Fun to Dream wins Betty Grable Stakes at Bing Crosby meet opening weekend

Del Mar’s Bing Crosby meet kicked off Nov. 11 and featured a trio of stakes races during opening weekend, including the $100,000 Betty Grable Stakes on Sunday, Nov. 13. Fun to Dream battled Taming the Tiger down the stretch to win the Betty Grable by a head (pictured), with All Dialed In finishing 5 3/4 lengths behind in third place.

Sent off as the race favorite, Fun to Dream traveled the 7 furlongs in 1:22.14 on the dirt course.

“She didn’t want to get beat,” said Fun to Dream’s jockey, Juan Hernandez. “There was some bumping in the stretch, and after my filly got bumped, she got tougher. She tried harder. At the quarter pole, she switched leads and we got to running. Then they came together some, and my filly showed some fight. I like it. The other filly (Taming the Tigress) ran hard, but my filly did, too.”

Fun to Dream is owned by Natalie “Jill” Baffert and Connie Pageler, and is trained by Bob Baffert.

The other stakes winners during the weekend were Handy Dandy ($84,600 Let It Ride Stakes) and Bipartisanship ($83,700 Kathryn Crosby Stakes).

Racing will resume at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 18. Among the events scheduled during the weekend are Brunch & Brews and College Day on Saturday, Nov. 19, and Toys for Tots on Sunday, Nov. 20.

Also, Del Mar has announced a new event, Collmus Calls for CARMA. Racegoers can participate in a meet-and-greet with track announcer Larry Collmus — the voice of the Triple Crown and the Breeders’ Cup — and watch him call the third race. The $100 cost also includes a Stretch Run box seat, track admission and a racing program. All of the proceeds benefit California Retirement Management Account (CARMA), which is dedicated to retired California-raced thoroughbreds.

For additional information on these events and to buy tickets, go to www.dmtc.com.