39 stakes scheduled offering $7.15 million

Stakes purses at the Del Mar summer meeting will more closely resemble prize money levels at the 2019 season than the 2020 season which was affected by the coronavirus pandemic, according to a schedule released by the track Thursday.

Del Mar has scheduled 39 stakes worth $7.15 million this summer, compared to 40 stakes worth $7.31 million in 2019 and 39 such races worth $5.25 million in 2020.

Prior to the 2020 meeting, the track announced substantial cuts to the stakes program because of the pandemic, which prevented ontrack attendance from the general public at the popular meeting.

It is not clear whether the public will be allowed to attend this summer’s season, which runs from July 17 to Sept. 6, but track officials are optimistic government policies will change.

The richest race of the meeting is the Grade 1 Pacific Classic at 1 1/4 miles on Aug. 21, which is worth $750,000 this year compared to $1 million from its inception in 1991 to 2019 and $500,000 last year.

There are five other Grade 1 races at the meeting that will have purses of $300,000, the same values as in 2019 and $50,000 more than last year – the Bing Crosby Stakes for sprinters, Clement Hirsch Stakes for fillies and mares, Del Mar Oaks on turf, Del Mar Debutante for 2-year-old fillies, and Del Mar Futurity for 2-year-olds.

This summer, five stakes will have higher purses than their values at the 2019 meeting.

The Grade 2 San Diego at 1 1/16 miles on dirt will be worth $250,000, an increase of $50,000 from 2019. The race was worth $150,000 in 2020.

The Del Mar Mile on turf will be worth $300,000, compared to $250,000 in 2019 and $150,000 last year. The Del Mar Handicap at 1 3/8 miles on turf will be worth $300,000, compared to $250,000 in 2019 and $200,000 last year.

Two seven-furlong stakes for California-bred 3-year-olds – the Real Good Deal Stakes and the Fleet Treat Stakes for fillies – will be worth a record $175,000, a gain from $150,000 in 2019 and $125,000 last year.

One race has been restored to the schedule, while another was eliminated. The Group 3 Cougar II Handicap at 1 1/2 miles on the main track will be held July 18 with a value of $100,000, the same as 2019. The race was not run in 2020.

The Smiling Tiger Stakes, a restricted stakes for 3-yearold sprinters, was introduced last year, but is not on the 2021 calendar.

Overall, 26 races have higher values this year than in 2020.