Odds & Picks at Del Mar August 22: Del Mar Handicap, Del Mar Oaks, Torrey Pines Stakes & Green Flash Handicap

• Del Mar’s Pacific Classic undercard Saturday is loaded with top-quality racing
• The Del Mar Handicap is a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders Cup Turf
• Where is the best betting value Saturday Where the Turf Meets The Surf?

While it will not be a normal Pacific Classic Day Saturday at Del Mar, minus the capacity crowd of beautiful people the racing is unchanged. The biggest day at the biggest meet on the west coast features the biggest name in horse racing these days. Maximum Security runs in the Pacific Classic, but that is far from the only reason to watch and wager.

In addition to the Pacific Classic there are four graded stakes races Where the Surf Meets the Turf on Saturday. The grade two Del Mar Handicap is a Win and You’re In race for the Breeders Cup Turf. Two horses who have earned over $1 million, United and Combatant are among the candidates.

Let’s look closely at the Del Mar Handicap and then briefly preview each of the other stakes races. Hopefully we can point out some betting value as you prepare for a big day of racing near San Diego.

2020 Del Mar Handicap Odds

Odds taken August 18

Run since 1937, The Del Mar Handicap is a three-turn turf race contested at a-mile-and-three-eighths. Trainer Philip D’Amato has won the event in each of the last three years and five times in the last six runnings. He sends Red King to the gate in this edition. Post time is slated for 8pm EST and it will be televised by TVG.

Top Candidates

A winner of three straight races United will be the deserving favorite. Since missing by just a neck at 50/1 in last year’s Breeders Cup Turf, United ran a tight second wrapping up 2019 in the Hollywood Turf Cup. This year he has won three consecutive grade two events.

United has hit the board in eight straight races and has won six times in 14 starts. This is the largest field United has run against since losing to Oscar Dominguez by a neck last December.

While United is the obvious chalk, with 11 horses set to run the Del Mar Handicap has lots of angles that you can look at and that leads to several reasonable contenders and value plays.

Combatant Returns to the Turf

The horses that Combatant has been facing are top tier. Over four races in 2020 he has faced Midcourt three times, By My Standards once, and Maximum Security last time out in the San Diego Handicap. However, during that quartet of races, which has included mixed results (a win, a third place, and two off the board performances), none of them have been on turf.

While Combatant has earned over $1 million, he has never won in eight tries on turf. However, his recent form is arguably the best of his career. As a five-year-old is he just improved and will look good on the sod, or is it not to his liking?

Originaire has finished behind United in back-to-back races but really hasn’t run a bad race this year as a four-year-old and may be in the mix.

Oscar Dominguez beat United in December, lost to him in February, and couldn’t hold off Ward ‘n Jerry as a favorite in March. Ward ‘n Jerry gets Hall of Fame rider Mike Smith for the Del Mar Handicap, is one-for-one at the distance, and has a pair of victories at Del Mar.

While Red King, Proud Pedro, and North Country Guy have not been running against the class of horses that United typically tackles, they all have been winning recently, and on their best day can be factors.

Del Mar’s Other Big Races Saturday

The Green Flash Handicap

There is a serious out of towner vibe in this five-furlong turf sprint. Northern California standout Mikes Tiznow beat Washington bred Baja Sur at Golden Gate Fields in June. That was Mikes Tiznow’s third straight victory. Both horses return in this race, but Kentucky shipper Chaos Theory should be a factor too.

Finishing fourth at Keeneland against Imprimis last year, losing to World of Trouble at Churchill Downs in 2019, just missing after almost a full year off in February at Fair Grounds, and finally beating an optional claiming field at Churchill in June suggests that Chaos Theory has been choosing top competition and should not be underrated in this event.

As for the locals, Sparky Ville is coming off a win and has a graded stakes victory on his resume.

The Torrey Pines Stakes

Trainer Bob Baffert has two of seven entrants in this mile dirt test for three-year-old fillies. Provocation gets jockey Mike Smith as he runs around two turns for the first time. He has one win in two tries. He was beaten last time out by stablemate Merneith, a $600,000 son of American Pharoah. Merneith is just one for six and while losing to Swiss Skydiver and Speech is no crime on June 6, his efforts in two races since have been disappointing.

Secret Keeper beat Merneith and Provocation on July 25. This is her first race going further than six-and-a-half furlongs. She is two-for-two in her career.

One wildcard could be Aurelia Garland. She broke her maiden at Belmont Park in May 2019, was off for a year, and has run in the money twice in Kentucky and once in Iowa since. She was third in the grade three Iowa Oaks on July 5.

The Del Mar Oaks

A winner of four of her last five, Laura’s Light looks for her first grade one win facing a diverse field going a-mile-and-an-eighth on the turf. Last time out Laura’s Light beat Guitty and Warren’s Showtime. The extra distance today could benefit Guitty who was flying late last time, and Warren’s Showtime will be ridden by Smith for the first time.

There is international interest in the Del Mar Oaks too. Two french natives, Miss Extra and Neige Blanche make their US debuts. Miss Extra is three for eight and has won three of her last four. She won a grade two event in June. Neige Blanche is three for six and won a grade three race on June 6.