Armour Plate © Benoit Photo EIGHT SLATED FOR SATURDAY’S BEST PAL STAKES A field of eight was entered Wednesday in Saturday’s Grade II $200,000 Best Pal Stakes. The 6 ½-furlong main track test for 2-year-olds...

Sharp Samurai © Benoit Photo Under a well-calculated ride by Hall of Famer Gary Stevens, favored Sharp Samurai surged into command while five-wide entering the stretch and then withstood the last-ditch challenge of Fashion Business...

Continental Divide © Benoit Photo VICTOR ESPINOZA (Continental Divide, winner) – “That was a nice move; a really nice move (the winner put in around the turn). He can do that; he’s talented. When he...

D'Amato © Benoit Photo D’AMATO ON PACE TO THREATEN SEASON STAKES WIN RECORD In 2000, the 60th summer season at Del Mar and the first of a new century, Bob Baffert was in the winner’s...

Spectator © Benoit Photo JAMIE THERIOT (Spectator, winner) – “She was a runner all the way. She broke sharp and she went on with it. Phil (trainer D’Amato) said ‘Ride it as it comes up.’...

Richard Baltas © Benot Photo BALTAS HOPEFUL OF BACK-TO-BACK LA JOLLA SCORES Trainer Richard Baltas will be aiming to annex the Grade III $150,000 La Jolla Handicap for the second year in a row when...

Long Hot Summer © Benoit Photo Fanticola and Scardino’s Long Hot Summer rallied to the lead along the rail in the upper stretch under jockey Joe Talamo and went on to record a one-length triumph...

Sharp Samurai © Benoit Photo Pioneer Lad and Caribou Club, who outran their long odds to be second and third, respectively, behind Bowies Hero in the opening-day Oceanside Stakes, will try to improve on that...

Pretty Girl LOBO TAKES A DOUBLE SHOT AT A FIRST DEL MAR STAKES VICTORY Trainer Paulo Lobo will be represented by a quarter of the field when he saddles two South American imports in Saturday’s...

Ike Walker © Benoit Photo Ike Walker, a strong second choice in the betting at 2-1 under jockey Flavien Prat, surged to the lead entering the stretch and cruised to a three and three-quarter length...

Avenge © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club Del Mar Thoroughbred Club will present an attractive stakes doubleheader Saturday, co-featuring the Grade II $200,000 Yellow Ribbon Handicap for older fillies and mares and the Grade II $200,000...

Caribou Club © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club NINE SET FOR SUNDAY’S LA JOLLA HANDICAP Nine three-year-old males were entered Thursday for Sunday’s Grade III $150,000 La Jolla Handicap, the second leg of the summer meeting’s...

Show It N Moe It © Benoit Photo Show It N Moe It, piloted by talented apprentice jockey Evin Roman, wore down 8-5 favored Kimberlea K in the stretch and went on to score a...

Avenge © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club AVENGE TOPS EIGHT ENTERED IN SATURDAY’S YELLOW RIBBON Avenge returns to the track where she recorded two wins last year as the likely favorite in a field of eight...

Stellar Wind (outside) © Benoit Photo Hronis Racing’s classy Stellar Wind continued her mastery over archrival Vale Dori with a hard-fought victory in Sunday’s featured Grade I $300,000 Clement L. Hirsch Stakes for older fillies...

MIKE SMITH (Miss Sunset, winner) – “She was on it all the way. Perfect set-up; perfect spot for her. Went just like it was supposed to – not like yesterday (when Smith was unseated by...

Nine California-bred two-year-old fillies, all of them winners of at least one race in their brief careers, will match strides Wednesday in the 64th running of the $100,000 C.T.B.A. Stakes at five and one-half furlongs....

Flores, David © Benoit Photo CROSBY PRINCIPALS SHOW CLASS AND STUDIOUSLY MOVE ON Thirty yards out of the gate, Saturday’s $300,000 Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes went from high expectations to high anxiety. When 2016...

Ransom The Moon © Del Mar Thoroughbred Club In a memorably eventful renewal of the Grade I $300,000 Bing Crosby Stakes Saturday, Ransom the Moon took advantage of untoward circumstances to triumph after Drefong, the...

My Italian Babbo © Benoit Photo COREY NAKATANI (My Italian Babbo, winner) -- “I knew it was close, but I thought I got there. We put a lot of time in with him (winner). He’s...