Del Mar Thoroughbred Club

A deal that Del Mar has made with a titan of Computer Assisted Wagering (CAW) provides a rare glimpse into the tremendous sway that individual players can wield over track and racing officials, the potentially lopsided economic ramifications of such deals, and the tremendous pressures that California executives are under with competing jurisdictions that enjoy purse subsidies not available in the Golden State. It also turns a spotlight onto a world largely hidden from the public eye-one that industry leaders are generally loathe to discuss publicly, and in which just...

Nearly seventy years ago, Sports Illustrated turf writer, Jim Murray, penned a love-letter to Santa Anita, and its opening day sonata of sun and sport unmatched by any East Coast oval stunned into icy retreat by the "fierce howlings of blue northers spun across finish lines." Santa Anita, Murray wrote, was an "extravagance of beauty." It was also a well-oiled money-spinner. Huge purses lured the best horses to Los Angeles, and the best horses lured the biggest crowds, their pockets brimming with the spoils of a post-war industrial boom transforming...

Boxing Day is not a holiday observed on the American calendar--thanks, Revolutionary generation. However, the day after Christmas is circled in red by the horse racing cadre because it means one thing: Opening Day at Santa Anita Park. This Tuesday, an 11-race card kicks off at 2 p.m. ET under the picturesque San Gabriel mountains in Arcadia, California--six of which are graded stakes. To entice the horseplayer, the Classic Meet sports a $1 Pick Six, a 14 percent takeout on both the .50 Early and Late Pick 5, and we...

Every week, the TDN posts a roundup of the relevant Horseracing Integrity and Safety Act (HISA) related rulings from around the country. Among the key rulings from the last seven days, the prohibition of intra-articular injections within seven days of a timed or reported workout once again stands out as a thorn in the side of trainers. Three such cases have been resolved in the past week, resulting in $3,000 fines meted out in each case. The Horseracing Integrity and Welfare Unit (HIWU) also handed down a seven-day suspension and...

1st-DMR, $61K, Msw, 3yo/up, f, 6f, 3:30 p.m. ET. Bred by Bart Evans in partnership with Jeff and Chiquita Reddoch's Stonehaven Steadings, LLORONA (Mendelssohn) makes her first start for trainer Richard Mandella. The $750,000 KEESEP graduate is campaigned by Bart and Robert Evans. The MGSW & GISP Wasted Tears (Najran) is also responsible for champion 2-year-old colt Corniche (Quality Road). TJCIS PPS 5th-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 7f, 2:14 p.m. ET. Courtlandt Farms purchased Whocouldaskformo (Uncle Mo) for $450,000 at last year's Keeneland September Sale. She debuts for Shug McGaughey...

1st-Del Mar, $61,500, Msw, 11-26, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 1:16.13, ft, 3 3/4 lengths. KOPION (f, 2, Omaha Beach--Galloping Ami {Outstanding Broodmare-Can}, by Victory Gallop) did not disappoint her backers who made her the 1-5 favorite for this debut. The $270,000 Keeneland September buy trailed towards the rear of the field as a pair showed the way up the backstretch. Given her cue around the far turn, the Richard Mandella trainee ranged up and let the throttle out to graduate by 3 3/4 lengths over She's a Tempest (Connect). The...

Shaping up to be nothing more than a public workout, TDN Rising Star Nysos (Nyquist) appeared to scare off much of his competition in the GIII Bob Hope S. Holding true to form, the Baoma Corp. runner roared home a much-the-best winner in Sunday's feature at Del Mar. Getting blinkers off while trying to remain undefeated, the colt wasn't particularly hurried exiting Post 5, settling kindly at the back of the short four-horse field as Tejon Pass (Justify) and Mission Beach (Curlin) cut out a :22.34 opening quarter while Stronghold...

1st-AQU, $85K, Msw, 2yo, f, 6 1/2f, 12:20 p.m. ET. Whisper Hill Farm purchased LESLIE'S ROSE (Into Mischief) for $1.15 million at last year's Keeneland September Sale. Bred by John D. Gunther & Eurowest Bloodstock Services, the Todd Pletcher trainee's younger half-sister and stablemate Bo Derek (Speightstown) sadly passed away after making her second start back in January for Siena and WinStar Farms at Gulfstream Park. Second dam MGSP Wildwood Flower (Langfuhr) produced GI Florida Derby champ Materiality (Afleet Alex) and GI Kentucky Oaks runner-up My Miss Sophia (Unbridled's Song),...

3rd-DMR, $61K, Msw, 2yo, f, 1m, 4:30 p.m. At last year's Fasig-Tipton Saratoga Select Yearling Sale, trainer Bob Baffert with agent Donato Lanni bid to $1.8 million to secure NAFISA (Quality Road) on behalf of an undisclosed client who turned out to be Zedan Racing. Consigned by Lane's End (hip 213), the auction's overall third topper was bred by Greg Goodman's Mt. Brilliant Farm & Ranch and Lane's End's W. S. Farish. It was Goodman who purchased her SP dam Ithinkisawapudycat (Bluegrass Cat) for $2.2 million in-foal to Constitution at...

2nd-DMR, $61K, Msw, 2yo, 6f, 4:00 p.m. A couple of pricey colts will lineup for their Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert on Saturday at Del Mar. IMAGINATION (Into Mischief) was purchased for $1,050,000 as a yearling at Keeneland September by SF Bloodstock/Starlight Racing/Madaket before adding investors Stonestreet Stables, Dianne Bashor, Robert Masterson, Waves Edge Capital, Catherine Donovon and Tom Ryan. The bay colt out of GSW Magical Feeling (Empire Maker) counts Oaklawn Mile S. hero Exulting (Tapit) as a half-brother and GIII Monmouth Oaks heroine Occult as a full-sister....

3rd-Del Mar, $63,500, Alw (NW1$X)/Opt. Clm ($80,000), 11-10, 2yo, f, 5fT, :57.39, fm, neck. JULIAS DREAM (f, 2, Flameaway--Cinnamon Girl, by Meadowlake) earned the title 'TDN Rising Star' at first asking Aug. 6 by the seaside oval when she won pillar to post by 5 1/2 lengths for her top five first-crop sire while sprinting over the turf. Switching to the main track in the GI Del Mar Debutante, she was a well-beaten eighth to fellow 'TDN Rising Star' Tamara (Bolt d'Oro). Back on the grass as the 3-5 choice...

Entries were drawn Tuesday for the eight-race Friday card that kicks off the 13-day Bing Crosby Season at Del Mar, the track said in a release Wednesday afternoon. This year's stakes schedule is very similar to last year. Out of 15, nine are graded. Over $2 million in purse money will be up for grabs over the course of the four-week meet, including the GI Hollywood Derby on Saturday, Dec. 2 and the GI Matriarch S. on Sunday, Dec. 3. "Where we're laid out on the calendar is perfect," Del...