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The first Grade 1 event of the 2011 Del Mar meet is the Eddie Read Stakes, a nine furlong race on the turf for three-year-olds and up. A field of eight is slated to go into the starting gate on Saturday (post time 5:30pm Pacific).
| PP | Horse | Jockey | Trainer | |
| 1 | Jeranimo | G. Gomez | M. Pender | |
| 2 | Goldwaki (GER) | B. Blanc | R. McAnally | |
| 3 | Kid Edward (IRE) | V. Espinoza | J. Cassidy | |
| 4 | Leroy's Dynameaux | C. Sutherland | M. Glatt | |
| 5 | Smart Bid | E. Prado | G. Motion | |
| 6 | Acclimation | J. Rosario | D. Warren | |
| 7 | Caracortado | J. Talamo | M. Machowsky | |
| 8 | Celtic Princess (BRZ) | R. Bejarano | A. Avila |
A few thoughts on the field:
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Goldwaki (GER) came over from Europe in May and bombed in his North American debut at Hollywood in the G2-American Handicap. He won the Group 3 Prix du Lys at Chantilly last summer, part of a four-race win streak during his three-year-old campaign. He'll need a major improvement in this spot and a good place to start would be in the gate; Goldwaki started very slowly in the American Hcp, something difficult to recover from without a very fast pace. On the positive side, he seems clearly capable of producing a better effort and his European form puts him on par with this field.
- Although he's only ended up in the winner's circle once in 2011, Smart Bid has had an extremely productive year. He was 2nd in both the G1-Turf Classic and G1-Gulfstream Park Handicap, 3rd in the G3-Fort Lauderdale, and he won the G2-Mervin Muniz Jr Handicap at the Fair Grounds in late March. He's run well enough this year to prove that he fits in at this class level, now he needs to prove he can win.
- Speaking of having a productive year, Acclimation has picked up wins in a Grade 2 and a Grade 1 in his last two outings, both by open lengths over his competition. The question in this race is "will he be as effective going nine panels as he is at 10 and above?" His last four wins have come at either 10 or 12 furlongs.
- Caracortado will try to get back on the winning track after just missing in the G1-Shoemaker Mile last time out at Hollywood. The four-year-old gelding hasn't seen the winner's circle since the Sunshine Millions Turf back on January 29th, although he's notched two 2nd place finishes against G1 competition in the interim.
- Seven-year-old mare Celtic Princess (BRZ) will take on the boys in the Eddie Read following a win in the Grade 2 Royal Heroine and a head-bob loss to Dubawi Heights in the G1-Gamely. There isn't a ton of speed in this race other than Acclimation, so she'll have every opportunity to attempt to steal it on the lead. In addition to Acclimation, the early pace scenario could depend heavily on what Edgar Prado decides to do on Smart Bid after leaving the gate. If Smart Bid is content to stalk the speed, Celtic Princess might get away to the front cleanly. If Prado presses the leader (like he did in the Colonial Turf Cup), it's going to be a much tougher task for the mare.