Del Mar’s “second season” – dubbed the “Bing Crosby Season” after the seaside track’s iconic founder – breaks from the gate this Friday for a 15-day run that will take it through to Sunday, December 4.
The track will open with a special Veterans’ Day Salute to all who currently are – or have in the past – served in the military featuring sky divers, the unfurling of the huge Holiday Bowl flag, a Pinups for Patriots fashion contest and a country concert and giant feed by the award winning Cali Comfort Bar-B-Q folks.
On the opening Saturday, there will be a much-anticipated post-race concert featuring star Ben Harper with his group The Innocent Criminals. Then on Sunday the first of four “Free & Fun Sundays” will kick in with free admission, free seats, free programs and discounted drinks.
After the three-day opening, Del Mar will settle into stride with four-day weeks – Thursday through Sunday – for the balance of the session. First post daily will be at 12:30 p.m. on all days with the exception of Thanksgiving Day (Thursday, November 24) when racing begins at 11 a.m. and ends at 2:30 pm in time for fans to make it home for a turkey dinner.
The 15 days of Thoroughbred sport will be highlighted by 14 stakes races, starting with Opening Day’s Kathryn Crosby Stakes for fillies and mares. There will be a pair of Grade I features – the Hollywood Derby (Saturday, December 3) and the Matriarch Stakes (Sunday, December 4). There also will be eight other graded races.
Among the additional sure-to-be-popular extras that will spice up the fall run at the shore oval are a reggae fest led by Iration (Saturday, November 19), a craft beer and cider festival along with a food truck roundup (Saturday, November 26) and a deluxe fleece blanket free giveaway (Saturday, December 3).
Other “delights” on the fall menu include College Day at the Races (Saturday, November 19), a “Taste of the Turf Club” feed every Sunday, “Daybreak at Del Mar” breakfasts while watching the workouts all Saturday mornings (8 to 10 am), free Thursday admissions for all seniors and a family fun run and a puppy adoption event on Thanksgiving morning which has the track in partnership with the Helen Woodward Animal Center.
“The fall racing season at Del Mar has taken up its own special spot now on the Southern California racing calendar,” said DMTC’s president and general manager Joe Harper. “It’s a low-key happening for real racing fans and it is growing warmer and friendlier as we go along. Del Mar in the summer is great; Del Mar in the fall just feels good all over.”