Newsletter: Racing! The most important Del Mar meeting … ever

Hello, my name is John Cherwa and welcome back to our horse racing newsletter as we welcome back Bob Ike as our handicapper for the Del Mar meeting.

It’s sure been a while since we’ve had a Wednesday newsletter, but here we are on opening day at Del Mar.

I missed the last two openers but was there in 2016 when a horse, Presidential Air, broke down and was euthanized in the sixth race. I mentioned it in the 19^th paragraph of the story, after writing about the hats, the tequila bar and massive crowds at the paddock.

Things have changed quite a bit.

This year is all about safety.

Last year, Del Mar was the safest big track in the country with a death rate of 0.79 per 1,000 starts. This year, anything greater than that could be viewed as failure.

“We’re doing the right things and have been the last two years,” said Joe Harper, chief executive at Del Mar. “I feel good where we are at, but that’s not say what kind of year we’re going to have.

“So many of these things can be flukes or bad karma. … Sometimes you’re in the hands of lady luck. Hopefully, we’ll have a repeat [of the last two years.]”

Del Mar is an experience, although I find opening day to be one of the least pleasurable days at the track because of the excess of everything. But I didn’t grow up a San Diegan and going on opening day was not something that was built into my DNA. But for many, it is.

Actually, going to the races at Del Mar can be less about the horses than a nice afternoon out. It has a late 2 p.m. post time, 4 p.m. on Fridays, so people have the entire morning to do things around town or even venture near the beach.

Because of a horse shortage, there is the fear that maybe some weeks there will only be four days of racing instead of five. Santa Anita, which normally runs four day a week, ran almost the entire second half of the season at three days. Los Alamitos canceled three of its allotted 12 days during its recently concluded meeting.

If days are lost, it would be a sign that California racing still has a ways to go to recover from the problem plagued Santa Anita meeting in which 30 horses died either racing or in training.

“It would obviously be financially a pretty good hit,” Harper said. “We’re a little different. Half our fan base are non-race trackers. When you lose a day of racing, you not only lose a day of handle, you lose food, beverage and entertainment. So, it means more here than most tracks.”

Chuck Winner, the outgoing chairman of the California Horse Racing Board, thinks the track will be OK if it has to shave some days because of the dwindling horse population.

“I don’t think it would be terrible,” Winner said. “I prefer it not happen but I don’t consider it to be really, really terrible. Maybe we need to be a little more boutique if that’s the end result. If we have to go to four days to be more healthy, that’s OK to me.”

There are really only two tracks that matter in the summer, Del Mar and Saratoga in New York. Saratoga just cut back from six days to five but added a week of racing. Del Mar be used to six days a week but a dwindling national foal crop forced them to go to five. Santa Anita used to be five and now hopes to return to four.

So, for now, the slate is clean because that’s what happens at the beginning of a meeting. Del Mar is carrying a lot baggage, which you can read about in a story I did for online and print. (Just click here.)

Here’s wishing everyone all the luck they can find.

Del Mar preview

It’ll be the biggest Wednesday card of the meeting with 10 races beginning at 2 p.m. There are four turf races, one stakes and three allowance races. What’s the first race? Per tradition, it’s a mile on the dirt.

Amazingly, the $100,000 Oceanside Stakes will be run for 74^th time. Man, that’s older than I am, so you know it’s been around for a while. It goes off as the eighth race at 5:44 p.m., you know, meaning I won’t make the Early Bird dinner.

The favorite is Jasikan, at 9-5, for trainer John Sadler and jockey Flavien Prat. Now, what’s of note is Prat got off the second favorite Gregorian Chant, at 7-2, to ride Jasikan. We’ll see if agent Derek Lawson made the right call. (He usually does. In fact, who would ever think he could a pull a Kentucky Derby winner out of Country House.)

Anyway, Jasikan started in Ireland and then came to Santa Anita. He’s won at a mile. Gregorian Chant (I wish I were smart enough to appreciate that kind of music, but I’m not.) is also from Ireland and has won two of three. The race is for 3-year-olds going a mile on the turf. Gregorian Chant seems to like it a little longer having gone 1 1/8 miles last two races. Phil D’Amato is the trainer and Geovanni Franco rides.

Here are the field sizes, in order: 6, 7, 7, 6, 12 (2 also eligible), 9, 10 (3 AE), 12, 11, 12 (2 AE).

Bob Ike’s DM pick of the day

TENTH RACE No. 8 Give Me the Lute (3-1)

Coming off a couple unlucky trips, this Cal-bred maiden is sent around two turns for the initial time but should have no trouble with the added distance. One race back (first as a gelding) he was completely eliminated on the turn by a lugging out horse, then last time he was carried about 4-wide into the lane by the winner, who dug in gamely for the victory as ‘Lute finished well clear of the third horse. Tactical speed, top connections, let’s close out the opening day card with a “single.”

Bob Ike is a Partner/VP of Horsebills.com (here’s a video) and the proprietor of BobIkePicks.com (full-card picks, 3 Best Plays and betting strategy).

Final thought

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Any thoughts, you can reach me at johnacherwa@gmail.com. You can also feed my ego by following me on Twitter @jcherwa