As renewals of the Delaware Handicap (G2) go, 2023 will long be remembered. Juddmonte’s Idiomatic  won the historic race in a stretch duel, overcoming stumbling at the start to catch front-running Classy Edition .

That victory was followed by three consecutive grade 1 victories to close out the season by the Brad Cox trainee, the last of which came in the Nov. 4 Breeders’ Cup Distaff (G1) at Santa Anita Park. Months later, she earned an Eclipse Award as the champion older dirt female of 2023.

The 2024 renewal of the $500,000 Delaware Handicap, contested at 1 3/16 miles July 7, does not appear to have a starter of Idiomatic’s quality, but Cox is again participating by starting Godolphin’s Wet Paint .

Under Sunday’s handicap conditions, she carries the top weight at 123 pounds, spotting the opposition from 2-9 pounds. Graded winners Honor D Lady  and Morning Matcha  are second and third high weights at 121 and 118 pounds, respectively.

Wet Paint, a 4-year-old daughter of Blame  , is winless in four starts since winning the Coaching Club American Oaks (G1) last summer at Saratoga Race Course. She travels to Delaware Park from her spring base at Churchill Downs, where she finished third in the Shawnee Stakes (G3) in her second start of the year June 1.

Last year as a 3-year-old, she won three other races in addition to the Coaching Club American Oaks—rattling them off to begin the year at Oaklawn Park in the Martha Washington Stakes, Honeybee Stakes (G3), and Fantasy Stakes (G3). She streaked into the Kentucky Oaks (G1) at Churchill Downs and started as the betting favorite.

However, she would run fourth in the Oaks, and the late-running filly would fail to catch Hoosier Philly  and Randomized  in slow-paced stakes later in the year. Wet Paint has yet to win outside of her age group.

Regular jockey Flavien Prat returns in the irons.

Jose Ortiz in For The Mount on Honor D Lady

Another 4-year-old, Honor D Lady, won the Remington Park Oaks (G3) last fall in her top achievement from her 3-year-old year. Later in the final start of her 3-year-old season, she would finish third in the Comely Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct Racetrack.

She is proven outside the 3-year-old ranks, taking the Royal Delta Stakes (G3) at Gulfstream Park in February. Since then, she ran ninth in the April 13 Apple Blossom Handicap (G1) in a race in which come-backing Wet Paint was sixth. Honor D Lady was most recently second to the grade 1-winning 3-year-old filly Candied  in the June 8 Lady’s Secret Stakes at Monmouth Park.

Jose Ortiz rides Honor D Lady for trainer Saffie Joseph Jr. and owners Final Furlong Farm and Madaket Stables.

LC Racing, Cash is King, and Gary Barber’s Morning Matcha ran third in the Delaware Handicap last year. She heads into Sunday’s race off a troubled seventh-place finish in the June 15 Bed o’ Roses Stakes (G2) at Aqueduct.

“I really did not think she had a fair shot in her last race,” said trainer Robert “Butch” Reid. “She was blocked almost the whole trip, but she came out of the race great and she had a beautiful breeze Saturday morning, so we are ready to go.”

Recent research conducted by BadCredit.org showed that an estimated 4,444 couples in Delaware will not be tying the knot this summer due to poor credit. They surveyed more than 3,000 couples and discovered that many say they have been forced to postpone or cancel their wedding plans entirely due to financial constraints, particularly those stemming from inadequate credit scores.

Personal loans have traditionally been a popular method to finance weddings. However, couples with subprime credit often find themselves ineligible for such borrowing opportunities according to the study.

Even those who aren’t reliant on loans grapple with other financial hardships that make the costs associated with weddings difficult to manage. With inflation and mounting costs adding to the pressures, many couples are reconsidering their options.

The theme at the Delaware beaches this weekend is red, white and traffic.

That’s right, it’s the Fourth of July, the busiest week of the year in Lewes, Rehoboth Beach, Dewey Beach, Bethany Beach and Fenwick Island. Multiple towns will host free, not-to-miss firework shows you can watch from the beach, but you’ve got to battle the thousands of other people on the roads to see them. And what if it rains?

Here’s everything you need to know about Fourth of July weekend at the Delaware beaches.

Weather

Wednesday and Thursday are expected to be mostly sunny with temperatures around 80 degrees — great beach weather.

Thursday evening will bring clouds and a 50% chance of storms, according to the National Weather Service, and poor weather is predicted to continue into Friday morning. Friday’s forecast is partly sunny with a 40% chance of rain and highs in the mid 80s.

More clouds are predicted for Friday night, with a chance of storms. Saturday and Sunday are expected to be mostly sunny with a 40% chance of storms and temperatures in the mid 80s again.

