Twirling Candy wins opening day feature at Del Mar

DEL MAR, Calif. (AP) - Twirling Candy won the $112,500 Oceanside Stakes for 3-year-olds by 2 1/4 lengths Wednesday on opening day at Del Mar in front of the largest crowd in track history.

Ridden by Joel Rosario, Twirling Candy ran a mile on the Jimmy Durante turf course in 1:34.69 and paid $3.60, $3.20 and $2.60 as the 4-5 favorite before 45,309 fans.

Trained by Hall of Famer Bob Baffert, Macias returned $3.80 and $3, while Gallant Gent was another 1 1/2 lengths back in third and paid $4.20 to show.

Trained by John Sadler, Twirling Candy is a son of 2003 Pacific Classic winner Candy Ride. He earned $67,500 for the win, and is 3 for 3 in his career.

Victor Espinoza rode three winners on the card. The previous single-day attendance record was 44,907 on opening day last year.