As planned, Del Mar will run
seven-race cards for the remaining three Fridays of its meeting. First post
will stay at 4 p.m. on each of those days.
In a pre-meet adjustment to the
declining horse population in the state, the track cut back one race from each
of its final three Friday cards (August 19, 26 and September 2) to allow its
racing office a bit of leeway in attempting to schedule its weekend programs
with its largest fields. The concept was presented as part of the track’s
license application and given CHRB approval at its June meeting.
The shift from eight races to seven
for those final three dates served the additional purpose of allowing the
track’s “4 O’Clock Friday” first post brand to hold true throughout the
session. Previously, in an adjustment to an earlier sunset as the summer
progressed, Del Mar moved its first post to 3:30 p.m. to allow for all eight
races to be run in daylight. With the shift to seven races, the 4 p.m.
post is kept in place.
On Fridays throughout the summer,
the track schedules major rock bands to perform following the final race of the
day. The bands usually begin just as the sun is setting and their
presence has served as a strong lure for the 20- to 30-year-old crowd to become
regulars throughout the meeting.
Through the implementation of its
“Ship and Win” program and its natural attraction as the state’s premier
racemeet, Del Mar has done better than expected with its horse population and
field size, holding virtually even with last year’s numbers for field size and
number of races. The track scheduled an additional race on its Sunday card last
week and will attempt to follow a similar pattern on the remaining Sundays,
provided horsemen are willing and able to respond to the additional
opportunities.
HOLLENDORFER
NEARS A MILESTONE
At the start of the day, trainer
Jerry Hollendorfer was only six wins away from 6,000 career victories.
The recent Hall of Fame inductee has
no starters at Del Mar today but will saddle two tomorrow and could achieve the
milestone in the next few days. Golden Gate Fields, where he is the perennial
leading trainer, opens a four-month meeting on Friday, giving Hollendorfer
opportunities on two fronts in California with his expansive stable.
“It doesn’t matter to me where it
happens,” Hollendorfer, long known as the “King” of Northern California
trainers said Wednesday. “I don’t think there’s any ‘appropriate’ to it.
It will happen wherever it will happen.”