Player Quick Pick: Del Mar for 7/17/2014

Maybe it's because I grew up halfway between Del Mar and Hollywood Park, but I keep this day marked on my calendar every single year: happy Del Mar opening day!

And this year it's a pleasure to be down here where the turf meets the surf, hanging with the 6 jockeys that make up #TeamBetAmerica for the next 6 weeks... Chantal Sutherland-Kruse, Kayla Stra, Mario Gutierrez, Martin Pedroza, Edwin Maldonado & Joe Steiner. Six great riders and six of the nicest people you'll ever know.

Del Mar does it so right... the food, the fashion, the sea breeze... but the reason for the season (literally) is the horses. Some of the best performances we'll be treated to all year will be turned in here over the next six weeks.

So let's - hopefully - start the meet off right with some highlights on the card:

Del Mar race 1 | 5 pm ET Claiming (10-9) for 3&up going 1 mi. (A) scratches: 11,12,13,14 9-Big Wags: freshened for Spawr off the claim 2-Hawk's Eyes: speed has to hold on on the class drop 1-Tucker's Point: Carava off the clam used to be one my favorite angles 10-Fit to Rule: popular claim stays at his best distance 8-Cook Inlet: one of my favorite horses on the SoCal circuit ~ he tries every single time

Del Mar race 2 | 5:35 pm ET Maiden (20-18) for 3&up F&M going 6.5f (A) scratches: 6,14 2-Stored Attaq: +blinks on the move to Hess out of very nice debut

Del Mar race 3 | 6:09 pm ET OC 62k / N2X for 3&up F&M going 6f (A) scratches: none 3-Zilber: +(L) after being given plenty of time to settle in for US debut 5-Biorhythm: always right there at the wire 4-My Happy Face: gets class relief trying to find her old form

Del Mar race 4 | 6:40 pm ET Maiden (20-18) for 3&up going 1 mi. scratches: 11,12,13 5-Hold Everything: keeps dropping 9-Golden Chalice: drops from MSW company 2-Super Reagan: overmatched last out

Del Mar race 5 | 7:10 pm ET OC 62k / N2X for 3&up going 1-1/16 mi. (T) scratches: 2,6,12 1-Airfoil: ultra-consistent 9-Full Dancer: returns after beating really good horses back east 10-Jules Journey: always around at the wire 4-Den's Legacy: he was going to be my Derby horse last year ~ the ability's there, but you sometimes have to question if the heart is too

Del Mar race 6 | 7:40 pm ET MSW for 2yo Cal-bred/sired going 5f (A) scratches: 11,12,13,14 6-Zinvor: training well into debut 7-Pulmarack: everything this mare throws is a stakes-caliber runner (Tamarando, Tamarack Smarty, etc) 1-Quiet Thunder: Gaines can fire first out

Del Mar race 7 | 8:10 pm ET Starter Allowance (40) for 3&up going 1 mi. (A) scratches: 11,12 7-No Barneys: put it together last out with a daylight win 10-Maxx the Giant: speed has to hold on 3-Sonicvelocity: as you can tell, I'm a fan of the Hess barn ~ didn't lift a hoof last out, but that was a decent bunch & Bob's given him time

Del Mar race 8 | 8:30 pm ET Oceanside for 3yo going 1 mi. (T) scratches: 8,11 1-Argyle Cut: always right there at the wire 2-G. G. Ryder: ultra-consistent NorCal invader 3-Home School: always runs his race 4-Love Rules All: stretches out off down-the-hill win 5-Patriots Rule: consistent v. Cal-breds 6-Majestic Kitten: lightly raced but undefeated Woodbine shipper 7-Aotearoa: has to prove more than precocious 8-Diamond Bachelor (scratched) 9-Enterprising: freshened speed for Proctor gets Mike Smith up 10-Texas Ryano: less than two lengths from undefeated 11-Yard Line (scratched) 12-Forever Juanito: consistent, but has to settle to be at his best 13-Sammy Mandeville: was overmatched in shipping back east for first start v. winners

Del Mar race 9 | 9 pm ET Claiming (20-18) for 3&up going 6f (A) scratches: none 6-Carlot Cowboy: another Carava off the claim 7-Close to the Edge: when he's right, he's really really really right 3-Scorpion Warrior: keeps dropping

Del Mar race 10 | 9:30 pm ET N1Y Claiming (32-28) for 3&up going 1-1/16 mi. (T) scratches: 2,14 12-Vibrato Jazz: Ellis doesn't claim much & is 26% when he does 1-Persuasive Paul: always runs his race & gets a class drop off the layoff 13-Causeithertz: long-time fan of this horse on pedigree (this is probably the best turf breeding in America) & he's always around at the wire, so a must-use for exotic plays 9-Godard: this horse & I have history dating back to Gulfstream Park 2012 and the work he turned in right before breaking his maiden ~ nice to see him back off a year+ layoff & Proctor doesn't bring a horse back unless it's ready 6-Buenos Dias: admittedly this is a sentimental play, given that I used to clock this horse ~ he's beautiful & talented, but is somewhat of a morning glory since his record is only 36-3-6-6

This is a crazy good day of racing! Tell us who you're playing today...