Del Mar opens Friday, much to the delight of Las Vegas horseplayers

We can call this Christmas in July for horseplayers, as the Del Mar meet begins Friday. It’s no secret that lots of Las Vegas residents take a summer vacation to visit the seaside resort track by the Pacific Ocean.

Del Mar and Saratoga, which opens next week, are two of the best tracks in the country to introduce a newcomer to horse racing. I also would include Arlington Park and Monmouth Park. The crowds are much younger, and you will see lots of families.

Del Mar handicapping, especially early in the meet, can be tricky. Owners and trainers point their horses for Del Mar. Thus the fields are contentious, and long-shot winners can come from even the smallest of barns.

Del Mar long has been a “horses for courses” track. But now with relatively new main dirt and turf courses, the history can go back only one season. My thought is once a horse runs well early in the meet, it should run well next time out, too. The one caveat would be if the next race condition is a bit too aggressive.

There is a feeling among hardcore horseplayers that there is more recreational betting in the Del Mar pools.

That should mean overall better odds and payoffs. Of course, none of that matters if you don’t bet on any winners. Typically I will favor horses with speed and tactical speed until a bias presents itself.

If you want to do your own homework on last year’s Del Mar meet, pick up a copy of the Daily Racing Form Del Mar Player’s Guide. It is available in most race books around town. To start with, there is a full chart of every race at the 2015 meet.

Then there is statistical data on the jockeys and trainers, plus a winners book in which you can see the background on every horse that won a race last year.

PARI-MUTUEL TAX CHANGE

A key piece of legislation that would reform a dated rule in the pari-mutuel tax law is being supported by two members of Congress — Reps. John Yarmuth, D-Ky., and Charles Boustany, R-La. The new regulation would redefine “the amount of a wager to include all of a bettor’s investment into a single pari-mutuel pool and not simply the base amount of the winning combination.”

Bottom line, if less tax money is paid to the IRS by horseplayers, then more money will be available to be churned, thus increasing the overall handle.

CALIFORNIA CHROME RUNS FOR CHARITY

The owners of 2014 Kentucky Derby winner California Chrome announced they will donate a portion of the horse’s earnings for the rest of his career to the V Foundation for Cancer Research.

California Chrome is being pointed to the $200,000 San Diego Handicap on July 23 and the $1 million Pacific Classic on Aug. 20 at Del Mar. Two other races under consideration are the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita Park on Nov. 5 and the $12 million Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream Park on Jan. 27.

Richard Eng’s horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. You can buy his Del Mar picks at www.racedaylasvegas.com. You can email him at rich_eng@hotmail.com and follow him on Twitter @richeng4propick