​2022 TVG Del Mar Debutante Betting Odds and Contenders Preview

Saturday’s card at Del Mar features the first Win and You’re In race for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies (G1): the $300,000 Del Mar Debutante! The race drew a field of eight of the most promising two-year-old fillies in the west to go seven furlongs on the dirt, with a six-figure purse and an expenses-paid berth to the Breeders’ Cup awaiting the winners.

Only one stakes winner entered the Del Mar Debutante: Vegas Magic, who is undefeated in three starts including a long-shot victory in the Sorrento (G2) on August 13. Though the rest of the field has at most one win each, some of them have won impressively and the morning-line favorite Home Cooking is even making her stakes debut!

Keep reading to meet the field, check out the recent trends, and know how to watch and bet the race online!

Del Mar Debutante 2022 Information

Race Date: Saturday, September 10, 2022
Track: Del Mar
Post Time: 4:48 p.m. Pacific time
Distance: seven furlongs on the dirt
Age/Sex: two-year-old fillies
Where to Watch: FanDuel TV
Where to Bet: TVG.com and FanDuel Racing

Del Mar Debutante Odds

Del Mar drew the 2022 Del Mar Debutante on Wednesday, September 7 and assigned morning-line odds the next day. Though final odds on horses are not set in stone until the gate pops open, they can provide a good first sketch of which horses should be well bet and which others will go off at long odds.

These are the eight horses in the 2022 Del Mar Debutante including post positions, trainers, jockeys, and morning-line odds.

Watch FanDuel TV up until post time to keep track of the odds, and to get all the information you need to make a smart wager. Remember, information is power! And, if a likely favorite ends up not getting bet, or an expected long shot end ups taking money, keeping your eye on the latest news about each contender can help you decide whether you are getting proper value on the horse you want to bet.

Del Mar Debutante Prep Results

Only two horses come out of a stakes race: Vegas Magic stalked and rallied to win the Sorrento on August 13 at Del Mar by 1 1/4 lengths, while Satin Doll finished a flat fourth in that race, 7 1/2 lengths adrift of Vegas Magic.

The other six horses all come out of maiden races. The first- and third-place finishers from the six-and-a-half-furlong maiden race on August 14 at Del Mar step up to the Debutante: And Tell Me Nolies pressed the pace and won by a gritty neck, while Ice Dancing broke a step slow and rallied for third, 2 3/4 lengths behind the winner.

The other four runners each came out of different last-out maiden special weight races. Fast and Shiny won a five-furlong dirt maiden at Del Mar on August 7. Home Cooking was defeated at odds-on in a five-and-a-half-furlong race there July 31 on debut, but took off the blinkers and romped by 9 1/4 lengths in a five-and-a-half-furlong race at Del Mar August 21. Kissed By Fire debuted in the July 31 race in which Home Cooking was beaten on debut; she was second by 2 1/2 lengths, but has not run back since. Finally, Arella Star is the only horse not to come from Del Mar. She graduated second-out in a five-and-a-half-furlong maiden at Gulfstream, and ships west for this.

Del Mar Debutante Contenders

Vegas Magic: The only horse in the race who has won more than once, this Doug O’Neill “A” horse has actually won three times already. And, she has done so in different styles: pressing, stalking, and closing. Jockey Abel Cedillo has ridden her to two of those three victories, so he has a rapport with this horse already. She does need to move forward to match the speed figures of some of her foes, but it does not require a serious jump and the experience and versatility stand out in a baby race.

Kissed by Fire: She has run just once, stalking the pace, moving early, and being run down in a maiden race. That showed tactical speed and an ability to handle the Del Mar surface, and her trainer Peter Eurton can move horses forward in their second-ever start. But, she will need to take a step forward.

And Tell Me Nolies: She faces winners for the first time, but she pressed the pace and broke her maiden in fast fashion and showed nice improvement in her first start with blinkers. The fact that it came out of a six-and-a-half-furlong race stands out: the step forward when switching to the extended sprint makes her one of only two horses in the field to have tried past six furlongs, and the only one to have won.

Satin Doll: The “B” entrant from the Doug O’Neill shedrow, she upset a maiden special weight going five furlongs at Del Mar at 31-1 odds, However, she regressed in the Sorrento, sitting a bit closer early but weakening in the lane to finish a well-beaten fourth out of six. Her pedigree does not throw up red flags for seven furlongs, though she will need to show serious improvement from her form so far.

Fast and Shiny: The “B” entrant from the Bob Baffert barn, She was sent off at 6.4-1, a bit cold for a Baffert first-timer, but she stalked the pace and won confidently by a length and a half. She should love the stretch out to seven furlongs; her dam was a juvenile stakes winner going that distance on dirt and sire Bernardini should support at least that much distance.

