Del Mar Picks: Best Bets for Bing Crosby Day, 7/26/2025

Key Takeaways

• Young Love (Race 5) has big second-off-the-layoff potential and pressing speed for turf sprint success.
• Hall of Fame (Race 8) ships west with sneaky class and can upset favorite Nysos if that one falters.
• Granny Budgie (Race 9) offers value with a favorable outside draw and solid one-turn turf form.
• Pushiness (Race 9) has dangerous early speed and reunites with winning rider Juan Hernandez.

The Del Mar summer horse racing meet is in full swing now. The action on Saturday, July 26, is headlined by the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1), which offers a bid to the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. It is a fascinating betting race because there is no clear leader of the division.. The Chosen Vron successfully defended his title in this race last year, but now he has now retired. Between that, the fact that horses like Straight No Chaser are giving it a pass, and the fact that Met Mile winner Raging Torrent is now retired, the West Coast sprint division is ready for a new horse to step up. That could happen Saturday.

Of course, the Bing Crosby is one of several stakes races Saturday where the turf meets the surf. Top dirt route horses line up for the San Diego Handicap (G2), the local prep race for the Pacific Classic (G1) later this summer. And, filly and mare turf sprinters shine in the Daisycutter Handicap. There are big fields and classy racing all day, meaning it’s a great chance to make money at the windows. Racing gets underway at 2:00 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, and you can watch and bet on the races all day long with FanDuel TV and FanDuel Racing.

Make sure to check the weather and scratches. The forecast is clear and warm, which bodes well for fields to hold, but scratches can happen for any reason, so make sure there is nothing that changes the pace or class balance before you get your bet down.

These are the three best bets for undercard races on Bing Crosby Stakes Day on Saturday at Del Mar:

Del Mar Racetrack Best Bets

Race 5 - California-bred first-level allowance-optional claiming, fillies and mares, five furlongs on the turf - Young Love, Press Your Luck

FanDuel odds: 3-1 and 5-1

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This is an attractive betting race, particularly in the win pool, because a horse who will certainly take money is proven not to really want to win. Blue Wildcat certainly fits the level and is even a winner at the distance, but she has not won since November 2023 at the now-defunct Golden Gate. She certainly fits on the southern circuit, as she has hit the board at this level in all six starts since relocating south, but there’s always one or two she can’t pass, meaning she belongs underneath only.

The one in the field with the most upside to improve is Young Love (3-1), who only makes her third lifetime start. Her debut in June of last year was a disaster; she had a troubled trip and got vanned off afterward. She returned a year to the day later, though, and things went much better. She pressed the pace, took over in the lane, and held—a really solid effort for a three-year-old filly, not only resurfacing after a year’s layoff but facing older for the first time. This will be tougher, as she now faces winners, and there are a few who will be right up near the front with her. But, she has proven she has a pressing gear—something particularly useful on the turnback in distance—and if she moves up at all second off the lay then she could win right back.

Press Your Luck (5-1) hasn’t been the most consistent, but the turf sprints have been better for her than the mile or even the Santa Anita downhill, technically a sprint trip but something that often plays to specialists or milers as opposed to regular turf sprinters. Toss the debut early in her juvenile year, and this Doug O’Neill trainee has rallied late in all of her other one-turn grass starts, including several times with jockey Kyle Frey. And, the blinkers-on is a positive move—she probably doesn’t have the speed to get embroiled in a pace battle, especially with five furlongs being shorter than her usual trip. But, Press Your Luck could get the big bucks if those blinkers keep her just in range enough to pick off the pace horses in the lane.

Race 8 - San Diego Handicap (G2), 1 1/16 miles on the dirt - Hall of Fame, Nysos

FanDuel odds: 6-1 and 3-5

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Hall of Fame (6-1) looked like he was finding his stride in the winter at Fair Grounds, though in his last few, he has run decent but not winning efforts in graded-stakes races at Fair Grounds and Churchill Downs. But, he has been keeping quality company in all those starts: Touchuponastar, Sierra Leone, Fierceness, Most Wanted, Mystik Dan, Antiquarian, Post Time. Those are quality East Coast opponents, tougher opposition overall than he faces out west. Owner Claiborne Farm had a great idea, moving him to the barn of Michael McCarthy and shipping him west. Hall of Fame’s tactical speed should play well on the West Coast, and he should get a good trip in the San Diego. Of course, the horse to beat is Nysos, and Hall of Ame needs to run one of his best races if Nysos steps up. But, if Nysos doesn’t want 1 1/16 miles or he wakes up on the wrong side of his hay net, Hall of Fame can capitalize, and he will be the right price to bet on an upset.

Nysos (3-5) is the morning-line favorite, and could well run to the money. The big question boils down to taking a short price on a horse trying something he has never tried for the first time. But, the signs are good. He looked impressive in two starts so far this year—in the Churchill Downs Stakes (G1), his first start in over a year, he missed by a neck to Mindframe, who has claims on being the best older horse in training right now. He came back to demolish three overmatched foes in the Triple Bend, including Dr. Venkman, who makes a lot of sense in the Bing Crosby Stakes (G1) later on Saturday’s card. It will not be Nysos’ first try at two turns, as he won by 7 ½ lengths in the Robert B. Lewis (G3) in February of last year. Between that, the fact that he can pass horses, and his two-turn pedigree, it wouldn’t be a surprise for him to handle the San Diego distance.

Race 9 - Daisycutter Handicap, five furlongs on the turf - Granny Budgie, Pushiness

FanDuel odds: 8-1 and 5-2

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Form lines for turf sprints in California can be very muddled—the downhill course at Santa Anita is a different animal from six on the flat, which is significantly different from this five furlongs at Del Mar. Going five at Del Mar, the name of the game is speed—the distance is short, go fast, and if you’re a closer, hope there’s enough pace and you get a clean enough trip to turn on the afterburners in the lane and reel in the pacesetters.

The pace could be a lively one, with Imaboutago down toward the inside and Pushiness on the outside both having true five-furlong speed. That could set up well for Granny Budgie (8-1) to bounce back for strong west-coast turf trainer Phil D’Amato. Five furlongs is a new test for her; she has only raced between six furlongs and a mile. But, so far, she has been less than impressive down the hill, but sharp as a tack over the one-turn six furlongs. The draw toward the outside could help her get a good, clear trip, something that always helps in a scramble of a turf sprint like this.

If any funny business happens near the start, as can happen with a 10-horse field, that’s great news for outside-drawn Pushiness (5-2). That could leave her alone on the lead, making her the one to catch in the lane. She has done most of her racing lately going longer, and was a close second in both the 6 ½-furlong Irish O’Brien two back and a six-furlong allowance last out. But, she ran a close third, beaten less than a length, the only time she tried five on the grass last summer. She was hounded that day—meaning she has grit to run on if she gets challenged. And, she also gets Juan Hernandez aboard. Hernandez has only ridden her once, in her debut, but that race was a good one. He got her out sharply and clear quickly, and she used that five-furlong speed (on dirt) to wire a group of overmatched California-breds. That kind of speed could be dangerous.

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