The Del Mar Racetrack: Where the Turf Meets the Surf

It has been about 35 years since I’ve watched live thoroughbred horse racing, so don’t expect any expert advice here on how to handicap horses or win at the track. My experience playing the ponies consists of visits to Ellis Park in Henderson, Kentucky, on summer weekends with my parents and brother long, long ago when we were young. We adults placed our $2 bets on the ponies based on such scientific data as the color of the jockey’s silks, or the lucky number he drew for his post position, or the cute name his horse might have. There were no exactas or trifectas or pick six bets. I think there might have been a daily double — Oh, wait. I’m thinking of Jeopardy! :) I don’t remember if my strategy was to pick the horse with best odds to Place or the one with the second best odds to Win, but whatever it was, it didn’t win me any money. 

I looked at Ellis Park’s web site today, and I see things have changed. I learned visitors can play Instant Racing Machines between the races. These evidently are electronic parimutuel systems where players are wagering on historic horse races. Statistics are offered on screen prior to pushing the start button, and players select the order they think the horses will come in. There’s even a handicapper helper button where the machine will pick the winners for you. Their site says the games offer bonus rounds and jackpots, and you get $5 in play for signing up for a player’s card. Sounds like playing the slots to me!

But I really don’t want to talk about Ellis Park. I want to talk a bit about Del Mar. The Del Mar track was featured in our San Diego newspaper yesterday because its season opens this Thursday, July 16. Opening day at the races is always a fun event I’m told. (I’ve never gone and had the experience myself.)

The highlight is the hat contest with prizes offered for the most glamorous, best racing theme, funniest/most outrageous, best fascinator (an alternative to a hat attached to a band or clip), and flowers/all others. The overall winner gets a two night stay in a suite at Harrah’s Southern California Resort along with a $200 meal credit and a $200 spa credit. The tradition dates back to the 1930’s when ladies wore hats everyday. Today, even if not participating in the contest, most of the crowd wears a hat on Opening Day. It’s tradition.

There are parties and concerts too. Tickets to the opening day experience are $30 per person and include exclusive access to The Party, with DJs, gourmet food trucks, beer garden and cocktail bars, prize giveaways, interactive activities, jumbo video boards, private wagering, and limited first-come first-served shaded seating. Fridays for the eight weeks of the season are free to race goers over 18 if you make it through the gates before the start of the last race. The concert Aug 28 is open to all ages and features “Weird Al” Yankovic. The Track appears to have borrowed a page from the Las Vegas playbook with the experience as much about clubs, shows, restaurants, and entertainment as it is about gambling.

Del Mar expects about 40,000 visitors opening day. About 70% of attendees will be between the ages of 18 and 49. About 45% will be female. Last summer was a troubled one for the track. Sixteen horses died for various reasons, and both wagering and attendance dipped. Many blamed the synthetic polytrack for the problems the horses experienced. So, after eight years and and over 9 million dollars spent on the engineered racing surface, the thoroughbreds will be running on dirt once more this season. The turf course was also widened for fourteen starters in 2014. Partly this was for safety. Partly it was to pave the way for Del Mar to host the Breeders’ Cup next fall. Mark your calendars: November 3-4, 2017.  Attendance at the Breeder’s Cup typically ranks 4th or 5th behind the Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes, and Kentucky Oaks so this is a big deal for Del Mar.

Bing Crosby at the turnstile

I’ll close with a little history of the Track because I always like to intersperse some facts and figures with my ramblings and musings. Del Mar has always had a real Hollywood connection here in Southern California. The Track opened July 3, 1937. Bing Crosby himself stood at a turnstile opening day collecting tickets for his new seaside racetrack. Bitten by the racing bug, Crosby - along with other Hollywood friends such as Pat O’Brien, Oliver Hardy, and Gary Cooper - concocted the idea for a horse palace by the ocean where one could play all day, party all night, and leave cares behind. The Hollywood connection continued for decades, interrupted only by a three-year shutdown for World War II. The Santa Fe Railroad launched a special race day train from LA to Del Mar that carried Hollywood stars to the track. The party started on the train, and if the train was late, the races were delayed until it pulled into the station.

August 12, 1938 was a big day in Del Mar history. That’s the day Seabiscuit defeated the South American import Ligaroti to win by a nose in 1:49, breaking the track record by an amazing four seconds. If you have forgotten the 2003 Academy Award nominated movie Seabiscuit staring Tobey Maguire, Jeff Bridges, and Chris Cooper, it’s worth taking a second look to recall the story of the undersized racehorse that took the nation on the ride of a lifetime. 

Our newspaper today reminded us that when the HBO television series “Entourage” about a movie star and his buddies decided to film an episode at the track in 2006, they chose to do it at Del Mar rather than Santa Anita, right in Hollywood’s backyard. A half-dozen reality shows have also filmed segments at Del Mar they say. (The Marx Brothers movie “A Day at the Races” was filmed at Santa Anita however.)

In 2010 Del Mar made history again when Kenyatta won her third straight Clemente L Hirsch Stakes and ran her perfect record to 18 for 18 in front of 32,536 fans at the seaside track. More recently, November 29, 2014, Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner California Chrome won the Hollywood Derby at Del Mar, later going on to win Horse of the Year. American Pharaoh, the first Triple Crown winner in 37 years is currently at Del Mar, training, but likely won't race there. The next scheduled race is August 2 at Monmouth in Oceanport, NJ. 

Here's an article you'll enjoy if you are interested in the history of Del Mar.

If you are interested in expanding your gambling activities to include horse racing, this season at Del Mar, California, would be a good place to start.