Pick-10 Covers Six Memorable Decades

Only four existing races--the Oceanside Stakes and the San Diego, La Jolla and Del Mar handicaps--were run in 1937, the year Del Mar Race Track opened. Over these 60 years and 57 seasons, which of them has been run the most times?

It’s not even close: Oceanside 66, La Jolla 61, Del Mar 59 and San Diego 56.

The ubiquitous Oceanside, named after the town about 20 miles north of here, is an insignificant stake--none of its winners has won a national title--but on opening day it’s unavoidable, and today, with Del Mar primed for its 58th season, there will be two more runnings of the Oceanside, which because of 25 entries again has spilled over to a second division.

It would be man bites dog if the Oceanside didn’t split. This is the ninth consecutive year that the one-mile grass race for 3-year-olds will be run in divisions. No honest handicapper can look at himself in the mirror and say he has the winners of this Oceanside in hand. As if sorting out these enigmatic fields wasn’t already difficult, both divisions are strewn with horses from Europe and Canada that have not run in the United States.

After the Oceanside is out of the way, the meet usually gets easier. In the last seven seasons, favorites have won 33% of the races, and last year they came in at a clip of almost 35%.

The 43-day meet runs through Sept. 10, with racing on a Wednesday-through-Monday schedule. Post times are 2 p.m., except for 4 p.m. cards the first four Fridays and 12:30 p.m. starts on Pacific Classic day, Aug. 9, and Labor Day, Sept. 1.

There is an informality to Del Mar, such as more open necks than cravats in the Turf Club, but in the pits the game doesn’t change.

“I feel that it’s tougher to win races here than at Santa Anita or Hollywood Park,” said trainer Mel Stute, who saddled the first of his 23 Del Mar stakes winners in 1963. “Years ago, you had to stable [horses] here in order to run here, but now horses can come from anywhere. What really makes it tougher is that a lot of the high-profile owners live here. These guys want to watch their horses run, so they throw a lot of them at you. I’m talking about guys like Allen Paulson and Gary Biszantz.”

The focal point for the meet will be the $1-million Pacific Classic, which may give trainer Richard Mandella an unheard-of chance for a refrain of his 1-2-3 finishes in the Santa Anita Handicap and the Hollywood Gold Cup. Mandella didn’t do badly a year ago, running first and third with Dare And Go and Siphon. In between them was Cigar, foiled in his bid for a 17th consecutive victory.

After only six years, the Pacific Classic has planted both feet on the ground. In honor of Del Mar’s opening 60 years ago, this is one man’s listing of 10 of the seaside track’s finest hours. Note that the Pacific Classic is well-represented:

1. Cigar’s streak ends, 1996: Siphon forced Cigar to speed up early, and then Dare And Go nailed him late, winning by 3 1/2 lengths before a record crowd of 44,181. “We couldn’t beat the rabbit and Dare And Go too,” Paulson said. “They double-teamed us. That Mandella’s a smart guy.”

2. The Seabiscuit-Ligaroti match race, 1938: With George Woolf riding, Seabiscuit beat Ligaroti and Spec Richardson by a nose in a fare-thee-well that led to stewards’ action against both jockeys for their hand-to-hand combat through the stretch. The race, nationally broadcast on radio by track owners Bing Crosby and Pat O’Brien, who stood on the grandstand roof, brought year-old Del Mar out of the boonies. The track drew almost 20,000. Seabiscuit carried 130 pounds to Ligaroti’s 116.

3. Bill Shoemaker’s 6,033rd victory, 1970: This was the Labor Day race that sent Shoemaker past the retired Johnny Longden, who held the record for career wins. The horse’s name was Dares J, a 2-year-old filly who led all the way. “I’m glad it happened at Del Mar,” Shoemaker said years later. “This is one of my all-time favorite tracks.”

4. Longden’s 4,871st victory, 1956: Sir Gordon Richards’ record fell when Longden won the Del Mar Handicap for the second consecutive year with Arrogate.

