DEL MAR — Bob Baffert has won the past two training titles at Del Mar’s annual summer thoroughbred meeting.
But there is a major question facing the Hall of Famer when it comes to a three-peat in the 87th season that opens at 2 p.m. on Friday.
It’s quantity over quality.
There is no question that the silver-haired legend has one of the most talented stables in horse racing.
But since winning his second straight summer Del Mar training title last year, Baffert has split his stable – sending a strong line to Kentucky to compete in East Coast races.
“We’re still going to have a strong presence at Del Mar,” Baffert said earlier this week. “Del Mar is a great place. And Southern California, because of the weather, is still the best place to develop young horses.
“Del Mar has always had a special spot in my heart and the hearts of other horsemen and women. It’s a perfect summer fit. Del Mar and Saratoga stand out on the schedules for much the same reasons.”
That said, Baffert’s Del Mar presence won’t be as large as in the past.
Over the last six weeks of the 2026 season, Baffert started 25 horses at Santa Anita, winning 11 times. Four of his seven starters won stakes races. But once Churchill Downs opened at the beginning of May, Baffert’s presence at Santa Anita dropped to 15 starters with just three winners and one stakes race winner.
What the numbers will look like at Del Mar are unknown, although Baffert will almost certainly have a strong presence in 2-year-old and maiden races.
Over the past five summers, Baffert’s debuting 2-year-olds have averaged more than 10 wins a meeting while winning more than a third of the time. The success of his 2-year-olds last season pushed Baffert over the top in the training standings and led Juan Hernandez to the jockey title.
For Baffert, it was too much of a good thing.
“I actually painted myself in a corner with too many young horses in the same category,” Baffert said. “That’s why I had to split them up between California and Kentucky. I had a lot of horses that had the same conditions. A lot of maidens. There weren’t enough opportunities. I’d have to run two to three horses in the same race.”
Baffert also said Southern California leaning more toward turf races and races for Cal-bred horses worked against him.
“Those races fill easier. As do a lot of Cal-bred races,” he said. “I don’t have any Cal-breds or turf horses. I basically have young horses, 2- and 3-year-olds, for the dirt.
“When you have a 3-year-old dirt horse, there’s not a lot of spots to run at Del Mar until later in the meeting. So, that’s why I split my stables, so I could have more opportunities to run maiden races.”
“I can understand Bob’s dilemma,” said David Jerkens, Del Mar’s senior vice president of racing operations. “I think when you become oversaturated in certain categories (maidens on the dirt), it can be challenging here. If a race doesn’t fill in Kentucky, you can van a horse 50 miles to another track. That option doesn’t exist in California, which has become a single-circuit state.
“We’ve offered more Cal-bred and claiming races since California became a single-circuit state. When there was a Northern California circuit, 60% of their races were for Cal-breds. Since California had the one-circuit consolidation, Del Mar has had more Cal-bred races for sure.
“If you look at Del Mar 10 years ago, we ran 40% turf races. Now it’s 50%. Turf has become more popular with trainers. Back east, turf is less popular than dirt because of the weather. We are striving for balance. Turf races fill.”
Baffert noted that “we’ve lost a lot of our major owners” in the last five years, and that “it’s hard to replace those people.”
“More owners coming into California are into turf races,” he said. “I have horses that fit Kentucky and horses that fit Del Mar. My barn has no turf horses.
“And California doesn’t have the gambling machines like other tracks that support purses. It’s hard. Times are changing. But you’ll see me at Del Mar. We’re still going to have a big presence at Del Mar. Racing is very important in California. We’re going to help it all we can.”
Which could include running Nysos in the Pacific Classic on Aug. 22.
“We’re debating running Nysos in the Pacific Classic or the Whitney at Saratoga,” said Baffert of the 2025 Breeders’ Dirt Mile champion. “I haven’t made up my mind yet. The Whitney is really tough. I like the fact that they’ve moved the Pacific Classic up a bit.
“I’ll know about Nysos in another week or so.”