Del Mar (Sunday-11/15/2026) By Dean Keppler

Analysis & Selections By: Dean Keppler @Keppskorner

BEST BET: 2-Danzingwith Maxine (Race 6)

Race #1: Selections: 3-5-6-4

3-Boss Man Bolt has hit the board in four of five career tries and projects to get a favorable upfront pressing trip this afternoon, switching to jockey Kyle Frey, who has done well riding for these connections. This juvenile colt was certainly helped by the scratch of Nomorebuttafingers. 5-Cosmic Charlie (by Bolt d’Oro; 17% dirt sprints) moves to the main track for the first time for Mullins and Rosario, exiting a well-beaten eighth and last in the Del Mar Juvenile Turf (G3). Improvement likely. 6-Iron Sand finished an even fifth on debut but is eligible to move forward today. 4-A P Oxbow goes turf-to-dirt on the cutback in distance for Team O’Neill, dropping out of the Grade 3 Zuma Beach.

Race #2: Selections: 5-1-4

5-Big Blast rallied to be third when stepping up in class in the Grade 3 Surfer Girl on Oct. 4, posting the field’s best grass Beyer (67) at this one-mile trip. The dark bay filly by Mr. Big now gets some class relief for conditioner Tim Yakteen and looks best. 1-Miss Mo Brown steps up to face winners off a recent maiden score at Santa Anita on Oct. 18, with an improving Beyer pattern, and is already proven over the Del Mar turf course. 4-Ms Grainger Danger was trounced over dirt last time at 80-1 in the Golden State Juvenile Fillies S., but returns to grass today, where she was a maiden winner at the distance and two back on this course.

Race #3: Selections: 3-5-1

3-Melba Montgomery makes career try number 10 this afternoon but exits back-to-back seconds at this level for trainer Steve Knapp and retains Hernandez. The gray Grazen filly is hard to trust but meets a suspect group and may finally break through today. 5-Champagnia goes turf-to-dirt on the class drop and finished a close-up third at this level and course two back. The Vino Rosso sophomore can move forward, second off the bench. 1-Last Chance Darcy has yet to hit the board, but is back sprinting for trainer Aggie Ordonez and is expected to be hustled along from the fence for an early position.

Race #4: Selections: 3-7-6-5

The lightly raced 3-Separator was a 9-length runaway winner on Oct. 4 against lesser for Michael McCarthy, with a lofty career-best (82) main-track Beyer, and now tries stretching out for the first time. She’s by Charlatan, who did win the 1 1/8-mile Arkansas Derby, so today’s one-mile trip may be well within reach. 7-Piney Woods was hardly disgraced when last seen in the Grade 3 Santa Ysabel, finishing fourth, and now returns off an extended break while luring Hernandez off the bench. 6-Christel Clean was overmatched in the California Distaff H., but now moves back to dirt where she was a 7 1/2-length winner at Del Mar two back. The 4-year-old daughter of Violence has never been off the board over this course (5-3-1-1). The 7-year-old mare 5-Shared Future is winless over this course, but rarely misfires, while consistently picking up checks. She goes first off the Antonio Garcia claim today, off a three-month freshening, and figures to make her typical late run to perhaps grab a share of the vertical exotics.

Race #5: Selections: 6-2-5

The Michael McCarthy-trained 6-Thebeachisback finished a close-up third as the beaten favorite on Sept. 25 and now stretches out for the first time. The juvenile filly gets some stamina from both her sire (Omaha Beach) and dam (Welcome Speech) and should relish the two turns with jockey Juan Hernandez back aboard for the return mount. 2-Suomenlinna (Ire) is an interesting import for D’Amato, who finished sixth of 14 in her only start at Curragh this past August and has trained well over the Santa Anita synthetic course. She’s by multiple Group 1 winner Too Darn Hot, and there’s no denying this barn’s success with these types. Her stablemate 5-Ubi (Ire) (by No Nay Never) goes two sprints to a route and is a logical fit after back-to-back second-place finishes sprinting on grass at Kentucky Downs and at Santa Anita on Oct. 24.

Race #6: Selections: 2-4-8

First off the claim, 2-Danzingwith Maxine moves back to dirt off a troubled trip, fourth as the beaten favorite on Oct. 23, returning off a lengthy layoff. Trainer Tim Yakteen is 4-for-10 (40%) with a positive ROI with newly acquired purchases sprinting on dirt the past four years. 4-Sacred Sound has won two straight and successfully stepped up in class, moving to grass for the 10-1 upset in her last, defeating a pair of next-out winners. She moves back to dirt today for Miller and fits well. A beaten favorite in last, 8-Scary Fast Ride goes first off the Ron Ellis claim, and if this 7-year-old mare can regain some of that Santa Anita form from four and five back for the new barn, she’s plenty fast enough to beat this group.

Race #7: Selections: 7-8-1

7-Known Idea has won four of his last five starts for trainer George Papaprodromou, exiting a career-best (96) turf Beyer off his recent six-furlong score on Oct. 18. The 5-year-old gelding has been just as effective at today’s one-mile trip (5-2-1-2) and figures for another favorable upfront pressing journey. A multiple winner over the track and distance, 8-Packs a Wahlop figures to be not too far behind Known Idea early and perhaps get first run on the deep closers. 1-First Peace moves inside this afternoon off a series of recent outside draws and gets some class relief dropping out of the Grade 2 Eddie D. The 6-year-old was a wide closing third over this course two-back as the lukewarm public choice and will look to parlay a ground-saving journey this afternoon back into the winner’s circle.

Race #8: Selections: 1-4-7

Trainers Bob Baffert and Doug O’Neill have all the entrants for this year’s edition of the Bob Hope Stakes. Baffert has won this race a record 13 times (formerly the Hollywood Prevue Stakes), and O’Neill looks to notch his first victory with five of the seven juvenile colts. 1-Sip It (by Greatest Honor) has never run on dirt but was a sharp 20-1 upset maiden winner in start number two on Oct. 11 over the Santa Anita green and Kimura lands here after guiding a pair of other colts in their last start. A sharp local dirt gate drill in :59.3 on Nov. 8 proves he can handle the main track. Blinkers off, 4-Domus was well-beaten by stablemate Breeders’ Cup Juvenile (G1) winner Hughes in the last pair of starts in the Grade 1 Del Mar Futurity, and American Pharaoh, but finds a softer spot today on the turnback and was an easy maiden winner here at Del Mar on debut. The other Baffert 7-Kivo is a son of Omaha Beach who exits a sharp maiden score on Oct. 11 and has worked three sharp four-furlong drills since then. He offers plenty of upside.

Race #9: Selections: 4-1-5

This is a tough N2L $25k claiming route on turf to close out the multi-race horizontal exotics, and several of these geldings can win. 4-Mo Holland Drive gets the timid vote based on his last runner-up finish when closing well late at this level on Oct. 16. He earned a career-best grass Beyer that afternoon (71) and figures to get another live race flow to close into with Rosario. 1-Let Seamus Go hasn’t been out since August 2025, when claimed by Glatt, off a near-miss runner-up grass route finish over this course. Now a gelding, the 5-year-old by Justify has speed from the rail and has already run par or better at this class level. 5-No Poking Around arguably didn’t run well at all at 29-1 over this course back on Sept. 6 for Hess. The 4-year-old gelding drops in class today, however, and can improve, shortening back up to a mile.