DEL MAR — Friday’s Fleet Treat Stakes opens a key weekend at the seaside oval that includes Saturday’s Grade 1 Bing Crosby Handicap and the Grade 2 San Diego Handicap. Both are stepping stones to the $1 million Pacific Classic, held Aug. 30 at Del Mar.

Twelve 3-year-old fillies, led by 5-to-2, morning-line favorite Om N Joy are entered in the 7-furlong Fleet Treat on the dirt. The field includes the top four finishers from the longer Melair Stakes (1 1/16 miles) at Santa Anita at the end of May.

Om N Joy scored her third straight win in the Melair. The daughter of Om will again be ridden by veteran Kent Desormeaux Friday in the shorter Fleet Treat. Om N Joy ran down Going Deep (Edwin Maldonado) in the Melair and won by a half-length with Lady Mendelssohn third and Fibonaccis Ride fourth.

Friday marks the first of eight Cal-bred stakes races at Del Mar this summer.

Horses trained by Bob Baffert finished first and second in Thursday’s feature — an allowance/claiming race with a $84,500 purse. Splendora, the 1-2 favorite ridden by Juan Hernandez, won; Ooty (Drayden Van Dyke) finished second in the 6-furlong sprint for older fillies and mares.

Led by Splendora ($3.00), favorites won five of Thursday’s final six races. Jockey Ruben Silvera scored his first win aboard the favored Regal Patriot ($3.60) in the fourth. Other winning favorites were Listenupshance ($5.40 in the third), Sir Rocket ($5.20 in the sixth) and Perfect Life ($6.00 in the eighth).

Notable

Journalism was out on Del Mar’s track Thursday morning for his first light workout since returning Tuesday night from the east. “It looks like he is doing very well,” trainer Mike McCarthy said of the Preakness and Haskell Stakes champion and the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes runner up. “There are no plans yet, just keeping everything on the table.”

• Raging Torrent, who scored consecutive wins earlier this year in the Malibu at Santa Anita, the Godolphin Mile in Dubai and the Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga, has been retired with a left foreleg injury, according to trainer Doug O’Neill. The 4-year-old had seven wins in 14 career starts.

• Privman’s victory in last Sunday’s sixth race was win the 3,500th of Bob Baffert’s training career.

• The final totals from Del Mar’s first three days showed a 5.5% gain in attendance and a 28.9% gain in handle.

Originally Published: July 24, 2025 at 6:05 PM PDT