Del Mar Official Optimistic for 'Bing' Meet

In theory, having Del Mar's 2015 Bing Crosby meeting open on the Thursday before the Breeders' Cup at Keeneland and mingling races with the event Friday and Saturday was supposed to be a business enhancer.

 

In reality, it wasn't. Opening week numbers were down from the successful inaugural Crosby season of 2014. The focus of major stables and major players was on Kentucky and Del Mar had to wait a week or two before it was returned to California.

 

Which is why Del Mar Thoroughbred Club racing secretary David Jerkens is bullish on a return to the 2014 schedule when the fall meet opens Friday, one week after the Breeders' Cup at Santa Anita Park.

 

"Last year was a completely different scenario, with the Breeders' Cup having more of an effect on us than we thought it would," Jerkens said. "The schedule this year is identical to 2014 and the response from the horsemen in terms of stall requests has been positive."

 

By Tuesday, around a dozen trainers—among them veterans Bill Spawr, Eddie Truman, and Bob Hess—moved contingents down from bases at Santa Anita. Hess has an allotment of 39 stalls, Spawr 28, and Truman 22.

 

Doug O'Neill, Phil D'Amato, Peter Miller, and Richard Baltas, all top-five trainers in the fall meet's standings last year, will be stabling 25-30 horses each for the meeting. There were 220 horses in Del Mar's stable area by Nov. 9 and Jerkens projects an equine occupancy of more than 400 on race days.

 

Many runners will be shipped in on or just before race days from bases at Santa Anita, Los Alamitos Race Course, San Luis Rey Training Center, and other training centers.

 

"That's a healthy number," Jerkens said. "The meeting is now part of the fabric of the Southern California circuit. Horsemen have gotten accustomed to the schedule and can make plans knowing what it's like and what to expect."

 

The 2015 meeting encompassed 20 racing days, five more than the 2016 season. The opening-day program, finalized Nov. 8, had a total of 82 horses entered in nine races, including four entrants that were given also-eligible status when three races were oversubscribed.

 

"We averaged 8.7 per race for opening day before scratches, which is good," Jerkens said.