Horse shortage not expected to hamper Del Mar meet

After Santa Anita was plagued by a shortage of entries during its spring-summer meet when running only four days per week, it could be assumed Del Mar might encounter similar problems with its traditional five-day race weeks.

But Tom Robbins, a veteran racing official who serves as Del Mar’s director of racing, is cautiously optimistic the seaside track will operate as normal when the 36-day summer meet kicks off Wednesday with the traditional Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds on the turf.

Robbins and racing secretary David Jerkens have put their heads together, and what they foresee down the road looks promising.

“Right now we’re pretty comfortable, seeing what David and I look at on a daily basis, the number of horses that are training, what categories they are,” Robbins said. “There’s a lot of communication that goes on between our department and the horsemen, and there are very encouraging signs.

“But I say that after we’ve filled (only) three days of races. You don’t want everything to fall apart on you, but we’re cautiously optimistic that we can run the five days a week.”

Robbins expects a horse population of about 1,900 at Del Mar -- down from the normal 2,100 or 2,200 -- by Thursday. The decrease is by design, Robbins said. He said it will make the backstretch less crowded and will generate less traffic during morning training hours.

“We tried to reduce our population more to get it in line with what Santa Anita might carry in their barn area,” Robbins said. “We started with the top trainers that have many more horses than others and put a limit on them.”

The stall limit is 40 per trainer, a number Robbins says is in line with other summers. The difference is the number will be enforced this year. Trainers were famous for fudging on their allotment, finding space somewhere for the horses that exceeded their limit. But that won’t be allowed this year, according to Robbins.

There will be at least two familiar faces returning to Del Mar this summer.

Trainer Thomas Proctor, who opted to run a string of horses last summer at Saratoga, is back at Del Mar this year with 11 horses, while Dallas Keen has brought about 15 horses from Texas as he returns following an absence of a few years.

According to Robbins, Del Mar is constantly trying to lure new trainers to the track in an effort to increase the horse population in California.

“We get close with some trainers that are on the East Coast, we get them to about the 1-yard line, and it’s hard to get them across,” Robbins said. “But let’s face it, when it comes down to making a move like that, it’s expensive. And Del Mar, this area, isn’t one of the cheapest places to set up shop.”

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Robbins, who has worked in Del Mar’s racing department for about 45 years, or since he was in high school, has his own theory on why Santa Anita had problems filling races. While acknowledging the unusual amount of rainfall this past winter was a factor because it curtailed the horses’ training, he wonders if six months of racing at one venue is healthy for the industry.

“I think it’s a long stretch to be running a race meet ... that’s a challenge in my mind,” he said. “We have the luxury of being out of the heat, being close to the ocean, and running for a relatively short period of time. Santa Anita starts the day after Christmas, and with the demise of Hollywood Park, they picked up a lot more days.

“It’s kind of the nature of the beast that horsemen, if they’re at one facility for too long, it’s tough to keep things new and energized. One horse may not like the surface, which can happen, and they go, ‘Well, we’ll just give ‘em a breather and wait till the next town.’”

That’s not a problem at Del Mar, where many horsemen want to run their horses in hopes of visiting the winner’s circle and partying long into the night.

DEL MAR FACTS

When: Today through Monday, Sept. 4.

Racing days: Wednesdays through Sundays, except for special Monday racing on Labor Day, Sept. 4.

First post: 2 p.m. daily except for special twilight racing each Friday at 4 p.m.

Big race: $1 million Pacific Classic for 3-year-olds and up on Saturday, Aug. 19.

Defending jockey champions: Rafael Bejarano and Flavien Prat, 38 wins apiece.

Defending trainer champion: Philip D’Amato, 23 wins

More info: www.dmtc.com