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.
Del Mar's leading rider in 2008, Bejarano missed 27 days of Del Mar's current summer meet due to multiple facial fractures sustained in a spill in the track's third race on opening day July 22. He returned to action Aug. 28, but injured his thumb Sept. 3.
The Derby, with a field of nine running 1 1/8 miles on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course, will be run as the sixth race, and the Pacific Classic, at 1 1/4 miles on the main track, is carded as the ninth on the 11-race program.
Rafael Bejarano
