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Jun 18 15 4:04 PM

DRF - Del Mar weighs bonus to lure American Pharoah

06/18/2015 2:45PM

Del Mar weighs bonus to lure American Pharoah

The Del Mar Thoroughbred Club in Southern California is exploring a plan to attach a $5 million bonus to the Pacific Classic if Triple Crown winner American Pharoah runs in the race, Del Mar officials said on Thursday.

The bonus would require a horse to win the Aug. 22 Pacific Classic, a yet-to-be-identified race at Santa Anita – probably the Awesome Again Stakes – and the Oct. 31 Breeders’ Cup Classic at Keeneland in Kentucky, the officials said. Del Mar officials have already discussed the plan with American Pharoah’s trainer, Bob Baffert, who has yet to commit to a schedule for the horse but has said the Breeders’ Cup Classic is the ultimate goal.

“We just want to make sure that if Bob and [the colt’s owners] the Zayats are considering us, we’re putting our best foot forward,” said Josh Rubinstein, Del Mar’s chief operating officer.

American Pharoah arrived back at Baffert’s Santa Anita base on Thursday after spending several weeks at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., following his Belmont Stakes win. If the colt’s connections go the California route, it would mean taking on older horses in all three of his starts.

An alternate plan is to ship back to the East Coast to Monmouth Park for the $1 million Haskell Invitational on Aug. 2 and then shoot for the Aug. 29 Travers Stakes at Saratoga. Both stakes are restricted to 3-year-olds. Ahmed Zayat, the colt’s owner, is a New Jersey resident and has indicated that he would like to race American Pharoah at Monmouth.

Tracks have routinely used bonuses to lure popular horses to their tracks. In most cases, the bonus is attached to one race, however, so the Del Mar plan would be unique in that way.

Winning three races in a row against older horses would be a tall order for any horse. Still, Del Mar likely would seek out an insurance policy to pay the bonus should a horse win all three races, and negotiations over a policy would be somewhat complicated. The Pacific Classic is also sponsored by TVG, the broadcasting and account-wagering company, and the company likely would be involved in the negotiations.

Rubinstein said Del Mar would love to have American Pharoah remain in California during the lead-up to the Breeders’ Cup, and that the track likely would tie in the colt’s dominating performance in the Del Mar Futurity last year as part of the promotion of the $1 million Pacific Classic.

“This is kind of where it all began,” Rubinstein said.

Although the Del Mar plan is not official, another track has already hung up a $2 million purse for American Pharoah. Canterbury Park in Minnesota has offered to boost the purse for its Mystic Derby from $200,000 to $2 million if the horse runs in the race, which would be scheduled for Aug. 30 under the new conditions. However, Zayat has already rejected the idea.

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