Del Mar has a supremely rich racing history plus an incredibly fun connection to Hollywood stars, but when racing fans of my generation think of Del Mar, we think of the Pacific Classic.

The 1 ¼-mile, Grade 1 FanDuel Racing Pacific Classic Stakes has been a highlight of the summer season since its inaugural running won by Best Pal in 1991. Other notable winners include Free House (1998), Candy Ride (2003), Pleasantly Perfect (2004), Lava Man (2006), Game On Dude (2013), Shared Belief (2014), Beholder (2015), California Chrome (2016), Accelerate (2018), and Flightline (2022).

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This year’s Pacific Classic Aug. 31 at Del Mar is part of the Breeders’ Cup Challenge “Win and You’re In” series. The winner of the Pacific Classic will earn an expenses-paid spot in the starting gate for the $7 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic, right here at Del Mar on Nov. 2.

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While the 2024 edition of the Pacific Classic lacks a true superstar like a Cigar, who lost to Dare and Go in 1996, or a Flightline, rising talent Dr. Venkman heads a solid cast of nine entrants.

Let’s take a look at this year’s Pacific Classic field.

Coglianese Photos/Nicole Thomas

1. Il Miracolo (5-1 morning-line odds)

Jockey: Mike Smith

Trainer: Antonio Sano

Owner: Alexandres

Career record: 21 starts – 4 wins – 6 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $776,635

Earnings per start: $36,983

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 122

Pedigree: Gun Runner – Tapit's World, by Tapit

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Press the pace/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Multiple graded stakes winner Il Miracolo ships in from the East Coast for trainer Antonio Sano off of what was, according to Equibase Speed Figures, a new 14-point career-best effort when second to Subsanador in the $250,000 Philip H. Iselin Stakes Aug. 17 at Monmouth Park. The 122 figure he earned in that race off a 15-week freshening is at least nine points higher than the best number earned by anyone else in the field. Can he repeat that type of effort on just two weeks of rest? That is the key question for Il Miracolo, who has competed very effectively against quality competition throughout his career but has been beaten by 6 ½ lengths or more in his four starts against Grade 1 competition like he will face in the Pacific Classic. Il Miracolo is worthy of a long look in a Pacific Classic with less firepower than past editions, but the quick turnaround plus his record of just one third-place finish in four previous starts in Grade 1 races leaves me dubious of his win chances. The Gun Runner colt is versatile enough to set, press or stalk the pace and a top-three finish is well within reach. Hall of Fame jockey Mike Smith, who is tied with Garrett Gomez for the winningest jockey in Pacific Classic history with four victories, picks up the mount on Il Miracolo. Smith's four wins in the Pacific Classic came aboard Came Home (2002), Richard's Kid (2009, 2010), and Shared Belief (2014).

Bet Il Miracolo in the Pacific Classic Stakes

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2. There Goes Harvard (15-1)

Jockey: Hector Berrios

Trainer: Michael McCarthy

Owners: Cannon Thoroughbreds

Career record: 17 starts – 4 wins – 5 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $484,590

Earnings per start: $28,505

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109

Pedigree: Will Take Charge – Soul Crusader, by Fusaichi Pegasus

Age: 6

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Closer/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: There Goes Harvard capped a three-race winning streak with a victory in the Grade 1 Hollywood Gold Cup Stakes at this 1 ¼-mile distance at Santa Anita Park. The problem is that was more than two years ago in May 2022 and the 6-year-old by Will Take Charge is unplaced in five subsequent starts. He returned from a layoff of 14 months-plus May 27, 2024, in the Grade 1 Shoemaker Mile Stakes on the grass and ran fourth, beaten by 2 ¾ lengths in a solid comeback race. There Goes Harvard next finished ninth in the Grade 2 Eddie Read Stakes, also on turf, fading late after he encountered some trouble in the stretch. His career-top Equibase Speed Figure came on dirt in the aforementioned Hollywood Gold Cup and he has finished in the top three in eight of his 11 tries on the surface. It should also be noted that There Goes Harvard’s speed figures this year have been solid, 106 and 107, in defeat. He could take a step forward with a return to the dirt in his third start after a long layoff and the fact that he was supplemented to the race for $10,000 indicates he must be giving all the right signs in morning exercise/workouts. An intriguing wild card for this year’s Pacific Classic.

Bet There Goes Harvard in the Pacific Classic Stakes

BENOIT photo

3. Dr. Venkman (5-2)

Jockey: Antonio Fresu

Trainer: Mark Glatt

Owners: Dan Agnew, Clint Bunch, Mark Cohen, and James Hailey

Career record: 5 starts – 3 wins – 2 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $358,500

Earnings per start: $71,700

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Ghostzapper – Theory of Change, by Archarcharch

