Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith scored his second stakes victory in as many days Saturday, rallying 8-5 favored Awesome Return to a convincing triumph in the featured $93,100 Let It Ride Stakes for three-year-olds...

By Hank Wesch IT’S ALL RELATIVE, BUT DEL MAR CAN STILL SAY ‘OPENERS ‘R US’ On the morning after the opening day of the inaugural Bing Crosby Season, the positive feelings of Friday’s event could...

Irish-bred Queen of The Sand, the 3-1 second choice in a field of a dozen older fillies and mares, rallied from far back under a beautifully-timed ride by Hall of Famer Mike Smith to win...

By Hank Wesch CASSE’S BACK IN FORCE, A POTENTIAL LEGEND OF THE FIRST FALL Phase III of trainer Mark Casse’s great western venture begins today with the opening of the inaugural Bing Crosby Season at...

By Hank Wesch MAJOR PLAYERS MOVED IN, READY FOR BING CROSBY INAUGURAL One day before the opening of the inaugural Bing Crosby Season of racing, several stables that could figure prominently in the 15 days...

By Hank Wesch RACING SECRETARY JERKENS NEGOTIATING UNCHARTED TERRITORY Friday’s opening day card of the inaugural Bing Crosby Season, drawn Tuesday, was in the books. The final two programs of the opening weekend were to...

By Hank Wesch FIELD OVERFLOWS FOR OPENING DAY KATHRYN CROSBY STAKES Given that there were 32 horses nominated for Friday’s $75,000 Kathryn Crosby, the first stakes event of the inaugural Bing Crosby season, it wasn’t...

Zayat Stables' American Pharoah, a maiden who finished a well-beaten fifth in his only race August 9, was hustled to the lead after the break by jockey Victor Espinoza and never looked back as he...

By Hank Wesch AS SUMMER SEASON NO. 75 ENDS, THOUGHTS TURN TO ‘CROSBY’ NO. 1 Closing day of the Del Mar summer season has long provided an occasion to look back on 22-43 racing days...

Out of action since July 25 when he suffered a shoulder injury in a spill, 41-year-old French-born jockey Brice Blanc made a victorious return to the saddle Monday when he reunited with Argentine-bred Miss Serendipity...