Del Mar Horse Racing

Del Mar Racing

The Del Mar racetrack is moving at top speed this summer.

Opening Day is held on Friday, July 22nd, and the 83rd season of the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club runs until September 11th.

The Grade I, $1 million TVG Pacific Classic, which is the main event, will be run on September 3 for the 32nd time. A “Win and You’re In” qualifying for the Grade I, $6 million Longines Breeders’ Cup Classic on November 5 at Keeneland racetrack in Lexington, Ky., the 1 1/4-mile race is for horses 3 years of age and older.

Flightline, who is presently the top-ranked racehorse in the United States, is one of the probable TVG Pacific Classic entries, according to Bahr and other media sources. The 4-year-old horse, who is trained by John Sadler, has won all four of his starts by a margin of 43 1/2 lengths or more, with one of those victories coming in a claiming allowance race at Del Mar last summer.

A record gross value of $8,275,000 was generated for Del Mar’s 31-day stand, the 83rd in the seaside track’s illustrious history. This was achieved by more than half of the 34 main races on the increased stakes calendar that will be held at the summer race meet.

Along with the big stakes, all five of its overnight stakes will increase from $80,000 to $100,000.

Major stakes purse increases ranging from $25,000 to $100,000 will be in effect, most notably amplifications to two Grade I offerings: the six-furlong Bing Crosby Stakes on Saturday, July 30 growing from $300,000 to $400,000 and the filly and mare presentation known as the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes on Saturday, August 6 also increasing from $300,000 to $400,000.

How can I watch the Del Mar races?

Each race day, watch Del Mar Live on TVG. accessible via your cable or streaming service.

Del Mar racecourse season

Dates: July 22-Sept. 11

Location: 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd, Del Mar, CA 92014, United States

Post time: Opening Day (July 22)-2 p.m.; Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays-2 p.m. July 23-Aug. 28, 1 p.m. Sept 1-11; Fridays-4 p.m. July 29-Aug. 19, 3 p.m. Aug. 26-Sept. 9; Labor Day (Sept. 5)-1 p.m.

Del Mar History

The annual beach party known as the Del Mar Thoroughbred racing season begins late July 21 each year. The 43 days of racing extends through until early September with a six-day-a-week schedule.

The Del Mar racetrack is special as it owned by the State of California. 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.

Del Mar has been a national leader in terms of daily average attendance for the past two decades. In 2009 the on-track attendance was 17,181 per day, totaling 635,679 fans during the 37-day summer season.

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 have to either love horses or 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!

Through the years, the track ebbed and flowed with the fortunes of the sport. Some of the great names in horse racing have graced its turf: Pincay, Shoemaker, Wittingham, Longden, Delahoussaye, Lukas, Baffert, McCarron, Cigar, Mabee, Best Pal. The list goes on and on.

Track Facts:

Main Track: One Mile, oval.

Turf Course: Seven eighth’s Mile.

Distance from last turn to finish line: 919 feet.

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