Elite summer race meets at Saratoga and Del Mar are now in full swing, and TV coverage for the weekend ahead focuses on big races at both tracks – the Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga and the Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar,
Before sunrise, the backside at Albuquerque Downs belongs to the horses.
The shedrows begin to stir, the feed carts begin to rattle and the horses begin to get restless. Exercise riders gather and climb aboard Thoroughbreds bound for another morning of training.
Among them is Bryce Bourdieu.
The 23-year-old moves through the barn with the practiced confidence of someone who has spent his entire life around racehorses. He helps saddle horses, talks through the morning set list with trainer Andres Gonzalez, then swings aboard and heads toward the track.
The Del Mar Turf Club has built its reputation on the equine celebrities that have graced this seaside racetrack since its 1937 opening, with names like Seabiscuit, American Pharoah, and Zenyatta among the winners of its
