Pacific Classic Day 2026: How to Bet the $1 Million Grade 1 at Del Mar
Del Mar hosts the West Coast's answer to Saratoga this weekend, and Saturday's card carries four graded stakes worth $1.8 million combined. The headliner is the Grade 1 Pacific Classic, a $1,000,000 race at a mile and a quarter that sends its winner straight into the Breeders' Cup Classic at Keeneland on October 31. Eleven horses go to post, including a Godolphin favorite trying two turns for the first time, a Dubai World Cup winner, and a Japanese shipper who has not missed the board all year. Nothing here will match Flightline's 19 1/4 length demolition of this field in 2022. That said, a wide open Pacific Classic should still be one of the best betting races of the summer.
What Makes the Pacific Classic Worth Watching
This is the 36th running of the Pacific Classic, and it remains the richest race Del Mar puts on all summer. The distance, a mile and a quarter, is the same one used for the Breeders' Cup Classic, which is exactly why the race carries a Win and You're In berth for that race in October. Eleven runners will load for race 10 on Saturday's card. First post at Del Mar is 2 p.m. Pacific, which is 5 p.m. Eastern, and with four stakes ahead of it on the program, the Pacific Classic is expected off around 6:30 p.m. Pacific, or 9:30 p.m. Eastern. The field includes a filly attempting something only one horse has managed before her.
| Post | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | Morning Line |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Om N Joy | Kent Desormeaux | Aggie Ordonez | 20/1 |
| 2 | Forged Steel | Edwin Gonzalez | Saffie Joseph Jr. | 5/1 |
| 3 | Finger | Keita Tosaki | Hiroyasu Tanaka | 8/1 |
| 4 | Subsanador | Mike Smith | Richard Mandella | 12/1 |
| 5 | Malarchuk | Umberto Rispoli | Michael McCarthy | 10/1 |
| 6 | Original Sin | Juan Hernandez | Brendan Walsh | 15/1 |
| 7 | Hit Show | Florent Geroux | Brad Cox | 6/1 |
| 8 | British Isles | Diego Herrera | Richard Baltas | 12/1 |
| 9 | Navajo Warrior | Micah Husbands | Saffie Joseph Jr. | 8/1 |
| 10 | Full Serrano | Joel Rosario | John Sadler | 8/1 |
| 11 | Knightsbridge | Junior Alvarado | Bill Mott | 5/2 |
Knightsbridge Enters as the Favorite, but the Post Draw Is a Question
Knightsbridge is the 5/2 morning line favorite for owner Godolphin and Hall of Fame trainer Bill Mott, with Junior Alvarado named to ride. He won the Monmouth Cup, a Grade 3 at a mile and an eighth, by daylight at Monmouth Park on July 18, cruising past the previously unbeaten Money Game with Skippylongstalking third. That was his first try around two turns. Now he stretches out again, to a mile and a quarter for the first time in his career, and draws post 11, the widest post in an 11 horse field. Mott has never run him this far. If Knightsbridge handles the extra ground and the wide trip without much fuss, this is his race to lose. If either becomes a problem, the rest of the field is bunched close enough behind him to make him catchable.
Forged Steel Brings the Fastest Figure in the Field
Forged Steel is 5/1 for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr., with Edwin Gonzalez riding from post 2. The Vekoma colt shipped west in May and demolished the Hollywood Gold Cup, a Grade 2 at this exact mile and a quarter trip, by 9 1/2 lengths at Santa Anita, earning a 101 Beyer Speed Figure that is faster than anything else in this field on paper. He scratched out of the Stephen Foster at Churchill Downs in late June, then ran fifth in the Suburban at Saratoga in early August after a troubled start out of the gate. Joseph then scratched him from the Whitney and pointed him back toward Del Mar instead, betting that the track and trip that produced his career best number will do it again. The Gold Cup form is the real thing. Whether the Suburban trouble was a blip or a sign of something else is the question this field needs answered.
Hit Show Adds Proven Class at the Distance
Hit Show is 6/1 for trainer Brad Cox, with Florent Geroux riding from post 7. He is the reigning Dubai World Cup winner, having rallied from off the pace to spring a 41/1 upset at Meydan last year, a result that pushed his career earnings past $9.5 million from 27 starts. His sire, Candy Ride, won this same race back in 2003, so there is a family connection to the Pacific Classic winner's circle already. Hit Show needs pace to close into, and with Forged Steel, Knightsbridge, and a few others likely to press the front end, he should get exactly the setup he wants.
