Del Mar Purses Down From 2019 in New Condition Book
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Photo: Benoit Photo
Horses race at Del Mar during the 2019 summer meet
Del Mar released its first condition book June 12 for the first four weeks of its summer meet from July 10 through Sept. 7. The track will race three days a week on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
Overnight purses begin at $17,000 for bottom-level claiming and maiden claiming races. Maiden special weight races are set at $50,000 and allowance races are in the $51,000 to $56,000 range, plus incentives for California-breds that win in open company. These purses are roughly equivalent to current purses at Santa Anita Park.
Purses at Del Mar are lower than last summer when straight maiden races were contested for $61,000 and allowance races were also higher. Del Mar also cut stakes purses with racing scheduled to take place without spectators amid COVID-19, running 38 stakes races worth $5.5 million, down from last summer's 40 stakes and $7.4 million.
The track's signature race, the TVG Pacific Classic Stakes (G1), set for Aug. 22, is worth $500,000 this year after previously being worth at least $1 million since its inception in 1991.
Despite fewer racing days a week in 2020, track officials intend to card 291 races, just below last year's 297, over a meet that was extended a week due to an earlier opening.
The condition book can be accessed on the track website. There will be two other condition books to follow covering the remaining racing portions of the meet. Hard copies of the first condition book will be available starting June 15.