Don’t let the threat of a storm ruin your beach day; they often come and go quickly in the summertime. Check the radar often, and look below to see what your town will do if it rains at fireworks time.

Traffic

Look, traffic is going to be bad this week, in the downtowns, on Coastal Highway and everywhere. There’s no avoiding it.

Allow extra time to get where you’re going and even more time to find parking. Bring stuff for the kids to do in the car. For fireworks especially, plan on being in traffic for at least an hour and likely more when leaving town. After the show, linger on the beach or downtown, eat, shop, be entertained — the later you leave, the less traffic there will be.

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Walking, biking, or taking the DART bus or a trolley are highly recommended. Parking at locations on Coastal Highway and walking downtown is worth it for fireworks in Rehoboth and Bethany — just make sure you wear good shoes.

Above all, be patient and obey the law. Make room for police, fire and ambulance vehicles.

Again for the people in the back: Be patient and obey the law!

Fourth of July celebrations

Lewes

“Go Fourth Lewes” has a full day of events in store for Thursday, July 4. There are free old-fashioned children’s games, such as an egg toss and a sack race, on Second Street starting at 9 a.m. At noon, check out the 28th Annual July 4th Celebration and Car Show at Trinity Faith Christian Center on New Road. It features free food, a bounce house, hayrides, a DJ and more.

The boat parade, which starts at Roosevelt Inlet and heads southeast to downtown, begins at 1:30 p.m.

The Doo-Dah Parade is a uniquely Lewes tradition that has no official start time, but usually begins around 5 p.m. Anyone can participate by meeting in the area of Lloyd’s Market on Savannah Road. The parade winds down Kings Highway to Second Street, then back down Savannah to end at Lloyd’s.

Fireworks begin at dusk, launched from the bay off Lewes Beach.

If the fireworks are rained out, the rain date is the next day, Friday, July 5. More info at gofourthlewes.org.

Rehoboth Beach

Rehoboth Beach will celebrate the holiday Saturday, July 6.

Locals’ favorite The Funsters will play a free concert at the bandstand, which starts at 8 p.m. and continues after the fireworks. Fireworks launch at dusk, or around 9:30 p.m., from the beach near Brooklyn Avenue.

“Because of the extra support personnel we have to bring in, we generally don’t have rain dates,” city spokesperson Lynne Conan said. “We will do our very best to get the fireworks off on the scheduled date, even if we have to decide to go a bit early or hold and go late.”

On Saturday, the city will institute the following traffic and parking rules:

• The Rehoboth Avenue bandstand area will be closed to traffic between 6 p.m. to midnight.
• Henlopen and Surf avenues will be open to bus and resident traffic only beginning at 7 p.m. Residents of Henlopen Avenue, Henlopen Acres and North Shores should use Second Street.
• Beginning at 7 p.m., the circle on Rehoboth Avenue will be open to east and westbound traffic only.
• Beginning at 8 p.m., Rehoboth Avenue eastbound will close at Coastal Highway and all vehicles must enter town via State Road.
• After the fireworks, vehicles north of Rehoboth Avenue will be directed to exit via Rehoboth and Columbia avenues. Vehicles on the south side of Rehoboth Avenue will be directed to Hickman and Munson Streets to take State Road to Coastal Highway northbound or Bayard Avenue to Coastal Highway southbound.
• After the fireworks, DART bus riders can pick up the bus at the Henlopen Hotel.
• No parking will be allowed on Surf Avenue, in the convention center parking lot, in the bandstand area of Rehoboth Avenue, on Grenoble and Surfside places and at certain marked spaces on the ocean block of Hickman Street.

More info at cityofrehoboth.com.

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Dewey Beach

Highway One, the company that owns Dewey Beach bars such as the Bottle & Cork, the Rusty Rudder and northbeach, will host fireworks at dusk on Thursday, July 4. They’ll be set off on a barge near McKinley Street on Rehoboth Bay. Contact the Rusty Rudder with questions at 302-227-3888.

Bethany Beach

Bethany Beach’s Thursday, July 4, celebration begins with a parade at noon. It starts at Pennsylvania Avenue and Central Boulevard, traveling south on Pennsylvania Avenue, circling around on Cedarview Street and heading north on Atlantic Avenue to Ocean View Parkway.

There’s a free concert from The 1974 at the bandstand at 7:30, followed by fireworks over the beach at dusk.

The Bethany Beach Trolley will not operate between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m.

Any weather-related changes or cancellations will be posted at townofbethanybeach.com.

Shannon Marvel McNaught reports on southern Delaware and beyond. Reach her at smcnaught@gannett.com or on Twitter @MarvelMcNaught.