Finger Is the Japanese Shipper With Real Form
Finger is 8/1 under trainer Hiroyasu Tanaka and jockey Keita Tosaki, drawn in post 3. The three year old Gun Runner colt won the Tokyo Derby at Oi Racecourse in June, breaking from post 12 in a field of 16, sitting just off the early pace before taking over on the first turn and holding on by a length and a quarter. He carries four wins from eight career starts and more than $1.3 million in earnings, with his three defeats all runner up finishes in maiden company. He is the only three year old in the Pacific Classic field and is trying to become the first foreign based horse to win the race. Japanese connections do not send a colt this far across the Pacific unless they believe he belongs, and Finger's form line backs that belief up.
Om N Joy Chases Beholder's Legacy
Om N Joy is 20/1 for trainer Aggie Ordonez, with Kent Desormeaux riding from post 1. She is only the second filly or mare to enter the Pacific Classic since Beholder won it outright in 2015, a feat no other filly has matched before or since. Om N Joy carries a 6 for 18 record overall, with five stakes wins in the last 17 months, including the Grade 2 Santa Margarita Stakes at a mile and an eighth in May. She finished second by a half length in the Grade 1 Clement Hirsch at Del Mar on August 1. Ordonez then passed on the Personal Ensign at Saratoga to try a mile and a quarter for the first time here, saying the distance suits her. At 20/1, she is the longest price in the field with a real form case behind her.
The Rest of the Pacific Classic Field
Subsanador (12/1) ships in from Argentina for trainer Richard Mandella with Mike Smith aboard from post 4. Malarchuk (10/1) runs for Michael McCarthy and Umberto Rispoli from post 5. Original Sin (15/1) is trained by Brendan Walsh with Juan Hernandez riding from post 6. British Isles (12/1) goes for Richard Baltas and Diego Herrera from post 8. Navajo Warrior (8/1) is a stablemate of Forged Steel for Saffie Joseph Jr, ridden by Micah Husbands from post 9. Full Serrano (8/1), another Argentine import, runs for John Sadler with Joel Rosario up from post 10.
A Stacked Undercard: Del Mar Oaks, Del Mar Mile and Green Flash Handicap
The Pacific Classic is not the only reason to be at Del Mar on Saturday. The Del Mar Oaks, a Grade 1 worth $300,000 for three year old fillies at a mile and an eighth on turf, is presented by Keeneland Sales and gives the filly division its own showcase. The Del Mar Mile, a Grade 2 worth $300,000 at one mile on turf, tests the top milers on the grounds. The Green Flash Handicap, a Grade 2 worth $200,000 at five furlongs on turf, was elevated from Grade 3 status this year and gives sprinters their moment. Four graded stakes, $1.8 million in total purse money, on one Saturday card. First post is 2 p.m. Pacific, 5 p.m. Eastern.
How to Bet Pacific Classic Day
This is about as competitive as the Pacific Classic gets. Knightsbridge is the class of the field on paper but faces two firsts at once, a new distance and a wide post. Forged Steel owns the fastest number but has a recent trouble trip to explain away. Hit Show and Finger both bring proven form at the distance from different continents, and Om N Joy offers a huge price with a résumé that holds up under scrutiny. With four graded stakes on the card and a field this bunched in the wagering, win bets, exactas, and the pick 4 anchored around the Pacific Classic all have angles worth exploring before the gates open.
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First post at Del Mar on Saturday, August 22, 2026 is 2 p.m. Pacific, or 5 p.m. Eastern. The Pacific Classic runs as race 10 and is expected off around 6:30 p.m. Pacific, which is 9:30 p.m. Eastern.
Knightsbridge is the 5/2 morning line favorite for owner Godolphin and trainer Bill Mott, with Junior Alvarado riding. He won the Grade 3 Monmouth Cup by daylight in his last start but is trying a mile and a quarter for the first time from post 11.
Yes. The Pacific Classic is a Win and You're In qualifier for the Breeders' Cup Classic, which runs at Keeneland on October 31, 2026. The winner earns an automatic starting berth.
Yes, Beholder won the Pacific Classic outright in 2015 and remains the only filly or mare to do so. Om N Joy, at 20/1 in this year's field, is only the second filly or mare to enter the race since then.
Saturday's card also features the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks ($300,000, turf fillies), the Grade 2 Del Mar Mile ($300,000, turf), and the Grade 2 Green Flash Handicap ($200,000, turf sprint), for four graded stakes worth $1.8 million combined.