Age: 4

Color: Bay

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Dr. Venkman stretched out from sprinting to two turns for the 1 1/16-mile San Diego Handicap and won the Grade 2 race by a length over one of his main Pacific Classic challengers (Katonah) July 27 on this track. That was the Ghostzapper gelding’s first stakes win after finishing second in both the Perryville Stakes last fall at Keeneland and the Grade 2 Triple Bend Stakes June 1 at Santa Anita Park in his 4-year-old debut, both at seven-eighths of a mile. Dr. Venkman has flashed a ton of potential in just five starts and has proved quite fast with a career-best 113 Equibase Speed Figure and a 108 for the San Diego victory. The Pacific Classic will challenge him to extend that speed another three-sixteenths of a mile, but he is 3-for-3 at Del Mar and his pedigree – by Horse of the Year and Breeders’ Cup Classic winner Ghostzapper and out of a dam who won at 1 1/16 miles on grass – suggests excelling at longer distances is a very real possibility. He’ll probably be the favorite or second betting choice in this race and on or near the lead entering the stretch, so he’s a major win candidate for trainer Mark Glatt, who finished second in the Pacific Classic with his lone previous starter, Sharp Samurai in 2020.

Bet Dr. Venkman in the Pacific Classic Stakes

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4. Reincarnate (8-1)

Jockey: Juan Hernandez

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owners: SF Racing, Starlight Racing, Madaket Stables, Robert Masterson, Stonestreet Stables, Jay Schoenfarber, Waves Edge Capital, and Catherine Donovan

Career record: 15 starts – 3 wins – 5 seconds – 3 thirds

Career earnings: $607,900

Earnings per start: $40,527

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 109

Pedigree: Good Magic – Allanah, by Scat Daddy

Age: 4

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: With the scratch of Adare Manor, Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s chances to extend his record for wins in the Pacific Classic to eight rest upon stablemate Reincarnate, a multiple stakes winner as a 3-year-old in 2023 who is winless in four starts this year. While Reincarnate has not visited a winner’s circle since the Los Alamitos Derby seven starts ago in July 2023, it has not been all bad for the Good Magic colt. He finished third in the Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap Presented by Yaamava’ Resort & Casino in his 4-year-old bow and two starts back he earned a career-top 109 Equibase Speed Figure when second in the Hollywood Gold Cup at this 1 ¼-mile distance. He’s no doubt fast enough on paper to be competitive and he could also have a major say in the pace of the Pacific Classic. It’s tough to predict whether he will get bet down because of his trainer or will be one of the few opportunities to wager on a Baffert-trained horse and get a fair price, but you have to respect Reincarnate’s chances. Baffert’s Pacific Classic victories were with General Challenge (1999), Richard’s Kid (2009, 2010), Game On Dude (2013), Collected (2017), Maximum Security (2020), and Arabian Knight (2023). Jockey Juan Hernandez finished second in the 2020 Pacific Classic aboard Sharp Samurai.

Bet Reincarnate in the Pacific Classic Stakes

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5. Katonah (8-1)

Jockey: Tiago Josue Pereira

Trainer: Doug O’Neill

Owner: R3 Racing

Career record: 12 starts – 4 wins – 3 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $270,180

Earnings per start: $22,515

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Klimt – Ctimene, by Consolidator

Age: 5

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: The chestnut Klimt gelding dominated the Pleasanton Mile Stakes July 9, 2023, in his stakes debut, winning by 3 ¼ lengths in his 11^th career race to earn a career-best 113 Equibase Speed Figure. Katonah did not race again for more than a year but his comeback runner-up finish at 20.70-1 odds in the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap surely dispelled any notion that his first stakes win was a fluke. Outside of the long layoff between races, he’s been quite consistent over the last two years as his only unplaced finish came in his first try on turf. Other than that, he’s picked up four wins, two seconds, and a third in seven dirt starts since January 2023 and he’s eligible to improve in the Pacific Classic in his second race after 12 months off. Trainer Doug O’Neill, who claimed Katonah for owner R3 Racing for $50,000 in 2021, won the Pacific Classic in 2006 with one of the sport’s all-time great claims, Hall of Famer Lava Man. Jockey Tiago Periera won the race in 2021 aboard Tripoli.

Bet Katonah in the Pacific Classic Stakes

6. Full Serrano (12-1)

Jockey: Reylu Gutierrez

Trainer: John Sadler

Owner: Hronis Racing

Career record: 15 starts – 5 wins – 4 seconds – 2 thirds

Career earnings: $77,223

Earnings per start: $5,148

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 95

Pedigree: Full Mast – Serra Do Mar, by Jump Start

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Full Serrano joined the barn of John Sadler in 2024 after a successful career in his native Argentina, where he won four times in 14 starts with a stakes victory and a runner-up finish in a Group 3 race to his credit. The dark bay or brown 5-year-old by Full Mast made a nice first impression in his U.S. debut, surging well clear Aug. 3 at Del Mar to win a one-mile allowance/optional claiming race by 2 ¼ lengths. While his South American stakes victory came on the grass, it was at this 1 ¼-mile distance, so Full Serrano should have the stamina to stretch out another quarter-mile in his second start for Sadler. The big question is can he handle the massive jump in quality of competition. In terms of speed figures, he would need to increase the 95 Equibase Speed Figure he earned in the August win by about 15-20 points to be a serious contender. That’s a tall order for Full Serrano’s second start, but trainer John Sadler and owner Hronis Racing have had tremendous success in this race. They teamed to win the Pacific Classic four times with Accelerate (2018), Higher Power (2019), Tripoli (2021), and Flightline (2022). Hronis Racing raced Flightline in partnership.

