A welcome change to the autumn wagering menu will complement high-level turf racing when Del Mar reopens Friday for its 10th annual fall meet. Del Mar revived the traditional pick six and eliminated the single-ticket jackpot, replicating a change made this fall at Santa Anita. The reinstituted pick six is a $1 bet with a 70-30 payoff structure – 70 percent of the net pool to perfect tickets or carryover, 30 percent to consolations. The rebirth of the pick six is one reason to wager on the four-week fall meet. Another is an attractive Del Mar racing schedule with 15 stakes over 13 days of racing topped by a pair of Grade 1s on turf – Hollywood Derby on Dec. 2 and Matriarch on closing day, Dec. 3. As for the pick six, track president Josh Rubinstein is hopeful early feedback translates to handle. “I hope that everybody who says they’re happy about it, bets it,” Rubinstein said. “We’ll give it a try, that’s what the fall meet is all about, us trying things like this. We hope fans will support it, and it’s something we can continue.” While horseplayers favor the traditional pick six over the jackpot format, a missing element was conspicuous during the Santa Anita fall meet when the bet was restored at a $1 minimum – not one carryover. Handle typically increases in every betting pool on carryover days. “In order for [the pick six] to work, you need some carryovers,” Rubinstein acknowledged. However, carryovers occur less often at a $1 minimum, compared to the $2 minimum when the traditional pick six previously was offered. Del Mar and Santa Anita both held internal discussions regarding minimum bet; both settled on $1. It is not etched in stone. “We’ll see how it plays out [this fall] and then we’ll either continue in the summer, or make some adjustments,” Rubinstein said. Revisions to Del Mar’s fall racing program are relatively minor, though racing secretary David Jerkens noted the pending closure of Golden Gate Fields in 2024 has generated increased interest in the Del Mar fall meet from Northern California horsemen. “Trainers in the North are looking at our program more closely,” Jerkens said. “They’re trying to decipher where their horses fit in the Southern California program. I’m getting more calls from Northern California trainers asking about races. That usually doesn’t happen as much in the fall.” Jerkens made subtle tweaks to the condition book that could attract horses from Northern California. Those include the addition of a $16,000 claiming starter allowance on turf, lower-level claiming races for 3-year-olds, and nonwinners-of-three claiming on turf. Out-of-state trainers planning to keep a string at Del Mar this fall include Wesley Ward, Mark Casse, and Graham Motion. Others will ship for stakes. Chad Brown, based in New York, has won more Del Mar fall stakes than any trainer, 15 including two Breeders’ Cup races. Brown is considering the Hollywood Derby for Program Trading and Redistricting; he also expects to ship for the Matriarch, a filly-mare turf mile he won five of the last six years. Del Mar runs three days a week, Friday through Sunday, plus Thanksgiving on Nov. 23 when the Turf Festival begins with the Grade 3 Red Carpet for fillies and mares. Other turf stakes include the Grade 2 Hollywood Turf Cup on Nov. 24 and Grade 2 Seabiscuit Handicap, followed by the Hollywood Derby and Matriarch on closing weekend. Turf races outnumber dirt at Del Mar fall, and Jerkens wrote the condition book accordingly. “Given where we are on the calendar, and Los Alamitos follows us with a dirt-only program, there is that demand to get in that last turf start,” he said. Los Alamitos runs Dec. 8-17; Santa Anita opens Dec. 26. The $75,000 Let It Ride Stakes for 3-year-olds on turf is the traditional opening-day feature at the autumn meet and this year includes one of the most probable winners on the card. The highly rated maiden victory by Dandy Man Shines, his first route since being gelded, makes the Jeff Mullins-trainee the one to beat under Umberto Rispoli. Doug O’Neill entered stakes winners Ah Jeez and Sharp Aza Tack in the Let It Ride, a restricted turf stakes at one mile. Flavien Prat, who led the jockey standings at the 2022 autumn meet, is positioned to get an early jump on his rivals. Prat’s mounts on Friday include four who could vie for favoritism – Leopardess, race 1; Julias Dream, race 3; Coach Prime, race 4; and Pinehurst, race 5. Prat also rides Don’t Ju Forget, race 6; and Camilo, race 7. :: Want to learn more about handicapping and wagering? Check out DRF's Handicapping 101 and Wagering 101 pages.