Just like how birds migrate south for the summer, casual racing fans flock to the Del Mar and Saratoga meets. It’s a welcome change of pace having bettors who can barely read the form mingle with people who can wax philosophical about whether Cordero was better than Pincay. It’s a time for horse racing to wind back the hands of time to an age where fans had style and panache. Though I have been to Saratoga more than I’ve been to Del Mar, I have been thoroughly impressed with both, and here are some of the reasons why.

The first time I went to Del Mar I knew I was in the big leagues. I was wearing a white button down and a fedora, my girlfriend did her best to channel Sophia Loren and still we were not in the top 25% of fashionably dressed people. California’s finest descend on the San Diego suburb to look at eye candy as much as horseflesh. The surprising thing is most of them learn quite a bit about horses along the way. Personally, any place where you can see supermodel caliber women one minute and rub elbows with Bob Baffert the next is truly a magical place in my book.

If Del Mar is a place where you feel like part of the scene, Saratoga is a place where you feel like racing royalty. The minute you set foot on the “graveyard of favorites” you are overwhelmed by the history of it all. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, this is the be all end all of thoroughbred racing. You can smell the history of this place. The secluded upstate New York town knows they hold a special place in racing and are very proud of it. This is not to say that racegoers at Saratoga are not glamourous , it’s just to say that racing comes first at the track where Onion took down the great Secretariat, and Fourstardave cemented his place as a legend. There are no distractions at Saratoga, it’s you and the horses.

I know I’ve made it sound like Del Mar is a racing backwater but that couldn’t be further from the truth.  The Pacific Classic and Eddie Read have been attracting the best horses in the country for quite some time. In an era when the best horses rarely meet one another, the likely matchup between Game On Dude and Dullahan will probably be the most anticipated matchup of the year provided it actually happens. I know that I’ll have my attention on Del Mar as it will be where one of personal favorites-Paynter will make his official return to stakes racing. It’s safe to say that Del Mar’s racing is top notch.

Saratoga will be where America’s new favorite horse, Wise Dan, will be headed. The chestnut gelding will most likely contest Fourstardave again, and it will be an honor to watch a living legend in person. Like I’ve said before, it’s amazing the kind of access you have to superstar horses and jockeys at Saratoga. Of course the highlight will be the Travers. The Derby, Preakness and Belmont winners all plan to duke it out, and the winner should be able to lock up the Eclipse Award. Of course, it is the graveyard of favorites so for all we know a horse we have never heard of could come and steal the race, but that just adds to the mystique of the cathedral of thoroughbred racing.

Now my favorite part of these meets is seeing who will win the jockey title. In this arena, Del Mar has a hug edge because the best jockeys in the country are going to be based at Del Mar this year. Ever since Jerry Bailey retired Garrett Gomez is the closest thing we have to a true tactician. Unfortunately, he isn’t going to have the type of mounts necessary to win the riding title this year, so I’ll play it safe and go with Bejarano, who in my opinion is the best gate jock in the country right now. Also, look for Mike Smith to pull off some huge wins before the meet is over.

As far as Saratoga is concerned, Joel Rosario will probably battle it out with Javier Castellano. At the risk of starting a flame war, it shouldn’t be this way. Though Castellano is a great jock, he is not in the same class as Joel Rosario and should not be riding the same caliber of horse. I truly believe that if Rosario rides the same quality of tack as Castellano does, he will run away with the title. What I actually think will happen is that Javier will ride plenty of favorites and Joel will ride plenty of second choices, but will steal enough races from Javier to keep things interesting-and Johnny V and Pletcher will swoop in and in all the races that actually count because, well, they’re Johnny V and Pletcher and that is what they do.

This is the true highlight of the racing season because it’s not about the horses; it’s about the horses, the jockey’s the atmosphere and a thousand other things. It’s the one time of the year you can take your ignorant friends who think tendinitis is the same thing as laminitis to the races and know that these racing ignorant friends of yours will actually have a good time. So enjoy, it’ll be over before you know it.