Del Mar opens Fall Racing Festival Nov. 9

Del Mar opens its Fall Racing Festival Friday, Nov. 9, and more than 200 horses from the San Luis Rey Training Center in Bonsall are taking up residency at the seaside racetrack.

Del Mar racing secretary David Jerkens reported that horses stabled in San Luis Rey's temporary, giant tent-like barns have been relocated to Del Mar while a sprinkler system is installed in those barns.

"We're estimating 225 horses from San Luis Rey to be on our property," said Jerkens, adding that more than 20 trainers from the Bonsall facility relocated to Del Mar.

The horses stabled in the main barns at San Luis Rey will continue to train there and ship in to run at Del Mar.

Del Mar's Fall Racing Festival is best described as "short and sweet" as the 16-day meeting will feature 14 stakes races, including two events that figure to attract top horses from across the country – the Grade 1 $300,000 Hollywood Derby and the Grade 1 $300,000 Matriarch Stakes.

The Hollywood Derby is a 1 1/8-mile turf contest for 3-year-olds and will be run Saturday, Dec. 1. The Matriarch is for fillies and mares and will be decided at 1 mile on the turf Sunday, Dec. 2.

Jerkens expects top East Coast trainers such as Chad Brown, Bill Mott and Graham Motion to send horses to Del Mar for the Hollywood Derby and Matriarch. Brown won last year's Matriarch with the Irish-bred mare Off Limits, who shipped in from New York to get the lion's share of the $300,000 purse.

The fall session will showcase top turf runners as nine of the 14 stakes races will be contested on the grass course. Seven of those races are graded events.

Del Mar will present a special Thanksgiving Day racing program Thursday, Nov. 22. The card will start at 11 a.m. and finish at approximately 2:30 p.m., giving fans plenty of time to get home for Thanksgiving dinner.

The Thanksgiving holiday weekend racing schedule will feature six graded stakes, including the Grade 2 $200,000 Hollywood Turf Cup, Friday, Nov. 23, and the Grade 2 $200,000 Seabiscuit Handicap Saturday, Nov. 24.

Post time at Del Mar is 12:30 p.m., with the lone exception being Thanksgiving Day. Opening weekend will run from Friday, Nov. 9, to Monday, Nov. 12, when Veterans Day is observed. Following opening weekend, racing will be conducted on a Thursday-through-Sunday schedule. For more information, visit http://www.dmtc.com.