Trainer Andy Mathis finding success at competitive Del Mar meet
DEL MAR — According to trainer Andy Mathis, Del Mar is not the race track to visit if you’re looking for an easy score.
There are no cupcakes at the track where the turf meets the surf. Very few five- and six-horse fields. Mathis says Del Mar is the most competitive track he’s trained at since taking out his license in 2001.
“Del Mar is such a hard place to win because you have full fields, some horses just don’t like it down here. Some do. Some longshot comes to Del Mar that’s doing good and they beat you and it’s just very tough. A lot of wild cards,” Mathis said while taking a break from what has been an exceptional summer meet for the Northern California-based trainer.
“It’s just a hard place to win. When you think you’re live, something happens. Del Mar’s always that place where horses win that you’re not expecting. Normally, the rest of the year, you look at a race and you think there’s two other horses in here that we gotta beat. If we can beat them, hopefully we’re gonna win the race. Del Mar, you get these odd-ball horses that jump up on you and you can’t narrow it down.”
Despite Del Mar’s competitiveness, the 43-year-old Mathis has managed to do quite well at the seaside oval for the past few years. This year, he’s won with seven of his 24 starters for a nifty 29% success rate. In 2018, he won six races at Del Mar. He won four in 2019 and 2021, skipping the 2020 meet because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Del Mar doesn’t seem like it would be a fun place during a pandemic,” Mathis said. “That to me is the fun part about going to the races at Del Mar. Everybody’s into it, big crowds, the beach, the partying. The whole atmosphere. It’s just a fun place to run. A lot of excitement.”
And fun and excitement are what Mathis has been experiencing so far during this 31-day meet.
“I thought I had a decent lineup (of horses), but I never anticipated winning six races early in the meet,” Mathis said before Offshore Affair gave him his seventh victory in Thursday’s second race. “That was really beyond any expectations that I would have had.”
Mathis developed a love for horse racing after attending the races at the Sonoma County Fair early on with his parents. He started going to the track more regularly after getting his driver’s license in high school.
“I’d take off after lunch and miss my late class and skip school and go to the races,” he said. “When I was in college I used to go over to Bay Meadows quite a bit. Betting the horses, watching the races, I just got more interested that way.”
It wasn’t long before Mathis realized training horses was what he wanted to pursue as a profession.
“It just seemed a much better way to make a living than being stuck in an office all day,” he said.
Mathis, who has a 10-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter, says his children have helped reshape his life.
“Since I had kids I think I’ve been more dedicated to just setting an example for them, hard work, and just showing them that if you keep working hard at something you can have success,” he said. “Just trying to be a good father puts things in perspective for me. I can run six horses, all six run up the track, and you come home and your kids think you’re the best, the greatest guy in the world.
“I love racing, everything about the races, but there’s more important things in life. I’ve just been a better person since I had kids. I spend part of the year coaching Little League. That’s probably my most favorite thing to do, and training horses is second.”
Mathis started with a one-horse stable, a cheap claimer named Recklesswarrant, and now has a 45-horse barn. He currently has about half of his stock at Del Mar and, no matter how he finishes, he’ll consider this a successful meet.
“Most likely I’m not going to win six more races,” he said. “If we could scratch out a couple more wins, it would be fantastic. I think we have chances. It’s a long meet and you can be hot and then get cold or be cold and then get hot. It can be a roller coaster.”
So far it’s been a heck of a ride for Mathis.
Follow Art Wilson on Twitter @Sham73