Just One Horse Misses Del Mar After Aircraft Grounding

Del Mar is very reliant on horses shipping in for this weekend's FanDuel Fall Turf Festival. More than a dozen shippers have been entered for the eight stakes races over the final three days of the Bing Crosby Season. So on Tuesday when FedEx notified equine air travel providers the FAA had grounded the MD-11 freighter aircraft for inspections and repairs the Del Mar Racing office braced for the worse. The MD-11 is the aircraft FedEx uses when shipping thoroughbreds around the country.The grounding comes following a crash of a UPS plane that killed 14 people earlier this month in Louisville. But of the 13 horses expected to ship-in to the seaside oval this weekend, only one didn't make the trip. The grounding forced the cancellation of a flight trainer Todd Pletcher had reserved for Noble Confessor, a 3-year-old colt pointing to the G1 Hollywood Derby on Saturday. The other 12 horses shipping in for the weekend were already on the grounds or got here Tuesday under the deadline. "There's a contact that we work with, the former Tex Sutton, that coordinates with FedEx," Racing Secretary David Jerkens says. "(On Tuesday) we were told all of the flights would not be impacted but we weren't a hundred percent certain. So it could have been a difficult situation. But thankfully they got out just in time." So they're here and they're running this weekend but now the big question is, 'what about after Sunday? How do they get back home? Many to the East Coast.' "Unfortunately we're going to have to van the horses back after they race," trainer Chad Brown states. "We're still working out the specifics about that." Brown has three horses at Del Mar. Just Aloof in the G3 Jimmy Durante; Salamis in the G1 Hollywood Derby and Segesta in the G1 Matriarch. "It's an inconvenience and it's unfortunate," Brown adds. "But all of these horses were due for a break after these races anyway. So although it's not ideal the timing of it is not a total disaster for us. We can get them back to Kentucky and give them a break." Looks like there's a van ride back east in the future for Sweet Little Lila, a 2-year-old filly running in Saturday's Jimmy Durante. "Originally we were going to fly her back but now she's going to have to van back," claims Dominic Boccia, assistant to trainer Brittany Russell. "She's going to go back home to the east coast and probably get a break for the winter." Other trainers dealing with the issue are Graham Motion, Miguel Clement, Michael Stidham, and Saffie Joseph. All got their horses out to Del Mar before the grounding. FedEx is the only equine air travel service available in the U.S. They have 28 MD-11's in their fleet. The carrier typically suspends equine air travel from the middle of December until after the first of the year because of holiday rush. Always taking the glass half full approach, Jerkens reminds us how this could have been worse. "Think about how Breeders' Cup was fortunate," Jerkens says. "From a timing perspective it could have been a lot worse."