Journalism headlines San Diego Handicap as Pacific Classic prep at Del Mar

Journalism will carry Del Mar’s opening-weekend spotlight into Saturday’s $300,000 San Diego Handicap, a 1 1/16-mile dirt race that doubles as the seaside meet’s sharpest early test for the division’s older horses. The 85th running comes with more than a trophy on the line: it is the main local prep for the $1 million Pacific Classic on August 22, and it will tell horseplayers whether Journalism is merely the headline act or still the standard-bearer among his peers.

The Curlin colt arrives with $4,590,755 in earnings and a record that still reads like a champion’s résumé. His 2025 season included victories in the Preakness Stakes, Santa Anita Derby, Haskell Stakes and San Felipe Stakes, along with runner-up finishes in the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes. He has not started in six weeks and returns off a third-place finish in the Metropolitan Handicap at Saratoga on June 6, his first start since that performance. Michael McCarthy will saddle him for Eclipse Thoroughbred Partners, Bridlewood Farm, Don Alberto Stable and partners, with Umberto Rispoli back aboard at 125 pounds.

The field is compact, but it is not empty. Equibase lists six opponents for Journalism: Mc Vay, Mirahmadi, Shea Brennan, Iron Man Cal, Full Serrano and The Goat. That is enough company to make the race a true form check, especially with the winner earning a $15,000 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Mile entry-fee credit through the Dirt Dozen Bonus Series and second and third earning $7,500 and $3,750. Del Mar’s stakes schedule has first post at 2 p.m. on July 18, with the San Diego set for about 5:30 p.m. and the Grade II San Clemente Handicap at 6:00 p.m. on the same card.

The San Diego also comes with a little history hanging over it. Equibase lists Nysos as the 2025 winner, says the fastest time since 1976 is 1:40.20 by Vic’s Magic in 1978, and records Accelerate’s 8 1/2-length romp in 2017 as the race’s biggest winning margin. Del Mar’s 2026 summer meet is its 87th season of Thoroughbred racing, and the Pacific Classic will follow as the meet’s marquee prize. McCarthy’s broader Del Mar plan is already taking shape, with Formidable Man pointing toward the Eddie Read and Bust Out a candidate for the opening-day Oceanside, but Journalism is the horse who will set the tone. A decisive win would do more than confirm his class; it would make him the horse to beat on the road to August 22.