Del Mar Racecourse will host the $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes on Sunday, with Grand Slam Smile returning to defend her title in the seven-furlong contest for California-bred fillies and mares on the main track. The Betty Grable Stakes will feature nine runners on the final day of the opening weekend of the Bing Crosby Season.
Grand Slam Smile will enter the race after reaching millionaire status with her victory in the $100,000 California Distaff at Santa Anita last month. The daughter of Smiling Tiger has won 13 races and finished among the first three in 22 of her 24 career starts.
Trained by Sean McCarthy, she will seek another stakes success after spending much of her eight-race 2026 campaign on turf. However, her victory in last year’s Betty Grable demonstrated her ability on dirt. She will start from the inside post, a draw that McCarthy acknowledged could present a challenge.
McCarthy also highlighted her improved settling ability and recent performance, in which she came from off the pace while carrying 128 pounds. She will carry four pounds less in Sunday’s contest. The trainer indicated that the race could mark the end of her five-year-old campaign, although he expected her to return for another season in 2027.
Betty Grable Stakes Features Strong Opposition
Grand Slam Smile will face eight rivals, including Fibonaccis Ride, who defeated her in the $150,000 Solana Beach Stakes at Del Mar last summer.
Trained by Antonio Garcia, Fibonaccis Ride will return to dirt after competing in nine consecutive turf races, all from off the pace. Garcia identified the surface and distance as the main questions, while also noting that the mare preferred not to race behind horses with dirt in her face. Hall of Fame jockey Victor Espinoza, her regular rider since spring, will continue aboard.
She’s No Quant will also bring stakes-winning form into the contest. The daughter of Pavel, owned and bred by Reddam Racing, won the $150,000 Fleet Treat Stakes during the Del Mar summer meeting. She subsequently finished second to Rabeeba in the Grade 3 Torrey Pines Stakes before placing fifth in the Grade 2 Zenyatta Stakes at Santa Anita.
Trainer Edward Freeman believed the Zenyatta distance had stretched her limits and expressed satisfaction with her recovery and preparation for Sunday’s assignment.
The nine-horse field will include Grand Slam Smile (Juan Hernandez), Christel Clean (Joel Rosario), Lino’s Angel (Jose Valdivia Jr.), Clubhouse Cutie (Tyler Baze), Fibonaccis Ride, Big Hug (Tiago Pereira), She’s No Quant (Hector I. Berrios), Issa Court (Armando Ayuso) and Lady Mendelssohn (Emisael Jaramillo).
The Betty Grable Stakes will be Race 8 on Del Mar’s nine-race Sunday programme, with a scheduled post time of 4 p.m.
Trainers Adopt Ship-In Approach for Del Mar Fall Meeting
Del Mar will continue to see a reduced number of horses stabled on its grounds during the Bing Crosby Season as several Southern California trainers adopt a ship-in approach. Instead of relocating their entire stables for the meeting, trainers will bring horses shortly before their scheduled races and return them to Santa Anita afterwards.
Around 300 horses will be based at Del Mar during the fall meeting, compared with approximately 2,000 during the eight-week summer season. The shorter schedule, with racing held three days a week for three and a half weeks, will make temporary shipping a more practical option for many trainers.
Trainer Leonard Powell highlighted the difference between the two meetings, explaining that the longer summer programme justified relocating staff and horses. The fall schedule, however, created additional challenges for employees with families and school-going children.
Bob Hess Jr. indicated that his stable would bring only 15 horses this year, compared with its usual full operation. Richard Baltas would have 12 horses at the track, while Phil D’Amato would maintain around 10 at any given time.
Jonathan Thomas would be among the exceptions, with 25 horses based at Del Mar. D’Amato also pointed to the shorter meeting and potential El Niño weather conditions as reasons for keeping most of his horses at Santa Anita.
Umberto Rispoli Focuses on Major Race Victories
Jockey Umberto Rispoli will focus on winning important races during the Bing Crosby Season rather than defending his previous riding title at Del Mar.
Rispoli enjoyed a successful 2025 campaign, finishing runner-up in the Kentucky Derby aboard Journalism before winning the Preakness Stakes and the $1 million Haskell Invitational. He also recorded career-best annual earnings of $13,420,345 and secured his first Del Mar riding title.
His progress was interrupted by a serious fall at Gulfstream Park in January, which resulted in a fractured ankle, a broken fibula in his left leg and a small tibia fracture. Multiple surgeries and six months away from race riding followed before he returned to competition at Del Mar in June.
Since his comeback, Rispoli has recorded seven graded stakes victories. His notable successes included the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap aboard Journalism, the Grade 2 Green Flash with Sorrento Sky and the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile with King of Gosford.
Despite the interruption, the jockey remained focused on competing in major races. He also praised the strength of the Del Mar riding group, highlighting the quality and competitiveness of its jockey colony.
Rispoli maintained that the quality of opportunities and success in important races mattered more to him than collecting another riding title.
Del Mar Stable Updates and Weekend Highlights
Green Carrera, winner of Friday’s $100,000 Let It Ride Stakes, came out of the race in good condition, according to trainer Leonard Powell. A possible start against male rivals in the Grade 1 Hollywood Derby remained under consideration, while the Grade 1 American Oaks at Santa Anita remained a year-end target.
Friday’s Opening Day programme produced eight races and seven different winning trainers and jockeys. John Sadler recorded two training victories, including the opening race with Sunny Creed, while Armando Ayuso also visited the winners’ enclosure twice.
Flavien Prat recorded three victories at the Breeders’ Cup the previous week, taking his annual earnings beyond $42 million, a record for a jockey in a calendar year.
Two notable workouts came from Jonathan Thomas’s stable. Tirupati covered four furlongs in 47.20 seconds, while Rashmi completed the same distance in 50.40 seconds.
Grand Slam Smile will lead a nine-horse field in the Betty Grable Stakes as she seeks consecutive victories at Del Mar. Fibonaccis Ride and She’s No Quant will provide strong opposition in the $100,000 contest, while the meeting will also feature a reduced ship-in operation and Umberto Rispoli’s continued focus on major race victories.
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