Summer racing heats up with openings of Del Mar, Saratoga

Racing fans are gearing up for the start next week of the two premier summer meets: Del Mar and Saratoga. That's no disrespect to Belmont Park and Hollywood Park, which will end Sunday with a solid bang as any carry-over pools must be paid out.

However, the Del Mar opening Wednesday and Saratoga on July 22 takes racing interest to another stratosphere. Both tracks also offer the ideal venue to introduce newcomers to our great sport.

This might be the last summer where the quality of racing between Del Mar and Saratoga remains relatively close, and here's why.

This will be the last Saratoga meet to run before slot machines begin operating at Aqueduct next spring. And that means the purses at New York Racing Association tracks, including the Spa, should grow. It's hard to imagine the quality of racing offered at the Spa getting any better, but next summer it should be.

There is nothing better for racing fans than to crack open a Daily Racing Form and handicap full fields of quality horses. The one negative I can think of for Saratoga is the weather. Thunderstorms are a when, not if, proposition at the Spa. Thus, the NYRA racing office cards dirt-track horses in grass races so the fields are not completely decimated when it rains.

The weather is an awesome plus at the seaside resort of Del Mar. On any given weekend, you'll see many Las Vegas faces at the racetrack escaping the triple-digit heat here. It'll be interesting to see how the Del Mar horse inventory holds up for five days a week racing compared with four days at Hollywood.

■ TOP STAKES RACES -- The Grade 1 American Oaks at Hollywood and the Grade 2 Delaware Handicap are the marquee stakes Saturday. Bizzy Caroline ships out for trainer Ken McPeek off a big win in the Regret at Churchill Downs. She has taken to grass like a dandelion and is my top choice.

The Delaware Handicap is a renewal of a terrific rivalry between Havre de Grace and Blind Luck. Kudos to their connections who are not afraid of the challenge compared to the ducking that went on between Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra. Great horses are meant to face off in great races.

■ JERRY'S NUGGET -- The North Las Vegas race book will again offer its weekly Del Mar handicapping contest each Saturday of the meet. The grand prize will be an expenses paid trip for two to Del Mar's closing day Sept. 7.

Richard Eng's horse racing column is published Friday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He can be reached at rich_eng@hotmail.com.