The Chosen Vron Stakes Replaces Cary Grant at Del Mar
Del Mar Thoroughbred Club announced Wednesday that the Cary Grant Stakes will be renamed The Chosen Vron Stakes beginning this fall. The race will maintain its $100,000 purse and continue to feature California-bred runners aged 3 and up.
The newly named stakes will run Saturday, Nov. 8, as part of Del Mar’s Bing Crosby Season schedule featuring 20 stakes races.
“He was an exceptional racehorse and it was always an exciting day when he came out to run,” said Tom Robbins, Del Mar’s executive vice president for racing. “We think it is very fitting that one of our Cal-bred stakes has been renamed in his honor.”
The Chosen Vron, a gelding by the late sire Vronsky, completed a remarkable career with earnings of $1,709,678 from 19 wins in 25 starts. Owned by the partnership of Sondereker Racing, J. Eric Kruljac, Robert Fetkin and Richard Thornburg, the chestnut competitor retired last year after a five-year racing career.
Kruljac trained the standout performer throughout his career, guiding him to multiple prestigious victories including back-to-back wins in the Grade I Bing Crosby Stakes at Del Mar. The champion also captured the seven-furlong Cary Grant Stakes — the race now bearing his name — in both 2022 and 2023.
The Chosen Vron’s dominance earned him Cal-Bred Horse of the Year honors in consecutive years (2023 and 2024).
The Cary Grant Stakes had been run 11 times during Del Mar’s fall meet since its inception in 2014 before this renaming.
The Bing Crosby Season at Del Mar opens Thursday, Oct. 30 and continues through Sunday, Nov. 30.
