If there is one place that doesn’t let Bob Baffert down, it’s Del Mar. Not that the iconic trainer hasn’t demonstrated his overarching supremacy in every racecourse; after all, he is a two-time Triple Crown Champion. How many can say that? But distinctively, Bob Baffert also happens to be the winningest trainer at Del Mar. And it seems nothing’s changed. Del Mar still is a happy hunting ground for the 72-year-old. And that will be good news as the 2025 Breeders’ Cup Classic comes to Baffert’s favorite. But more about that later.

Right now, it’s about celebrating a Bob Baffert win in the Del Mar Meet, which started on July 18. And the festival will go on non-stop till September 7. Last year, the record-time Kentucky Derby winner registered some big wins at the Sorrento, Best Pal, Debutante, and Futurity stakes. And now, on Thursday, July 24, his 4-year-old filly Splendora earned a rather easy win to get the legendary trainer on the board.

FanDuel Racing shared the news on X on the same day, along with the race video. The caption read: “#2 SPLENDORA ($3.00) gets an easy win in R7 at @DelMarRacing. The four-year-old filly by @WinStarFarm’s Audible was piloted by @JJHernandezS19 for Bob Baffert.” Finishing the 6-furlong race in 1:09.73, the filly won by 3½ lengths ahead of 2nd-placed Ooty.

The Audible-sired filly started steady and kept up the pace but actually wasn’t leading until the last furlong. Skillfully executed by jockey Juan J. Hernandez, Splendora broke off from the crowd and ran a perfect final furlong to win the $50,400 1st prize. Wouldn’t Baffert be a relieved man, especially given how the week had gone? After 3 races at Del Mar without a win, the trainer tried his luck at the lucrative Haskell Stakes.

The 1st-prize payout was $600,000. And with Goal Oriented, Baffert had great hopes. But what do you know? It’s been a story of Journalism and Sovereignty thwarting Bob Baffert’s horse again and again in 2025. And this time, at the Monmouth Park racecourse, it was Journalism who won the 9-furlong race. Baffert’s three-year-old colt came so close. He was beaten by Gosger by just a neck. Journalism won by half a length. Just tells you Baffert’s bet was right; just luck hasn’t been on his side.

But we feel there’s a change in the wind. The Breeders’ Cup news will bring a lot of cheer. The pressure is on, no doubt, on the iconic trainer to prove the critics wrong. And Del Mar has always been his friend.

Bob Baffert will hope to add more wins at Del Mar

The next few weeks have some big races lined up for the 4-time Breeder’s Cup Classic winner. He would love to follow up the Splendora win with a victory at the G2 San Diego Handicap. And for that, he has the perfect horse. The 72-year-old is really confident about his four-year-old colt, Nysos. “He’s just cool. He’s very cool; nothing upsets him. He’s just a very quiet horse. He walks up there like no big deal,” the 2020 Breeders’ Cup Classic winner said, according to DRF.

Then there’s the G1 H. Allen Jerkens Memorial in August, for which the Afleet Alex-sired Goal Oriented will be Baffert’s answer. He will want to be in the Winner’s Circle before the Breeders’ Cup comes to the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club. How fateful, isn’t it? In a season where his bid for a Triple Crown victory has been foiled by niggling injuries to his best horse, Rodriguez, maybe finally, things are looking up.

The 42nd Breeders’ Cup World Championships returns to Del Mar on October 31 and November 1, making it back-to-back years of hosting the event that consists of 14 Grade 1 races. The total purse amounts to $31 million. And this is where Bob Baffert can find redemption. The San Diego Handicap will tell us a lot about the colt who has had four wins in 5 races. And the close 2nd came in the G1 Churchill Downs Stakes, where he came second only by a neck.

Nysos has been an intriguing prospect who seems to have something special in store. And the Bay colt holds the key to salvaging his iconic trainer’s subpar season.