Del Mar’s intern class of 2026 poses in the paddock. From left: Kate Hasegawa, Maren Lynch, Del Mar CEO Joe Harper, Emerald Kwinn, Sean Rowe and Intern Supervisor Trish Stiles. © Benoit Photo

Sometimes the future can be found at a place rich in tradition.

Every summer the horses come to Del Mar along with the trainers, the staffs of people who prepare said horses for racing and the accomplished jockeys who ride them. With the horses come the horseplayers as well as the fans who see the races as the perfect place for a party with friends and family. It’s a summer tradition in San Diego like no other.

The operation of a world-class Thoroughbred meet is not as easy as it looks. There are thousands of moving parts and since there are horses involved it’s seldom predictable. Every day presents new obstacles and challenges. Fortunately, the people who help put on the show at Del Mar are some of the best in the business, perfect mentors for young college kids looking to make a living in the world of horseracing. 

Back in 1977, an internship program was established at Del Mar to provide aspiring young people a glimpse into what it takes to run a racetrack and help them decide if this world is right for them.

Let’s meet the new group of college students who will comprise the roster of Del Mar interns this year.

Sean Rowe grew up in Pasadena, but moved to Austin, Texas during his sophomore year of high school. He now attends the University of Texas. 

“I’m majoring in Sports Management with a minor in business so I definitely want to be in the sports industry,” Rowe says. “I grew up coming to the races and knew a friend who would get us access to the paddock. We’d watch the horses walk around and had a lot of cool experiences as a kid here.”

Being up in Pasadena he says he also visited Santa Anita a few times. His grandparents live in Pt. Loma so Sean’s got a place to stay when he’s not at Del Mar this summer. He worked in customer service at the races last year.

“I tried for the internship last year but didn’t get it,” Sean states. “So Trish (Stiles, Customer Service Manager) offered me a job in customer service. I saw the interns work and decided I still wanted to come back.”

Rowe says he hopes to meet a lot of new people and make some connections on his career path.

“I just want to see how the racetrack works,” he notes. “All the operations and what happens day-to-day basically. How the events are managed. I know we as interns work the events all the time. I want to get a broad experience, work with each department equally.”

That seems to be a common thread among the four new interns. They’re not necessarily focusing on one aspect of racing but instead hope to learn many facets of the operation and then make a choice. 

Emerald Kwinn grew up in Tucson, Arizona, a little off campus from the University of Arizona which is where she now attends school. She’s majoring in Animal Science with an emphasis in the unique racetrack industry program offered by the school. 

“I ride horses there working with a western riding coach,” Emerald says. “I’ve been here for the Breeders’ Cup and feel comfortable returning to Del Mar. I know the track and some of the people. I just love the space in California.” 

She attended the Little Brown Jug in Ohio, part of harness racing’s Triple Crown and also went to the Thoroughbred Makeover Project in Kentucky.

“It’s where they take retired racehorses and train them for second careers and second homes,” Kwinn explains. “We were just there to watch but at the U of A we’re actually training a Thoroughbred to compete in the next Makeover Project.”

Emerald got the racehorse bug in high school where she was volunteering at a therapy program that incorporated horses. 

“At the time I was trying to find my major,” she notes. “When I first went to U of A I went into Equine Sciences, but it was more inclined toward the science part of it and I wanted to be with the horses more. The training and breeding. So I changed my major. I really love racehorses and working at a track.”

Maren Lynch says she’s excited to be back at Del Mar. She hasn’t been to the seaside oval since she was eight years old. She’s the daughter of a Marine, so she’s moved around a lot in her young life.

“I was born in Temecula,” she begins. “I’ve lived all over. Right now we’re in Wake Forest, North Carolina but I go to school at Auburn.”

Lynch is majoring in Animal Science.

“I’ve been around horses my whole life,” she states. ”My mom has had a Quarter Horse since before me so I grew up with him. I stopped riding for a few years and then picked it back up when I was 13. I started doing the hunters and I really liked that. At school I take lessons from a girl who teaches roping on her Quarter Horse.”

While Auburn doesn’t have a Thoroughbred program like that of the U of A, it does have a Division I English and Western team as well as two club teams and an eventing team. 

Lynch, like so many who participate in the Del Mar Intern Program, is coming in with a clean slate, hoping something will spark her interest and light the fuse to a lifelong career.

“I don’t know what I really want to do yet when I graduate,” she admits. “This sounded like something I’d like to do, and this figured like a good thing to try out and see if I like it.”

Kate Hasegawa is in the same boat as Lynch. Not sure what she wants to do but open for new experiences and eager to learn.

“I’ve never had an internship where I can do different things in different departments,” she notes. “See how everything is and how everything comes together at the end.”

Kate grew up in nearby Carlsbad and graduated from Carlsbad High School. She now goes to school at the University of Oregon where she’s majoring in Business with an emphasis on Marketing. Her experience with horses is limited to riding while on vacation.

“It was just me and my family,” she says. “It was a great time. My brother was kind of on a crazy horse. I just remember one was really slow and lingering in a weird way and the other kept going really fast.”

She says growing up in Carlsbad she’s known about Del Mar for most of her life, though she hasn’t been out to the races as often as she’d like.

“I know it’s a very popular thing,” Kate notes, “I’m excited to experience it and learn more about it. I knew someone who was an intern at Del Mar a couple of years ago and she loved it. She told me she learned so much and convinced me to do this. She said it was the best summer ever.”

That’s a common consensus of most everyone who works at Del Mar.