Photo:

Alex Evers / Eclipse Sportswire

Del Mar celebrated the conclusion of its 85th summer racing season Sunday as the seaside track once again recorded strong field sizes and average daily handle as well as the highest daily purses in the state.

Del Mar averaged 8.6 starters per race and $831,000 per day in total purse distribution. Total wagering for the meet was $502,985,000, a slight decrease from last summer after Del Mar implemented new restrictions on computer-assisted wagering players in 2024. Average daily handle was $16,225,000.

Track officials indicated that the handle figures were in line with projections based on the new wagering protocols that helped reduce late odds fluctuations and modified the Pick 6 wager, eliminating the single-ticket jackpot.

Over $28.55 million was wagered on Pacific Classic day, including $5.43 million of separate pool handle from Hong Kong. The Pacific Classic card was the first time Hong Kong has wagered on North American racing other than the Breeders’ Cup and the Kentucky Derby.

“As always we want to thank the horsemen and women for their partnership and for helping us put on another outstanding summer meeting,” Del Mar CEO Joe Harper said. “We look forward to welcoming back the Breeders’ Cup in November and to hosting racing fans and participants from all over the world here in Del Mar and the greater San Diego area.”

For the third summer in a row Juan Hernandez led the jockey standings, this time with 47 wins during the 31-day meet. Bob Baffert registered his ninth seasonal training crown as he saddled 23 winners. And Hronis Racing captured its sixth leading owner title with purses of $717,296 and 12 trips to the winners circle. In the ever-expanding category of co-partnerships, Little Red Feather Racing led the way with four graded-stakes races and nearly $1 million in earnings.

The track’s innovative ship-and-win program continued to draw horses to Del Mar and the southern California circuit. In the last five years, ship-and-win has attracted 1,158 starters to Del Mar, with the majority of these runners continuing to compete at California tracks.

Racing returns to Del Mar for the track’s fall meet from Oct. 31 to Dec. 1, highlighted by the Breeders’ Cup World Championships on Nov. 1 and 2.