Bet Full Serrano in the Pacific Classic Stakes

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7. Adare Manor (SCRATCHED)

Jockey: N/A

Trainer: Bob Baffert

Owner: Michael Lund Petersen

Career record: 18 starts – 10 wins – 5 seconds – 0 thirds

Career earnings: $2,096,600

Earnings per start: $116,478

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 113

Pedigree: Uncle Mo – Brooklynsway, by Giant Gizmo

Age: 5

Color: Dark bay or brown

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Adare Manor profiles as a contender for the Eclipse Award as champion older dirt female approaching the final third of the 2024 season with three graded stakes wins, including a pair of Grade 1s, and a second in four starts. The addition of a talented female racehorse to face males in the Pacific Classic is sure to build some buzz around the marquee Del Mar stakes, and Adare Manor is worthy of the hype riding a three-race winning streak, all by 2 ¾ lengths or more, into the race. Last spring, the leading earner in this field posted back-to-back, front-running runaway victories in the Grade 1 Apple Blossom Handicap at Oaklawn Park in April and Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes in June at Santa Anita Park. She enters the Pacific Classic off a win on this track at Del Mar in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes Presented by Oak Tree Racing Association. Adare Manor is fast enough on paper to compete with this group, as evidenced by the 113 Equibase Speed Figure earned in the Apple Blossom, and capable of being effective setting, pressing, or stalking the pace. The main concern is distance as Adare Manor has never started in a race longer than 1 1/8 miles, but she certainly has the ability to join Beholder in 2015 as the second female winner of this race. An Adare Manor victory also would extend Hall of Fame trainer Bob Baffert’s record to eight wins in the race as he has won the Pacific Classic previously with General Challenge (1999), Richard’s Kid (2009, 2010), Game On Dude (2013), Collected (2017), Maximum Security (2020), and Arabian Knight (2023).  UPDATE: On Friday, Aug. 30, trainer Bob Baffert told reporter Steve Andersen of Daily Racing Form that Adare Manor was withdrawn from the Pacific Classic after developing a muscle cramp following a routine workout.

BENOIT photo

8. None Above the Law (20-1)

Jockey: Jeremy Laprida

Trainer: Jorge Periban

Owner: Hector Castrellon

Career record: 35 starts – 7 wins – 3 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $651,802

Earnings per start: $18,623

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108

Pedigree: Karakontie – Legally Blanca, by Northern Afleet

Age: 6

Color: Gray or roan

Running style: Closer/stalker

Notable achievements and interesting facts: None Above the Law won the Grade 2 Del Mar Derby Presented by Caesars Sportsbook on grass in 2021. He then endured a 19-race winless stretch while still carving out a somewhat productive career in Southern California with the bulk of his earnings coming in stakes races restricted to California-breds, both on turf and dirt. The Karakontie gelding finally returned to the winner’s circle with a three-quarter-length triumph from off the pace in the one-mile Bertrando Stakes June 22 at Los Alamitos and then closed from off the pace for third in the California Dreamin’ Stakes at Del Mar. While his speed figures and recent form offer some reason for optimism, None Above the Law has yet to show he can compete at this level in a 1 ¼-mile dirt race and profiles as an outsider in the Pacific Classic. The best-case scenario would probably be a pace meltdown that allows him to pass a few tiring rivals to round out the superfecta at a massive price.

Bet None Above the Law in the Pacific Classic Stakes

Eclipse Sportswire

9. Mixto (20-1)

Jockey: Kyle Frey

Trainer: Doug F. O’Neill

Owner: Calumet Farm

Career record: 13 starts – 1 win – 2 seconds – 4 thirds

Career earnings: $182,180

Earnings per start: $14,014

Top Equibase Speed Figure: 108

Pedigree: Good Magic – Musical Mystery, by Concerto

Age: 4

Color: Chestnut

Running style: Stalker/press the pace

Notable achievements and interesting facts: Mixto needed seven starts to earn his first career win and has not returned to the winner’s circle in six races since, but he has fared pretty well against top competition throughout his career. The Good Magic colt out of a full sister (same dam [mother] and sire [father]) to Grade 1 winner and producer Rigoletta has finished in the top three in four stakes, three of them graded races, and enters off a runner-up finish in the Pleasanton Mile Stakes July 7. He also finished third in both the Grade 2 San Pasqual Stakes in January and the Grade 3 Californian Stakes in April, both at Santa Anita Park, so it’s not out of the question that he can be competitive at this level. My biggest concern is not ability but distance, as Mixto has faded to fifth in both of his starts at 1 ¼ miles. He is a good bet to outrun his odds for trainer Doug O’Neill, who won the Pacific Classic in 2006 with future Hall of Famer Lava Man, but filling out the trifecta is probably his ceiling.

Bet Mixto in the Pacific Classic Stakes