Del Mar Picks | San Clemente, Oceanside Stakes Top Opening Day

They’re off and running for the 85th time this Saturday at Del Mar Thoroughbred Club, the iconic racetrack that sits alongside the blue Pacific just north of San Diego.

In all, there will be 11 races on the season’s first program, headed by a pair of stakes that have drawn large fields.

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The reception by horsemen and women to the start of the 31-day session has been first-rate with 118 entries – more than 10 horses per race – deposited for the initial go-round at the seaside oval.

Racing will be conducted Saturday and Sunday to start, then fall into the usual Thursday-through-Sunday pattern folks are used to a Del Mar. The sport also will be conducted on Monday, Labor Day, September 2, then close out its summer run with a Friday-through-Sunday finish on September 6, 7 and 8.

The traditional Opening Day feature – the Caesars Sportsbook Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds at a mile on the Jimmy Durante Turf Course – has lured a field of 11 and is likely to be headed by Benowitz Family Trust, CYBT or Nentwig’s King of Gosford, a British-bred colt who has been three-for-three in his initial starts stateside.

Del Mar’s new morning line maker, Jeff Siegel, has indicated he’ll hang the turf specialist as the 5-2 favorite in the 79th edition of the $100,000 stakes.

The other headliner on the card is the 57th running of the San Clemente Stakes, a $200,000 testing for 3-year-old fillies. The Grade II turf crucible has served as an incentive for a dozen runners and Siegel says he’ll make C R K Stable’s Medoro the solid favorite at 8/5. The Honor Code soph has started four times on the grass and won each one of them – the last three in stakes company.

Veteran Antonio Fresu, who was the second-leading rider at Del Mar in his first local appearance last summer, has been named to ride both favorites in the stakes.

Racing fans again will hear the distinctive tones of Trevor Denman coming from the announcer’s booth Saturday. It will be the popular South African’s 40th season at the shore.

First post Saturday will be the traditional 2 p.m. The day is already a sellout, but plenty of seats are available for the Sunday program, which also begins at 2 p.m.