Home Cooking: The morning-line favorite from the Bob Baffert barn, she was defeated after disputing the pace on debut but did much better when she dropped the blinkers, settled off a pace battle, and romped to win by 9 1/4 lengths. That came after a switch to Mike Smith in the irons, and Smith returns to the irons for this.

Arella Star: She ships over from Gulfstream, which has top-class racing in the winter but does not have a similarly deep horse population in the summer. Between that and her comparatively pedestrian speed figs, she has a lot to prove in this spot. The best thing going for her are her pedigree, which supports the stretch, and the fact that second-place Blind Spot came back to win next out.

Ice Dancing: She has a lot to prove, in that she has raced just once, has not won, and previous rider Mike Smith rides Home Cooking instead. However, trainer Richard Mandella often moves his horses up second-out and does not drop them into a stakes without good reason. It also helps that this daughter of Frosted debuted at six and a half furlongs, meaning she has gone longer than everyone but And Tell Me Nolies, who beat her in that debut race.

Del Mar Debutante Past Winners Past Performances

All of the last ten Del Mar Debutante winners finished first or second in their race just before the Debutante, and all ten last raced at Del Mar. However, most of them do not come out of stakes company. Executiveprivilege (2012), She’s a Tiger (2013), Sunset Glow (2014), and Bellafina (2018) did prepare in the Sorrento, with all but She’s a Tiger winning.

The other six came out of top-two finishes in maiden special weights at Del Mar. Four of the six who came from maiden races won, including the last two winners, Princess Noor (2020) and Grace Adler (2021).

Five of the eight entrants in this year’s Debutante fit the recent form of having last raced at Del Mar and finishing first or second. Vegas Magic won the Sorrento, And Tell Me Nolies, Fast and Shiny, and Home Cooking won local maidens, and Kissed By Fire was second in a local maiden.

Del Mar Debutante Undercard

The Del Mar Debutante is the eighth race of 11 on Saturday, September 10. The card features three stakes races; in addition to the Del Mar Debutante, top turf mares clash in the John C. Mabee (G2), and promising young grass horses contest the Del Mar Juvenile Fillies Turf. FanDuel TV will show every race on this Saturday of closing weekend, so tune in and bet the races all day!

Del Mar Race Track

Del Mar Race Track is located just north of San Diego and about two hours south of Los Angeles. As Del Mar Debutante’s famous song says, you can “take a plane, take a train, take a car.” After all, the rail line stops just yards away from the track entrance. Fans can see the ocean from up in the grandstand off past the head of the stretch.

There are several trackside restaurants available, including Red Star Café, Stretch Run Grill, Veranda Café, and 17 Hands. Horsemen and fans alike gather to dine overlooking the paddock or just above the finish line and enjoy both cuisine and racing action.

Del Mar Race Track has a one-mile oval with chutes for 7/8 and 1 1/4 mile races and a seven-eighths mile oval with a diagonal straight away chute for 1 1/16 and 1 1/8 mile horse races. The turf course is a combination of Common Bermuda and Hybrid Bermuda.

More recently, the Del Mar Race Track underwent a major renovation to modernize facilities. Thanks in part to those changes, as well as a widespread advertising campaign anchored by the slogan, “Where the Turf Meets the Surf,” the Del Mar Race Track continues to post records in handle and attendance while offering some of the greatest thoroughbred horse racing in America.

Del Mar Debutante FAQ

Q: When is the Del Mar Debutante?
A: Saturday, September 10, 2022, at 4:48 p.m. Pacific time.

Q: Where is the Del Mar Debutante?
A: It takes place at Del Mar Race Track in Del Mar, California.

Q: Which trainer has the most wins in the Del Mar Debutante?
A: Trainer Bob Baffert has the most Del Mar Debutante wins with 10, including victories in the last three editions with Bast, Princess Noor, and Grace Adler. Baffert runs two horses in 2022, Home Cooking and Fast and Shiny.

Q: Who is the favorite for the Del Mar Debutante?
A: Home Cooking, off of her sharp maiden victory, is the 9-5 morning-line favorite in the Del Mar Debutante. Given trainer Bob Baffert’s recent record in the race, she will probably be favored as expected.

Q: Who is the best Del Mar Debutante jockey?
A: Victor Espinoza, Bill Shoemaker, and Gary Stevens all have five wins in the Debutante. Espinoza is still active, though he does not have a call in the 2022 edition. Among jockeys riding this year, Flavien Prat leads with three victories. He takes the call on Ice Dancing for Richard Mandella.

Q: Who won the Del Mar Debutante in 2021?
A: Grace Adler won the Del Mar Debutante in 2021 for trainer Bob Baffert and jockey Flavien Prat.