Del Mar Wraps up 2025 Racing Season With End of Bing Crosby Meet
Just Aloof, one of Chad Brown's three winners on the weekend, heads to the winner's circle after capturing the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante Stakes.
Del Mar closed the books on another year of racing this past Sunday with the conclusion of its Bing Crosby Fall Meet. The meet ended with a series of graded stakes races, all of them on the turf in celebration of Del Mar's Turf Festival. Top talent from around the country came to the Seaside Oval. Del Mar thankfully avoided a major conundrum after FedEx announced it was cancelling equine-related flights until January. All participating horses scheduled to fly in were already on the grounds, with the exception of a single Todd Pletcher horse who was unable to make the trip due to the travel situation.
Friday kicked off with the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup. Truly Quality, ridden by Mirco Demuro, won by 1 3/4 lengths over Flashiest. Balnikhov (IRE) was the second choice at post time but finished second-to-last. A former graded stakes winner and earner of over $1 million, Little Red Feather owner Billy Koch said before the race that it would take the "right trip," but, if not, it had been a good run. The plan is to enter Balnikhov in the upcoming Fasig-Tipton Digital Sale.
The weekend continued with an action-packed Saturday featuring three more graded stakes. Call Sign Seven, trained by Michael McCarthy, provided the shocker of the Fall Meet when Ricardo Gonzalez, looking for room to run, came right up the rail and won by a half-length. Call Sign Seven paid $139.00.
Chad Brown had two of his three winners on a perfect three-for-three weekend, with Just Aloof winning the Grade 3 Jimmy Durante and Salamis winning the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby.
Sunday closed out the 12th annual Bing Crosby meet with a nine-race card. Brown again stole the show with a win in the Grade 1 Matriarch Stakes with Segesta, ridden by former Del Mar regular Flavien Prat. Unrivaled Time, trained by Leonard Powell, captured the Grade 3 Cecil B. DeMille Stakes. Joe Harper, longtime CEO of the Del Mar racetrack, is DeMille's grandson. DeMille is often credited as a founder of the American film industry. Harper described him as "a great guy and grandfather."
When asked about the entirety of the meeting, Harper described it as "terrific" and credited his great team and great weather for another successful meet. "I'm lucky to be here in the position I've been for years," said Harper on what concluded his 47th year at the helm at Del Mar.
Del Mar had a large handle increase of over nine percent versus the 2024 Fall Meet (not including the Breeders' Cup). $183.4 million was wagered compared to $167.6 million in 2024. Umberto Rispoli took home the jockey title with 17 wins. Juddmonte led all owners with 4 wins, and George Papaprodromou, the longtime Southern California trainer, took home his first-ever title with 11 victories. Del Mar will be back in action with its summer meet starting on July 17, 2026.