Yep, it's time to whip out the Daily Racing Form, dust off the binoculars, hit the ATM, and pray to the racing gods -- Del Mar is back for the 69th season. Co-founded by Hollywood legend Bing Crosby and Pat O'Brien, Del Mar is "where the turf meets the surf," as fine a horse racing atmosphere as you'll ever find anywhere.
The annual beach party known as the Del Mar Thoroughbred racing season parades to the post for the 70th time beginning Wednesday, July 22. The season extends through Wednesday, September 9, with a six-day-a-week schedule, Tuesday being each week's day of rest.
This year, Del Mar will run on a five-day per week schedule in 2009, dropping most Monday cards and shifting some of the races from that day to other programs. The lone exception to the new Wednesday-through-Sunday routine will be racing on Monday, September 7, which is the Labor Day holiday.
Del Mar’s 2009 season of the thoroughbred sport will be highlighted by a robust stakes schedule that features 31 major events worth nearly $7-million. Chief among the major offerings is the $1-million Pacific Classic, Del Mar's mile and one quarter signature event that will be presented for its 19th running -- though this time it will be sporting a unique scheduling twist. The rich headliner will be stacked with three other black-type tests on Sunday, September 6 to add a powerhouse close to the seven-week stand on Labor Day weekend.
In 2007, a new $9 million synthetic racing surface, Polytrack, was installed, replacing the dirt track. Polytrack, an engineered racing surface that consists of silica sand, fibers and recycled materials, has been used with excellent success on racetracks in the United Kingdom and, most recently, in Kentucky and Canada, and has demonstrated the ability to deliver a safer and more consistent base on which horses and riders can perform. This new improvement creates a much safer and more consistent surface for the horses, avoiding sever injuries.
The track's Spanish-style architecture and laid-back attitude make Del Mar the annual setting for one of America’s foremost salutes to the sport, where horses, trainers, jockeys and owners come together for racing beside the sea. The track sits a couple of furlongs from the shimmering blue Pacific ("where the turf meets the surf," get it?), about 20 miles north of San Diego and 100 miles south of Los Angeles.
So what makes the racing season at Del Mar different from say, Hollywood Park or Santa Anita up north LA way? Well, for one, it's not in LA (have you ever driven to Hollywood Park? Scary area, that Inglewood is). But besides the typical different stakes activity and trainers, stables and jockeys it attracts, Del Mar is just plain cool.
And it all begins with the track's beginning back in 1937 when crooner Bing Crosby and some of his Hollywood buddies such as Pat O'Brien and Jimmy Durante got together and found a spot in a sleepy town called Del Mar to start a race track. Now, you gotta either love horses or love gambling to do something like this. Most would say it's foolish, but the genius lies in selecting Del Mar as the track's site. You see, a seaside track is just too cool...especially in the middle of summer!
Then, in 1938, the great legendary horse, Seabiscuit, came to town in an epic race against Ligaroti, where Seabiscuit, with George "Iceman" Woolf riding, won by a nose. How cool is that? Given that Seabiscuit was immortalized in the acclaimed book by Laura Hillenbrand and the much-anticipated movie based on the book is being released this summer, well, it's very cool to know Del Mar had a chapter in the legendary horse's life.
Through the years, the track ebbed and flowed with the fortunes of the sport. Some of the greates names in horse racing have graced its turf: Pincay, Shoemaker, Wittingham, Longden, Delahoussaye, Lukas, Baffert, McCarron, Cigar, Mabee, Best Pal. The list goes on...
In 1993, a major renovation and expansion made Del Mar an even better place to bet on the ponies. Whether it's rubbing elbows with the well-heeled in the Turf Club, or with the sun lovers in their beach chairs down trackside, Del Mar brings a laid-back, fun-loving attitude to horse racing. You might say, San Diego has put it's stamp on horse racing...and losing money was never so much fun!
