Pacific Classic Horse Race

It was the greatest race ever run on his race track. It was a pity Bing Crosby wasn't around to see it. Nor were Pat O'Brien, W.C. Fields and a handful of other cronies who were in at the outset. In 1937, when Bing Crosby and a few of his poker-playing buddies first dreamed up the idea of buying a racetrack down by San Diego, it was widely perceived that it was merely a kind of complicated hobby.

Two wasn't enough for Wayne Lukas in Saturday's $1-million Pacific Classic. Represented by Farma Way and Twilight Agenda in the richest race in Del Mar history and the eighth stop on the American Championship Racing Series tour, Lukas had to settle for second and fifth money. The trainer--and almost everyone else in attendance--thought he was going to do better than that with less than an eighth of a mile to run in the 1 1/4 mile race.

The house horse brought down the house. With the screams of 28,134 fans rising an octave with every last stride he took to the wire, Best Pal caught Twilight Agenda in the final 30 yards Saturday to score a one-length victory in the $1-million Pacific Classic, the richest race in the 52-year history of Del Mar. Because he was a 3-year-old in a field of older horses, Best Pal carried eight pounds less than the others in the 1 1/4-race that was expected to establish the horse of the year.