OPENING DAY AT THE BEACH DEL MAR

Like Saratoga, Del Mar horse racing has traditionally been about summer, with vacations, folks in various stages of fine dress and undress and hang-loose parties mixed with fast thoroughbreds.

That’s why Del Mar’s fall race meeting – the Bing Crosby Season -- that opens Friday is so different, with many unknowns for owners, trainers and jockeys who are used to routine. Instead of Hollywood Park, which closed forever last December, autumn horse racing will be run at Del Mar for the first time since an unsuccessful one-year gallop in the 1960s.

“We had quality racing that year, but no one came to watch,” said Joe Harper, president and CEO of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.

Trainers polled at Santa Anita over the Breeders’ Cup weekend were looking forward to the fall meeting, but some voiced concern about how it would play out. All of them said they’re hoping for a solid meeting because Southern California horsemen need it to succeed. The future of racing in Southern California is riding on this meet and the one at Los Alamitos in December.

John Sadler, who has won two summer trainer titles at Del Mar, plans on having 15 to 20 stalls for shipping in horses to run. Like most trainers, Sadler will travel back and forth from the Los Angeles area.

“I think everyone will support it,” Sadler said. “It will work, but it will be a little bumpy the first year in terms of organizing our help. We’re all doing this for the first time there in the fall, but we’ll figure out what works best. With Breeders’ Cup the week before not everyone was thinking about Del Mar. A lot of us will be late to the game there because of Breeders’ Cup. But that doesn’t mean it’s going to be a bad game. I think it will be fun.”

Trainer Jim Cassidy also believes the meeting will work. Nine of the 14 stakes races will be run on Del Mar’s much-maligned turf course, which had to be closed for seven days in the summer meeting due to breakdowns and for early maintenance. But trainers are looking forward to seeing how much it matured and improved in two months.

“I think it should be good there,” Cassidy said. “It’s important because once this meeting ends there’s no grass racing in Southern California until Dec. 26 when we’re back here. We need Del Mar. There are a lot of hungry trainers out here who can’t get by a month, month and a half without racing and without income.”

Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert isn’t one of the hungrier ones, but he’ll be here, too. He’s coming off a very successful finish at Santa Anita. He won the controversial $5 million Breeders’ Cup Classic with Bayern, who was named “Horse of the Meet” at Santa Anita. Baffert won three races on the final day to edge Jerry Hollendorfer and Leandro Mora for the training title. Baffert had 14 wins to 13 each for Hollendorfer and Mora. Mora saddled suspended trainer Doug O’Neill’s horses.
I have some to run there, but with all those turf stakes, I won't have as many down there," Baffert said. Del Mar's Bing Crosby Season will offer 15 days of racing, starting Friday and going to Nov. 30. Special days include a tribute on Sunday, Nov. 9 to Sgt. Reckless, an equine Marine hero who served and helped save lives during the Korean War. Robin Hutton, author of the book, "Sgt. Reckless: America's War Horse," will be at the track to sign and sell copies of her book about the amazing mare. There will be a Reggae Fest on Nov. 15, with free admission to all college students and a College Day Tailgate Party. All of the bars during the meeting will be outfitted like sports bars with extra TVs for college and NFL football games.

Post time will be 12:30 p.m. on weekdays, noon on weekends, 11 a.m. on Thanksgiving Day, Nov. 27.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE WRITTEN BY ED ZIERALSKI AT

                                        http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2014/nov/02/breeders-cup-stewards-classic/