Del Mar will present its 10th fall racing session – dubbed the Bing Crosby Season to honor the track’s iconic founder – starting Friday, and the 13-day run will feature 15 major events.
The session kicks off with an overnight event, the $75,000 Let It Ride Stakes, at a mile on the turf for 3-year-olds and up.
There will be a stakes doubleheader on Nov. 18 with the running of the $100,000 Desi Arnaz Stakes for 2-year-old fillies and the $100,000 Cary Grant Stakes for Cal-bred 3-year-olds and up. Both of those events are at seven furlongs on the main track.
Also on the agenda for 3-year-olds and up are the $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup at the marathon distance of 12 furlongs on Nov. 24 and the $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap at a mile and one-sixteenth on Nov. 25.
The final weekend culminates with the $300,000 Hollywood Derby at nine furlongs for 3-year-olds on Dec. 2 and the $300,000 Matriarch Stakes for fillies and mares run on closing day, Dec. 3.
All told, the stakes roster carries gross purses of just over $2 million. Of the 15 events, 10 will be contested on the popular Jimmy Durante Turf Course.
Harkening back to its show business roots, the stand features a Hollywood theme for most of the stakes races. In addition to Arnaz and Grant, they honor Betty Grable, Bob Hope, Jimmy Durante and Cecil B. DeMille, all of whom were part of the glamorous early days at the seaside oval.
“Our fall meet offers some excellent racing,” said Del Mar vice president and racing secretary David Jerkens. “Coming on the heels of the Breeders’ Cup at Santa Anita, it is well positioned to continue a positive racing flow in Southern California.
The Turf Festival, starting on Thanksgiving Day and following through to the close of the Bing Crosby Season, features eight grass stakes and is expected to continue to attract marquee horses from across the country.
First post daily will be at 12:30 p.m. with the exception of the Nov. 23 Thanksgiving card when racing begins at 11 a.m. General admission starts at $6 while grandstand seating ranges from $8 to 14.