Twenty Trips to the Del Mar Winner's Circle, and Counting

Bob Baffert has made the Del Mar Futurity something of a personal address book entry. On Saturday, the colt Hughes delivered him a decisive win in the race, the twentieth of his career in that particular test. Del Mar's summer meet has long rewarded speed and precocity in Southern California's two-year-olds, and this one went to the trainer whose name is already stitched deepest into the race's history. Twenty is not a round number many collect in one event over a career; it is the kind of tally that turns a single Saturday result into a benchmark for everyone still chasing him.

With reporting from America's Best Racing.