Del Mar Fall Horse Racing

By Jarrod Horak

The 2023 Del Mar fall horse racing meet kicks off on Friday, Nov. 10 with an 8-race program. The opening day feature is the Let It Ride Stakes, one of 15 stakes scheduled for their Bing Crosby Season.

Jockeys to Watch

Flavien Prat was the leading rider at Del Mar last fall and look for more of the same in 2023. He defeated Juan Hernandez 24-20 last year and those two dominated the standings. 

The race for leading rider will probably be a bit more competitive this time around. Look for Antonio Fresu and Umberto Rispoli to make a big impact.  

Joe Bravo will not be riding at Del Mar this fall. He is moving his tack to Gulfstream Park so he can be closer to his family.  

Trainers to Watch

Phil D’Amato put on a show last fall with 19 winners from 57 starters. Bob Baffert was his closest pursuer with 8 victories from 26 starters.  

Mark Casse, Graham Motion, and Wesley Ward will send some horses to the Del Mar fall horse racing meet, and Chad Brown will almost certainly have runners in some of the bigger graded turf routes. 

Del Mar Fall Horse Racing Stakes Schedule

The Bing Crosby Season includes 9 graded races beginning with the Bob Hope (G3) on Nov. 19 and ending with the Grade 1 Matriarch and Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille on Dec. 3. Seven of the graded events will be run over the turf course including the Hollywood Derby and the aforementioned Matriarch. 

Del Mar will mostly race on a Friday-Sunday schedule from Nov. 10-Dec. 3. The exception is Thanksgiving week. They will run Thursday-Sunday that week. 

$1 Pick 6

Santa Anita Park recently switched from the 20 cent Rainbow Pick 6 to a more traditional $1 Pick 6, and Del Mar will do the same this fall. 70% of the pool will be paid to tickets with all six winners, and there will be a 30% consolation payout for tickets with five winners. The pool will carry over to the next day if nobody correctly selects six winners.  

Breeders’ Cup Venue x2

It has been recently announced that Del Mar will host the 2025 Breeders’ Cup. They will also host the 2024 Breeders’ Cup World Championships. The BC was previously held at Del Mar in 2017 and 2021.