Del Mar’s fall race meeting begins Friday with an eight-race card, including the featured $75,000 Let It Ride Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on the turf.
Racing will be conducted over 13 days on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays each week along with a Thanksgiving Day card. The first post will be at 12:30 p.m. each day, except on Thanksgiving, when it will be at 11 a.m.
The meeting will feature 13 major stakes races and two overnight stakes races, including two $300,000 Grade 1 races on the final weekend, the Hollywood Derby for 3-year-olds at nine furlongs on turf on Dec. 2, and the mile-long Matriarch Stakes on turf for older fillies and mares Dec. 3.
The track’s 16 betting options include the return of a “classic” Pick Six with the traditional 70-30 daily payout and the elimination of the previous “single-ticket jackpot” portion of the wager.
Special events during the Bing Crosby Season include:
— a Veterans Day salute and College Day program on Saturday;
— “Uncorked: Derby Days Wine Fest” (Nov. 18);
— “Toys for Tots Toy Drive and Ride” (Nov. 19) where fans bringing an unwrapped toy or making a monetary donation will receive free admission;
— a beer and cider festival Nov. 23; and
— and a pop-up gift bazaar on Dec. 2.
All seniors receive free admission, a program, and a seat on Fridays, while free admission will be available on Sundays, along with a 40% discount on special food and beverage offerings.
A winter clothing drive benefiting the track’s backstretch workers and their families will be held throughout the meet. New or “gently used” coats, jackets, sweaters, and sweatshirts in all adult and children’s sizes are sought.
Donation boxes are located just inside the admissions gate. Donors will receive free admission.
Camilo is the 5-2 morning line favorite in the Let It Ride Stakes following a 2 1/4-length victory in his latest race, a maiden special weight race on Oct. 7 at Woodbine in Toronto.
The meeting’s name honors the entertainer who co-founded the track.
–City News Service
