Acclamation, with a patented front-running ride from veteran jockey Patrick Valenzuela, held off favored Twirling Candy in the final furlong to win the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I) by a head at Del Mar Aug. 28.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
The top spot is on the line in the 3YO division.
Twirling Candy, two-for-two on the Del Mar turf, will seek his first victory on the Southern California racetrack's synthetic surface when he faces nine others in the $1 million TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I) Aug. 28.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Blind Luck, who was under consideration for the Aug. 28 Pacific Classic (gr. I) against males, will instead point toward the Oct. 1 Lady's Secret (gr. I) at Santa Anita Park, according to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer.
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
With ownership partners Jenny Craig and Marty Wygod looking on from a grandstand box, potential TVG Pacific Classic (gr. I) favorite Twirling Candy worked a mile in 1:37 4/5 over the main track at Del Mar Aug. 21.
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Blind Luck won't be going to New York or New Jersey for races Aug. 28, making it more likely the champion filly will challenge males in the $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) the same day.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
The Travers, King's Bishop, and Pacific Classic could be must-see races.
Another showdown between Blind Luck and Havre de Grace will likely have to wait for another day, as Rick Porter said Aug. 19 that Havre de Grace is headed to face males in the $750,000 Woodward Stakes (gr. I) Sept. 3.
Friday, August 19, 2011Fox Hill Farms' Havre de Grace worked five furlongs in :59 3/5 Aug. 17 at Delaware Park, while rival Blind Luck breezed six furlongs in 1:13 4/5 at Del Mar the same morning.
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Potential Pacific Classic (gr. I) favorite Twirling Candy posted a bullet work Aug. 7 when he covered six furlongs in 1:11 3/5 at Del Mar. The 4-year-old son of Candy Ride was the fastest of 20 horses at the distance.
Sunday, August 07, 2011
Champion Blind Luck worked five furlongs in 1:00 2/5 the morning of Aug. 5 at Del Mar. The Aug. 28 Pacific Classic or Personal Ensign (both gr. I) are being considered for her next start.
Friday, August 05, 2011
As it has for the past two seasons, Del Mar again will offer 42 stakes races over the course of a 37-day summer meet that runs from July 20 through Sept. 7.
Friday, April 08, 2011
Richard's Kid successfully defended his title in the $1 million Pacific Classic Presented by TVG (gr. I) when he came from off the pace to edge Crowded House at Del Mar Aug. 28.
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Jason, Tom, and Les Instone of TwinSpires.com preview the Travers (gr.I) and Pacific Classic (gr.I).
Awesome Gem, the pride of the ownership syndicate West Point Thoroughbreds and trainer Craig Dollase, takes his record fourth shot at the $1 million Pacific Classic Presented by TVG (gr. I) as one of the favorites Aug. 28.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
The morning line favorite is The Usual Q.T., ridden by Victor Espinoza.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Trainer John Sadler said the morning of Aug. 15 it's not likely that Sidney's Candy, winner of the Aug. 14 La Jolla Handicap (gr. IIT) will run at Del Mar again this meet.
Sunday, August 15, 2010
TVG's sponsorship of the Pacific Classic will help Del Mar maintain the major race's purse level. But the seaside track also announced that 13 stakes will take purse cuts for the 2010 summer meet.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Betty Mabee, who with her late husband, John, built one of the West Coast's leading Thoroughbred empires, has died.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Richard's Kid, sent off at odds of 24-1, charged from far back with jockey Mike Smith aboard to win the $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar Sept. 6, nipping Einstein in an exhilarating finish.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Rafael Bejarano, who was excused from mounts on Sept. 4 and 5 because of an injured thumb on his right hand, has been cleared to ride his two stakes horses -- Meteore in the $350,000 Del Mar Derby (gr. IIT) and Parading in the $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) on the Sept. 6 program.
Sunday, September 06, 2009
Colonel John and Einstein, who were expected to clash in the Santa Anita Handicap (gr. I) this past spring, should finally have their first meeting as the favorites in the $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar on Sept. 6.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
A percentage of any purse monies earned by West Point Thoroughbreds' Macho Again in the $750,000 Woodward Stakes (gr. I) Sept. 5 at Saratoga; and Awesome Gem in the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) Sept. 6 at Del Mar will be donated to the National Thoroughbred Racing Association Safety and Integrity Alliance.
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Nineteen top-notch runners, including four millionaires and a pair of 3-year-olds, have been nominated to run in Del Mar's $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) on Sept. 6.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Einstein, the richest North American horse currently in training with more than $2.7-million in purses, will ship to Del Mar on Aug. 31 to compete in Del Mar's Pacific Classic (gr. I) on Labor Day Sunday, Sept. 6.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
The $1-million, grade I Pacific Classic will be repositioned to Labor Day weekend as the highlight of the 70th season of racing at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, which will offer 31 stakes with purses totaling nearly $7 million. The meet begins Wednesday, July 22 and runs through Wednesday, Sept. 9.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Peter Vegso's homebred Go Between, winner of the 2008 Pacific Classic (gr. I), died Jan. 12 following a workout at the Payson Park Training Center as the result of a heart problem.
