Breeders' Cup: Del Mar's history and draw clues

Bing Crosby’s ode to Del Mar is more than 80 years old – click here to have a listen – and you can imagine the late Hollywood legend looking down at the imminent Breeders’ Cup contentedly with a clutch of betting tickets in one hand and a pair of binoculars in the other.

Crosby is best known for a multimedia career in which he starred in more 70 films and recorded more than 1600 songs but he also loved his horses. The racecourse he helped create in conjunction with other Hollywood high-rollers was quite a gamble and the vision almost required a movie script to build it.

Del Mar was, and still is, a small village on the south coast of California blessed with beaches, waves (it’s the first destination mentioned in Surfin USA by The Beach Boys) and almost wall-to-wall summer sunshine. Its population of about 4,000, like, say, a British seaside favourite in Lyme Regis, with no shortage of hotels and restaurants for tourists.

Crosby could see the potential of locating a racecourse by the sea. Back then, nobody was talking about climate change or the threat of rising oceans wiping out parts of the map. 

Santa Anita Racecourse, opened in 1934 about 100 miles away, was quickly flourishing and so an inspired Crosby invested $600,000. “Where the turf meets the surf” was an immediate tag line, with the marketing men overlooking “where the dirt meets the Hawaiian shirt” for variety. They could have had that one, on me.

It was not an immediate winner after opening in the summer of 1937, but its anxious investors had a trick up their sleeves. The following year, Del Mar played host to a match between one of the sport’s most revered performers, Seabiscuit, and a rising star from Argentina, Ligaroti, who it was agreed would receive 15lb.

Lin Howard, who owned Ligaroti in partnership with Crosby, was the son of Charles S. Howard, the owner of Seabiscuit. The $25,000 winner-takes-all contest, spiced up by an alleged $15,000 side-bet, drew national attention and a crowd of more than 22,000.

The race itself, which Seabiscuit won by a whisker, was still making headlines days later after a ding-dong battle up the straight with both jockeys George Woolf (Seabiscuit) and Noel Richardson banned for all kinds of antics. The track announcer said: “That was as rough a race as I’ve ever seen in my whole life. They were hitting each other over the head with their whips and Richardson had Woolf in a leg-lock.” 

How much was stage-managed – and whether cash changed hands - we will never know, but it served its purpose. Del Mar was now firmly on the map and soon everyone wanted a piece of the action there. Build The Racecourse And They Will Come. And they did. In tens of thousands. Crosby would sell his share in it eight years later, apparently taking 15 minutes to record an annual winner White Christmas in the interim.

Fast forward to the present day and the 42nd Breeders’ Cup will cap a week-long festival. For those attending the races, there is something for every budget. General admission starts at $80 but those with thicker wallets will pay almost $3,000 for a two-day package in the elevated restaurants that provide spectacular views of the racecourse and beyond. 

Shorts and flip flops are a no go but there are six cocktails to choose from, including Del Margarita (Tequila based), Make Your Mule (vodka or bourbon) and, for those who start to flag, Red Bull Wings (double vodka, choice of Red Bull).

The Del Mar turf track is sharp in nature, plus the ground is almost guaranteed to be quick to rattling. The sweeping dirt track is on its outside. A low draw is favourable on both, but not if you dawdle at the start. An inviting open door can quickly be slammed in your face.

Those drawn wide have the opportunity to get on terms early on, but their jockeys have to be careful not to ask for too much, too soon. Something must be saved for that final stretch.

A swift start and decent early position in the fields capped at 12-14 runners for safety reasons is pivotal, including over a mile where there are two turns and a home stretch of less than two furlongs.

Frankie Dettori gave his verdict after racing there for the first time in 2017, shortly before the Breeders’ Cup action got under way. "You do not want to be drawn high, anything above seven on the turf track you really have little chance.  You cannot get yourself into a decent position unless you are up with the pace, because the winning the post is almost just over a furlong from the entrance to the straight. You cannot make up three lengths in that distance.”

Rushing Fall promptly proved Dettori wrong by winning the Juvenile Fillies’ Turf from stall 11, while Rhododendron (14) almost landed the Filly And Mare Turf, and Beach Patrol (11) went down by only half a length in the Breeders’ Cup Turf. The winners on the dirt included Battle Of Midway (9) in the Mile plus Caledonia Road (12) in the Juvenile Fillies’.

And since then, the Breeders’ Cup has been staged at Del Mar twice more, in 2021 and 2024, with those drawn high more than holding their own.

Yibir (stall 10), Broome (8) and Teona (12) were the first three home in the 2021 Turf, while Loves Only You (8), My Sister Nat (9) and War Like Goddess (7) were the first three home in the Filly And Mare Turf. Marche Lorraine (10) and Dunbar Road (11) fought out the Distaff. Twenty-four hours earlier, Corniche had defied stall 12 in the Juvenile.

Last year, Matisse won the Juvenile Turf from stall 13 with Amori City (12) in third, while May Day Ready (12) chased home good thing Lake Victoria, who got in a bit of a pickle from stall 1, in the Juvenile Filles’ Turf.

On the Saturday, those opposing the high drawn runners were left licking their wounds.

Rebel’s Romance won the Turf from 11, as did Sierra Leone in the Classic, while Moira won the Filly & Mare Turf from 10. Soul Of An Angel (Filly & Mare Sprint), StraightNo Chaser (Sprint) and  More Than Looks (Mile) all jumped from gate 8, and in the early supporting races (non Breeders' Cup)  Tisquantum (stall 14) and Raqiya (10) both won.

Indeed, since Del Mar installed a new turf course, in 2016, there has not been the marked advantage in stall position that you might expect, perhaps except for 9f races, where the stats point to a low draw being favourable. 

More important than the draw is the ability to be able to lie up near the pace or stalk it. So, you can win from a high draw, provided you have the right horse.

European challengers have fared pretty well, with Mendelssohn (Juvenile Turf), Wuheida (Filly And Mare Turf) and Talismanic (Breeders’ Cup Turf) all successful in 2017.

In 2021, Modern Games (Juvenile Turf), Space Blues (Mile) and Yibir (Turf) all triumphed for Charlie Appleby. Several other raiders were placed, while Aidan O’Brien and Appleby were responsible for the first two home in a non-Breeders’ Cup race over 5f for two-year-olds at the same meeting.

Last year, Magnum Force (Juvenile Turf Sprint), Lake Victoria  (Juvenile Filllies’ Turf) and Henri Matisse (Juvenile Turf) all struck for Ireland on the Friday, with Starlust (Sprint) and Rebel’s Romance (Turf) hitting the target for Britain on the Saturday.

Britain and Ireland are again sending a powerful squad, with Aidan O'Brien in with a shout of equalling or even bettering the record 28 Group One winners he managed in 2017. He has 25 in the bag, but there will have been groans at Ballydoyle when Precise (drawn 13) and Gstaad (14)  for their respective races on Friday.

But all is not lost for a pair who were each quoted at Evens before being handed their gate positions. Minnie Hauk fared better when drawn 8 in the Turf, with Rebel's Romance breaking from 1 in his attempt for a famous hat-trick.

In summary, Del Mar lends itself to tight, competitive racing where jockeys and horses must be nimble and think on their feet.

Much like the surfers five minutes away, it’s a case of eyeing the right opportunity and then riding the wave for all your worth. Just as Crosby and his pals imagined it always would be.