Horses hit jackpot dough for just showing up at Del Mar

Now, I am standing on the sunny side of life when I tell you that the high-class citizens who dish out the cabbage at Del Mar are planning to spread a little extra sugar this summer

This is very good news indeed for the horsemen who like to see a little more weight in their pockets when they turn for home.

The season, which breaks from the gate on Friday, July 18, and gallops straight through to Sunday, Sept. 7, is set for 31 days of action, and there are about 300 races on the card, give or take a photo finish. The overnight purses, which is the dough divvied up outside the big stakes, are projected to hit a cool $15.7 million, which is a handsome 8% jump over last year’s figures.

But that is not all, no sir! In addition to the regular scratch, Del Mar is also putting up a neat $7,825,000 across 38 stakes races, with the shiniest diamond in the bracelet being the Grade 1, $1 million Pacific Classic. This little stretch-run dispute, set for Saturday, Aug. 30, over a mile and a quarter, is likely to attract some of the best hoofers in the land,

t comes to my attention that certain proprietors of the noble game of horse racing are opening up the purse strings in a fashion most agreeable to those who make their bread and butter on the backstretch.

Indeed, if a guy has a good-looking two-year-old who can run like the wind, or at least faster than the other guys’ two-year-olds, he finds himself in line for a payout that is not only respectable but downright impressive.

 

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The word from Del Mar is that a horseman can now saddle up a maiden for a shot at a cool hundred grand, which is no small potatoes in any book. If a guy happens to be in possession of a homegrown California-bred, well, that is just dandy, because those steeds are in for the same princely sum.

Furthermore, the brass at Del Mar, who seem to be in a generous mood, are keeping alive a little something called the maiden dirt bonus, which is a sweetener for those who are not exactly the Vanderbilts of the racing game.

In plain talk, this means that if a trainer has fewer than one hundred head in his operation—which, let’s be honest, is most trainers not named Baffert—he gets a nice little boost to his winnings when he hits the wire first in a qualifying event.

Now, this development is being met with much enthusiasm by one and all, and the gentleman known as David Jerkens, who holds the distinguished title of vice president and racing secretary at Del Mar, is quoted as saying he is “thrilled” about the purse increase. It is always good to see a man of position feeling chipper about things, as it suggests that all is well in the kingdom of horse racing.

DMTC grandstand/File

“We are thrilled to announce our purse increase,” Del Mar vice president and racing secretary David Jerkens said. “Santa Anita is off to a strong start with the new single-circuit structure now in place for California racing, and we are looking forward to continuing this positive momentum for our summer meet.”

Noting the good success Santa Anita has had integrating northern horses into its racing program, Del Mar plans to offer similar racing opportunities to those horses at its summer stand.Well, it seems that the folks at Del Mar are once again laying out the welcome mat for any horse and connections who care to take a shot at the riches, and by all accounts, the pot is a mighty sweet one.

A guy by the name of Jerkens, who is no stranger to the racing game, lets it be known that any out-of-town horse who ships in and so much as sets foot in the starting gate will pocket a tidy sum for its trouble—five large for a dirt race, four if the nag prefers the weeds. And that, as the boys down on Broadway might say, is just for showing up.

But wait, there is more. Any horse with enough run in its legs to finish in the first five gets a little extra sugar on top—an extra fifty percent on dirt races, forty on the lawn.

Now, that is what a man of finance might call a very attractive incentive, and it is no surprise that over the past fifteen years, close to 3,000 hopefuls have come rolling into town with dreams of glory and the smell of liniment in their nostrils.

Over at the Thoroughbred Owners of California, a citizen by the name of Bill Nader takes the view that all of this is just one more sign that the racing game in California is picking up steam.

He says that with the weather set to be perfect, the purses fatter than a bookmaker’s roll on Derby Day, and the best horseflesh in the land making the scene, there is every reason to believe that Del Mar will be the place to be when the starter sends them on their way this summer. And from where I sit, it is hard to argue with the man.