.
“I still have vivid images of (trainer Jerry) Hollendorfer’s barn flooding,” Jerkens recalls. “That was intense with the horses in there.”
Jerkens has been coordinating efforts with stable superintendent Jackie Lynn in anticipation of the effect the rains might have on the barn area.
“Being at sea level we don’t get great drainage,” Robbins contends. “So we have to prepare should these barns take on some water. We’re already creating berms to keep the water out. You do what you can.”
Protecting horses and people is the top priority but there are other matters to consider, like the condition of the track moving forward.
“In anticipation of the heavy rain on Saturday,” Robbins states, “he’s (Dennis Moore) going to try to protect the track and roll it after the last race on Friday.”
As for the races on Saturday’s cancelled card, they were offered as extra races on Sunday.
“Everything’s main track,” Robbins says. “The turf races that were carded on Saturday were offered again for Sunday as extras but they’re on the dirt.”
It’s a very fluid situation as we head into the weekend.
“We’re taking it one hour at a time,” Robbins notes. “Sunday is looking better than Saturday but rain is still in the forecast.”
“It’s not fun predicting weather,” Jerkens muses.
DEMURO TOPS JOCKEY STANDINGS AFTER TWO WEEKS OF RACING
Two full weeks into the 2025 Bing Crosby Season and we have a new name atop the jockey’s leaderboard while a trio of Del Mar veterans sort out the trainer’s standings.
Mirco Demuro, a top rider in Japan for years and a new addition to the Del Mar jockey colony this summer, won five races last week to grab a slim lead in the jockey standings. He now has eight victories, one more than last week’s leader Umberto Rispoli.
Demuro served notice on Opening Day of the Bing Crosby Season when he won three races, including the Let It Ride Stakes aboard Tempus Volat. He’s already exceeded his win total at the recently concluded Autumn Meet at Santa Anita, where he won seven races. He also won seven races during the summer at Del Mar, his first full meet riding in California.
Hector I. Berrios and Antonio Fresu are next in the jockey standings with six wins followed by defending champion Juan Hernandez and Edwin Maldonado with four. One of Maldonado’s wins came aboard Man O Rose in the The Chosen Vron Stakes Saturday.
Rounding out the Top Ten are Flavien Prat, Irad Ortiz, Jr., and Armando Ayuso with three wins and Joel Rosario, Tyler Baze and Tiago Pereira with two.
Berrios has the most stakes wins of the jockeys at Del Mar with three, including his Breeders’ Cup win in the Juvenile Fillies on Super Corredora. Ryesui Sakai, Forever Young’s rider, has the earnings race sewn-up with the $3.7 million from his Breeders’ Cup Classic victory, but Berrios leads the local riders with $1,708,740 in earnings.
The trainers race is led by the top trio of John Sadler, George Papaprodromou and Doug O’Neill with five wins a piece. They’re followed by Jeff Mullins and Steven Miyadi with three victories. Bob Baffert, Philip D’Amato, Vladimir Cerin, Leonard Powell and Genaro Vallejo round out the Top Ten with two wins each.
Mullins leads the local trainers with two stakes wins. Yoshito Yahagi tops the trainer’s leaderboard in earnings with $3.7 million thanks to his winnings from the Breeders’ Cup Classic but Baffert’s $2.4 million and Sadler’s $1.4 million lead the way among the local trainers.
Field sizes are trending higher than at this time last year. Excluding Breeders’ Cup, the average field size in 2025’s fall meet is 7.47 compared to 7.27 last year. There have been 24 turf races with an AFS of 7.7 and 20 dirt races with an AFS of 7.20.
Fourteen horses have qualified for ‘Ship and Win’ compared to 12 last year.
HECTOR I. BERRIOS ENJOYING HIS FIRST BREEDERS’ CUP WIN
Jockey Hector I. Berrios has won some big races since arriving at Del Mar from Florida in 2022. A couple of G1 Bing Crosby’s on The Chosen Vron. The G1 Clement Hirsch on Blue Stripe. He even went across the country to Parx outside Philadelphia to win the G1 Pennsylvania Derby on Baeza.
But none were as big as the race he took down two weeks ago at Del Mar. The Chilean-born rider won his first Breeders’ Cup race when he rode Super Corredora to victory in the Juvenile Fillies.
“For me it was a new experience,” Berrios says. ”The moment was a dream for me.”
It’s been a long time coming. The 38-year-old Berrios won over 2,500 races in Chile before moving to the U.S. for two years in 2011, splitting time between Florida and California. He went back to Chile in 2014 only to return to the U.S. for good in 2018. He rode in 11 Breeders’ Cup races before finally scoring in wire-to-wire fashion on Future Stars Friday.
“My first Breeders’ Cup is very special for my career,” Berrios notes. “It was amazing.”
He’s grateful to trainer John Sadler and the owners group of Super Corredora led by Terry Finley and West Point Thoroughbreds.
“I like it when I feel the confidence people have in me,” Berrios remarks. “I pass that on to the filly. I thank John (Sadler) for trusting me.”
Berrios first hooked up with Super Corredora this summer at Del Mar. Trainer John Sadler put him on the young Gun Runner filly for her debut in July. They finished fifth in a maiden special weight but she obviously got a lot out of that race because her and Berrios finished second in her next outing one month later at the seaside oval. Sadler gave her two months off before her next race and she responded by breaking her maiden with Berrios aboard at Santa Anita.
Sadler was on the fence about running her in the Breeders’ Cup but some sharp workouts convinced him to run.
“I worked the filly before the Breeders’ Cup,” Berrios points out. “She worked very, very nice. She worked a half mile in :47 in hand. She looked nice.”
Sadler stuck with her regular rider and he was rewarded. Berrios gave his filly a perfect ride.
“Sadler told me to try and go to lead,” Berrios states. “I saw Juan Hernandez grab his filly (Explora) so I went to the lead. Maybe they decided ‘she’s a longshot, you lead.’ I went a little fast but she was very comfortable and at the three-eighths I asked my filly and she responded.”
He was still in front turning for home but the favorite, Explora was hot on her trail and it took everything Super Corredora had to hold off the Bob Baffert-trainee. But she did and Berrios soon found himself in the spotlight.
He shed tears of joy as TV commentator Donna Brothers interviewed him on the walk back to the winner’s circle. His wife and two children joined him there. It wasn’t long before his phone was blowing up.
“My family in Chile and Florida,” Berrios says of the calls he received afterward. “A lot of people. I got a lot of texts.”
He better get used to it. Winning a Breeders’ Cup race tends to boost business for accomplished riders. And notoriety. Hector I. Berrios is no longer a well-kept secret in California.
COOLING OUT: Grand Slam Smile came out of her win in the $100,000 Betty Grable in good order and will soon begin preparations for a 2026 campaign. Trainer Sean McCarthy says they might consider taking on open company with the two-time Cal-bred champion next year. “We’re hoping to get her to the seven-figure mark (in earnings),” McCarthy said after Sunday’s race, “and we might even ship her around a little bit and get into some open company. Get deeper in the pool.”…A busy morning of workouts at Del Mar Friday as horsemen look to get their horses some exercise before the deluge. Notable works: Dirt – Big City Lights (3f, :35.80); Tamara (3f, :37.00); Balnikhov (4f, :48.80); Medoro (4f, :49.40); Almendares (5f, :59.80); Mrs. Astor (5f, 1:01.00) and Speedy Wilson (:58.80). There were 80 official works at Del Mar Friday morning…The main track will be sealed following today’s races so there will be no training at Del Mar Saturday. Paddock schooling has also been canceled but tack walking will be permitted.