5. Native Diver’s Del Mar Handicap, 1967: The Diver won three consecutive San Diego Handicaps, once carrying 131 pounds, but this race turned out to mean more. An 8-year-old Native Diver won with 130 pounds and afterward jockey Jerry Lambert said: “The old horse is too much. I hope he never dies.” Eight days later, Native Diver was dead, the victim of a ruptured stomach.

6. Tinners Way’s Pacific Classics, 1994-95: From Secretariat’s last crop, Tinners Way won only four stakes in three-plus years in the United States, but half of them were at Del Mar. Tinners Way finished up trainer Bobby Frankel’s four consecutive victories in the Pacific Classic. He won in 1992 with Missionary Ridge and in 1993 with Bertrando. Mandella finished second both times to Tinners Way, with Best Pal and Soul Of The Matter. “We had no excuse,” he said the second time. “Bobby Frankel, that’s our excuse.”

7. Laffit Pincay’s 8,000th victory, 1993: There was no fanfare, unfortunately, because through a record-keeping oversight, no one knew until the next day that El Toreo, a 6-year-old claimer, gave the 46-year-old jockey his milestone. “It’s been a matter of showing up every day and liking what you’re doing,” said Pincay, who is here for another season, bearing down on Shoemaker’s record of 8,833.

8. Best Pal’s Pacific Classic, 1991: The house horse--bred and owned by Del Mar chairman John Mabee and his wife, Betty--beat a crackerjack field, winning the stake inaugural by one length over Twilight Agenda. Unbridled, the 1990 Kentucky Derby and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner, finished third.

9. Tomy Lee’s Del Mar Futurity, 1958: Later, Gato Del Sol and Silver Charm pulled off the Futurity-Kentucky Derby double, but Tomy Lee was the first. Shoemaker rode Tomy Lee at Del Mar and at Churchill Downs, but it wasn’t that he wanted to. Frank Childs, who trained Tomy Lee, wouldn’t release Shoemaker so he could ride Sword Dancer in the Derby. “That’s a shame,” Shoemaker said, “because I think Sword Dancer is going to win the Derby for sure.” He was wrong by a nose.

10. Wickerr’s Eddie Read Handicaps, 1981-82: Wickerr wouldn’t make many Del Mar lists, but he’s a personal favorite. Claimed by Frankel for $50,000 in 1979, Wickerr won the Read the second time as a 7-year-old, beating Perrault, a future grass champion. “The day I claimed him,” Frankel said, “he came out of the race lame. It was six months before I could run him.”

Horse Racing Notes

Responding to horsemen’s complaints after numerous breakdowns last year, Del Mar has renovated the main track and rebuilt the training track. About 4,000 tons of sand has been added to the main track, reducing the amount of silt and clay in the mix. . . . Windsharp, who strained a tendon while winning the Beverly Hills Handicap at Hollywood Park on June 29, has been retired. The British-bred 6-year-old mare won 11 of 29 starts, earning $1.2 million.

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Del Mar Facts

* When: Today through Sept. 10 (43 days).

* Race days: Wednesday through Monday; Tuesdays are dark.

* Post: 2 p.m. except for 4 p.m. on first four Fridays (July 25, Aug. 1, 8 and 15) and 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 9 (Pacific Classic Day) and Sept. 1 (Labor Day).

* Highlights: $300,000 Ramona Handicap on Aug. 2, $300,000 Eddie Read Handicap on Aug. 3, $1-million Pacific Classic on Aug. 9, $250,000 Del Mar Oaks on Aug. 17, $250,000 Del Mar Debutante on Aug. 24, $250,000 Del Mar Handicap on Aug. 30, $300,000 Chula Vista Handicap on Aug. 31, $300,000 Del Mar Derby on Sept. 1 and $250,000 Del Mar Futurity on Sept. 10.