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
A day after winning the $1-million Travers Stakes Presented by Shadwell Farm (gr. I) with Colonel John, jockey Garrett Gomez switched coasts to guide favored Go Between to a head victory over Well Armed in the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Go Between, the 3-1 morning line favorite, takes on defending champion Student Council in the $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar Aug. 24. The rich 1 1/4-mile Polytrack event attracted a closely matched group of 11 older horses.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
A lot is at stake Aug. 24 in the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar, which marks not only one of the most prestigious races of the year on the West Coast, but also earns the winner an automatic spot in the Breeders' Cup World Championships Oct. 24-25 at Santa Anita Park.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
A dozen older horses remain solidly committed to competing in Del Mar's signature race, the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) on Aug. 24.
Friday, August 15, 2008
Student Council, a grade I winner on dirt and synthetic surfaces, will be retired at the conclusion of this year's racing season and will stand at Millennium Farms in 2009 as property of a syndicate that will include breeder Will Farish's Lane's End Farm.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
McCann's Mojave, fourth in the Hollywood Gold Cup, took a step toward the Aug. 24 Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar the morning of Aug. 10 with a sizzling six-furlong move in 1:10.60 at Golden Gate Fields for trainer Steve Specht.
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Curlin will make his next start in the $500,000 Woodward (gr. I) Aug. 30 at Saratoga, Stonestreet Stables' Jess Jackson told media members Aug. 5, but the majority owner would not commit to sending the reigning Horse of the Year anywhere after that, including the Breeders' Cup later this year at Santa Anita. Jackson also left the possibility open that Curlin could race next year, saying the chances were "pretty slim, but not foreclosed."
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
Millennium Farms' Student Council, second in the July 26 Whitney Handicap (gr. I) at Saratoga, is preparing to defend his title in the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) on Aug. 24 at Del Mar in California.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Millennium Farms' Student Council, back-to-back winner of the Pacific Classic (gr. I) and the Hawthorne Gold Cup (gr. II) in 2007, looks to rebound from an eighth-place finish in the Japan Cup Dirt (Jpn-I) when he heads a field of nine in the $250,000 San Antonio Handicap (gr. II) at Santa Anita Feb. 9.
Wednesday, February 06, 2008Jockeys Roberto Gonzalez, Aaron Gryder, Randall Meier, Richard Migliore, and Mario Pino have been nominated to receive the 2008 Santa Anita George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award, the winner of which will be announced in February of 2008.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Millennium Farms' Student Council, preparing for a start in the Nov. 24 Japan Cup Dirt at Tokyo Racecourse, worked a half-mile in :49 on the training track at the Quarantine Center at Shiroi, Japan, Nov. 17.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Fred Bradley's homebred Brass Hat tuned up for a Nov. 23 engagement in the $500,000 Clark Handicap Presented by Norton Healthcare (gr. II) by working five furlongs in 1:00.60 under jockey Willie Martinez Nov. 16.
Friday, November 16, 2007
Millennium Farms' Ro Parra has decided to run his star pupil Student Council in the $2.3 million Japan Cup Dirt (Jap-I), rather than the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic - Powered by Dodge (gr. I). The 1 1/4-mile Japan Cup Dirt will be contested Nov. 24 at Tokyo Racecourse.
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Bongo Racing Stable's Sun Boat, a former claiming horse and 6-1 winner of the July 21 San Diego Handicap (gr. II), was euthanized Sept. 18 due to a severe case of laminitis.
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
In a sign of the times, a Midwest also-ran with a liking for Polytrack came west to win the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar Aug. 19. Student Council, purchased recently by Ro Parra's Millennium Farms to run in the 1 1/4-mile test, vanquished Lava Man and upset a large field at odds of 23-1 at Del Mar.
Monday, August 20, 2007
John Shirreffs, not comfortable running Tiago on the Del Mar Polytrack, has decided to scratch the Santa Anita Derby (gr. I) and Swaps (gr. II) winner from the 1 1/4-mile Pacific Classic (gr. I).
Sunday, August 19, 2007
Among the 12 rivals entered against Lava Man in the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) Aug. 19, several could undoubtedly be considered from barns that are taking a shot, perhaps because their horse has shown an affinity for Del Mar's Polytrack or because they believe the California champion is vulnerable. That's not the case for trainer John Shirreffs, who heads into the 1 1/4-mile event with a one-two punch.
Friday, August 17, 2007Defending champion Lava Man drew the rail as the 5-2 morning line favorite for the $1-million Pacific Classic Sunday.
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Lava Man and A.P. Xcellent, who staged a dramatic Hollywood Gold Cup (gr. I) stretch duel won by the California star by a nose on June 30, are among 13 horses entered in the $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar Aug. 19.
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Emotions are sure to run high when Lava Man attempts to defend his title in the $1-million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at Del Mar Aug. 19.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007Defending Pacific Classic (gr. I) champion Lava Man had his final major prep for the $1 million test on Aug. 19 when he breezed six furlongs before the first race Saturday in 1:14 4/5 over Del Mar's Polytrack surface.
Saturday, August 11, 2007Twenty-three horses were nominated -- with 13 considered likely -- for the $1 million Pacific Classic (gr. I) at 1 1/4 miles on the Del Mar Polytrack Aug. 19, including defending champion Lava Man.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Lava Man moved a step closer to defending his 2006 Pacific Classic (gr. I) title with a five-furlong workout in 1:01 2/5 the morning of Aug. 3 on Del Mar's Polytrack.
Friday, August 03, 2007
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